What Makes Maca a Superfood?

What are superfoods? It seems like every year there’s a new one making headlines, with so-called health gurus claiming it cures everything from indigestion to cancer. But superfoods do exist. What makes a food super? Typically, a superfood must be high in nutrients but low in calories. It should contain compounds that are beneficial to health, which might include antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Some commonly-known superfoods include kale, blueberries, and certain mushrooms. But there are more superfoods than those, some of which aren’t as well-known, though they’re gaining in popularity. In case you hadn’t guessed it, we’re talking about maca root!

What is Maca Root?

Maca root is a cruciferous vegetable belonging to the family Brassicaceae. Its cousins include cauliflower, mustard, and broccoli. But whereas these vegetables can be commonly found on farms across the world, maca root is unique in many ways. For one thing, it grows best at extreme altitudes - namely, it thrives in the Andes Mountains region of Peru. In this inhospitable climate, the humble little root known as maca has been harvested by humans for approximately two thousand years. It’s been consumed by humans and livestock alike for its myriad of reported beneficial qualities, which include increased energy and enhanced fertility. Maca root was fed to children and the elderly alike, and was bartered as currency with the Spaniards who would later colonize the region.

Maca root remains a valuable cultural commodity to this day, with Peru barring the export of whole maca plants, seeds,and roots. It isn’t just about maca’s cultural value - it’s an economic treasure as well, and to this day the most potent, high-quality maca is commonly accepted to be Peruvian maca. Peru is a non-GMO country, ensuring that any maca root processed for import is entirely organic. And while maca root has been grown with limited success across the world and even imitated in labs, we only sell quality, Fair Trade-certified Peruvian maca.

Maca and its Nutrients

 While “superfood” is largely a marketing term, the folks at Harvard refer to superfoods as foods that “can be singled out for special recognition.” The Cleveland Clinic calls them “super-charged, super-healthy foods.” Today, maca is lauded for the same qualities that earned it its reputation in its native Peru. Maca root is associated with a reduction in fatigue and anxiety, and with improved fertility and concentration.

But let’s take a look at maca’s chemical composition. It might not surprise you that maca possesses some of the same qualities that have earned better-known superfoods their reputations, including an amazing nutritional profile. Maca contains protein as well as numerous essential amino acids and free fatty acids. Vitamins? Maca is chock-full of them! That includes vitamins B1 and B2, C, and Niacin as well as major minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Maca also contains macaenes and macamides, which possess antioxidative and antitumoral properties. There are also glucosinolates, which are cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory. So while maca isn’t the cure for everything that ails you, it’s nonetheless a valuable superfood that can play a strong role in any healthy diet. 

Why Buy The Maca Team's Maca?

Our Fair Trade organic maca is sustainably grown and harvested by farmers invested in the quality and well-being of the land. Fields are rotated to ensure the continued viability of the soil, and our maca is harvested in small batches at the peak of the annual season, ensuring that you’re getting the freshest maca possible.

We’re a small family-owned business of maca experts dedicated to bringing our customers the highest quality maca root products available.

If you have any questions for us, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us using our web form, or call us toll-free at 888-919-8616.

Enjoy the Day!