Before You Give Up On Maca Root

Maca Side Effects May Not Be What They Seem

Let’s talk about maca side effects. Despite the purported benefits and many success stories, some people have adverse reactions to this herb.  I’d like to share my personal experiences with maca because I’ve experienced both some great benefits and some rough patches.  And I believe I’ve found a way to work through the side effects to receive the positive effects.

I’ll explain below why I don’t think people should be scared off by maca side effects.  They’re often signs to simply change the way one is using this superfood.  And I believe there are at least some things to try before writing it off completely.

What Is Maca?

For those who don’t know, maca is a cruciferous root vegetable that grows in the Andes Mountains at very high altitudes.  Between 12,500-14,400 in fact.  It looks a bit like a small turnip.  And it has sort of a butterscotch flavor.  Some people seem to find the flavor repulsive.  I personally don’t mind it and it’s easy to mask in a smoothie with some cinnamon and raw cacao.  From what I’ve seen it’s almost always available as powder, either raw or gelatinized.  Gelatinization is a process that removes some of the startch and makes it more digestible.

Maca has been a common food in Peru for millennia and is often consumed there on a daily basis.  It also grows in a variety of colors including yellow, red and black among others.  Some people claim the different colors have different effects, while others claim that’s all marketing hoopla and doesn’t make a difference.  I honestly have no idea who is right, so everyone should try different brands and varieties and find out for themselves.

Personally I have the most experience with premium gelatinized black maca root from a supplier called The Maca Team (no affiliation).  I’ll get into that more later.

Maca Benefits

The benefits of maca are numerous and include:

• Increased energy and stamina
• Increased fertility
• Hormonal balance and estrogen detoxification
• Boost in libido
• Improved mood
• Better cognitive function
• Healthy hair and skin
• Muscle building and weight gain
• High in antioxidants and vitamins/minerals
• An adaptogenic herb for dealing with stress

Reported Maca Side Effects

• Excessive maca consumption combined with low iodine can cause goiter (this is potentially true of any cruciferous vegetable on some level…I personally supplement with kelp to get iodine and avoid this issue)
• Upset stomach
• Increased heart rate
• Headaches
• Anxiety or jittery feelings
• Insomnia

It should be noted that maca is a vegetable and doesn’t pose any real dangers of any sort.  In my experience, any adverse effects pass rather quickly.

Why I Originally Tried Maca Root & My Experiences

I’m a man who likes to lift heavy and cultivate my masculinity.  So I was very much interested in maca for it’s purported benefits of optimizing hormone levels, muscle building, and increased fertility and libido.

Admittedly I haven’t had my hormone levels checked in a bit, so I have no testing information to confirm before and after effects of maca on hormonal balance.  All I have is anecdotal evidence.  But I’ll say that I do feel a bit of extra swagger in my step.  And assuming maca really does lower estrogen, this would seem to be a huge benefit in our modern environment that bombards us with exogenous estrogen.

While taking maca I have a tendency to feel a tad more aggressive and assertive.  Maca isn’t known to increase overall testosterone levels.  But it is suspected that it might increase levels of free testosterone and DHT due to its diindolylmethane content.  Allowing the body to actually use more testosterone, more easily.

My workouts are also great when using maca.  That could be related to the hormonal benefits, but also the energy boosting benefits.  Either way, my workouts have been strong while taking maca and my body weight is on the higher side for me.  I look thick and lean considering I primarily lift for strength and performance and I’ve never taken steroids.  This could all be influenced by other confounding factors in my diet, but maca certainly isn’t hurting.

 

Regarding libido and fertility, I definitely feel the boost.  It’s subtle but it’s there.  Just a stronger desire towards the fairer sex.  Not sure how else to put it.  If you know the feeling you know the feeling.  I’ve also noticed solid bedroom performance as well as consistent morning wood (or middle of the night wood).  Woodies are also lasting longer without stimulation.  This all may be related to the glucosinolates and isothiocyanates in maca.

Maca has been shown to increase sperm count and sperm motility in both men and male rats.  One thing I will say since I started taking maca is that my bizness is simply heavier and larger in total.  I’ve been handling my junk all my life so it’s easy to sense any differences or changes.  When I hold it all in my hand, it feels substantial.  Sign me up.

In addition, I’ve noticed I have a more positive outlook and a more fearless attitude towards life.  Like a lion prowling around the city streets.  And though it’s hard to pinpoint this to one thing, especially given benefits I’ve experienced from diet changes, my energy has been good.  I’ll take that all day long.

All that said, my maca experiment hasn’t been 100% smooth sailing.

A Few Bumps In The Road

Let’s get back to maca side effects.

When I first started taking maca, I felt great for about a week.  I bought some organic maca from the health food store and I slowly ramped up my consumption.  Then I started to feel unusually irritable.  I kept at it for several more days but finally put two and two together.  The maca was affecting my mood.  I felt a rage inside at other drivers on the road and wanted to yell at co-workers.

So I took a break.  And within a day my mental state was back to normal.

About a week later I tried adding maca back into my morning fat-bomb smoothie.  And it went well.  I felt the positive benefits again.  And I’ve never quite felt that same level of irritability from it since.

Then I bought the aforementioned gelatinized black maca powder because black maca is supposed to be great for muscle building, male fertility, etc.  I must say that this stuff is really potent.

I started slow but was eventually taking 9 grams a day.  Which is a lot given gelatinized maca is more concentrated.  And I started to develop some side effects as the active compounds built up in my body.

I definitely had an increased heart rate most of the morning every morning.  Granted I was taking maca right after drinking coffee, but it was a noticeable increase and coffee alone doesn’t have that effect on me.

My body temperature was clearly higher as well.  I was sweating more and experiencing hot flashes.  Not saying that’s a bad thing, as this can be a symptom of decreasing estrogen levels.  And we all have too much estrogen these days from polluted air and water, BPA everywhere, etc.  But a racing heart while overheating a bit isn’t altogether pleasant.

Then I’d often take more maca at lunch.  And in the afternoons I’d occasionally get a bit if free floating anxiety.  Can never say for sure if it was the maca or not, but when I decided to take another break that seemed to subside.

I also had a few very restless nights while taking high doses of maca where sleep didn’t come easily.  This also stopped whenever I stopped maca temporarily.

Did My Maca Side Effects Convince Me To Give It Up?

I see people all over the internet talking about how maca just isn’t for them.  It gave them maca side effects so they just stopped using it immediately and never started again.

Personally, I’ve been liking the benefits too much to give it up completely.

So the last time I started taking maca again after a break of a couple weeks, I started with very low doses.  Around 500 mg.  And I’ve built up over many weeks to 1500 mg.  This is half of the minimum recommended dose on the package of the black maca (3g), but it seems to be a good dose for me.  Even though I’m 50 lbs. bigger than the 160 lb. person the guidelines were set for.  I also take my maca early in the day and don’t take any more after that.

I feel the benefits and really don’t have any side effects at all.  So I’m able to make my use more consistent without having to stop for breaks.  A moral of the story here is that some people get the benefits of maca with small doses so less can be more.  Great – that means I’ll spend less money on maca.

Also, having done some deep nutrition-based healing and detoxification in the past, I know that the road to health improvements can be bumpy.  And sometimes what feels like a bad side effect is really a good sign of healing and re-balancing.  This is called a healing reaction.

For instance, when the body dumps toxic heavy metals it feels terrible for a day or two.  But ultimately it’s worth the unpleasant spell because health improves afterwards.

My suspicion is that what many people see as deal-breaker maca side effects are similar to healing reactions.

If maca detoxifies the body of estrogen and balances hormones, anybody who is estrogen dominant or out of balance in some way is going to feel the effects as the maca helps sort them out.  It can’t be expected to be a smooth ride.  And deep re-balancing of any sort is going to temporarily affect the mind and mood.  But it passes.

Also regarding The Maca Team’s black maca, its power is a testament to its quality.  Just isn’t necessary to take copious amounts.  At least not for me.  So keep in mind that some brands are probably going to be better than others which will affect dosage.

Suggestions For Use

Given all of this background, my suggestion is to start small.  Really small.  And don’t be in a rush to up the dosage.  In time you might be someone who can take very large doses without issue.  But in the event you aren’t, you’ll be less likely to experience any unpleasant side effects if you don’t go crazy bumping up the amount you take.

And if you do have side effects, just try taking a week off.  And then reintroduce slowly.  My experience has been that after a break I seem to tolerate maca better than before and the side effects I had previously are far less severe.  If I feel them at all.  It’s as if short periods of use followed by breaks has sorted out some issues and then my body is more able to use the beneficial compounds in the maca.  I’ve also found my sweet spot dose-wise.

Cycling on and off maca is a common recommendation anyhow.  Though I’ve found that a low and steady dose is my preference to heavy doses with breaks.  Just personal preference, so try different approaches for yourself.

I Wholeheartedly Recommend Maca

It’s entirely likely that maca might not be for everyone.  But once I learned how to work around maca side effects and use it sensibly, the positive impacts have been fantastic.  Very welcomed and very noticeable.

And before anybody reads any online reviews that scare them off from trying or continuing the use of maca, keep in mind that sometimes it’s only a matter of finding a dose that works and also easing into maca consumption.  There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Please leave a comment if you’ve had any maca success or maca side effects, or have any questions.