Author : Mark A Amen
There's no doubt that Peruvian maca powder is an amazing superfood with wonderful benefits for its users. As someone who has enjoyed maca for nearly 10 years I can attest to its power as an energizer, hormone balancer and fertility enhancer.One of the most common questions I answer regarding maca is how much adults should take on a daily basis. It would be easiest just to give you an exact amount here, but when it comes to taking maca and getting the greatest benefit from it there are several factors to consider.
It's really important to know the quality of maca you are taking. I use a great certified raw and organic maca powder that is much more potent than other brands I've tried. I typically take about 1 tablespoon of my maca per day, but with some of the others I had to take 2 or 3 to get a similar effect. Also, if you take encapsulated maca you should probably just read the label and follow the instructions there - although you could take it out of the capsules and measure it that way.
The second factor to keep in mind when taking maca is to start small and work up. There are no known contraindications for using maca and I'm pretty sure it would be difficult to over do it, but as it is a powerful herb culturally unknown to most of us, it's better to start small.Once you're taking the herb you need to be regular with it - daily is best- to get the best effect. This is even more important if you are using maca therapeutically to build muscle, have a baby, boost your energy or increase your hormones.
Interestingly, our bodies do seem to develop some kind of toleracne to maca over the long haul. After a couple months on it you may start to notice less immediate effects. Because of this most maca experts recommend giving yourself a break from the herb once in a while. Taking 1 day off per week and maybe 1 week off every couple of months or so usually does the trick for me. (When I start taking it again, it's amazing!)
So, now here are the amounts of maca I recommend that most people start with. If your brand new to it, try just 1 heaping teaspoon daily for around a week. If you feel good with that, then bump up to 2 and after another week to 3 heaping teaspoons. I'd stabilize around that level. It's more practical to take maca all at once, but it may be a bit more effective if you can spread it out through the day. It doesn't seem to make much difference to take it with or without other food.
And, if you know that you really need some extra energy, try taking up to 2 heaping tablespoons of maca. You can't really over do it. But only do this if you've already got some experience with maca.
It's really important to know the quality of maca you are taking. I use a great certified raw and organic maca powder that is much more potent than other brands I've tried. I typically take about 1 tablespoon of my maca per day, but with some of the others I had to take 2 or 3 to get a similar effect. Also, if you take encapsulated maca you should probably just read the label and follow the instructions there - although you could take it out of the capsules and measure it that way.
The second factor to keep in mind when taking maca is to start small and work up. There are no known contraindications for using maca and I'm pretty sure it would be difficult to over do it, but as it is a powerful herb culturally unknown to most of us, it's better to start small.Once you're taking the herb you need to be regular with it - daily is best- to get the best effect. This is even more important if you are using maca therapeutically to build muscle, have a baby, boost your energy or increase your hormones.
Interestingly, our bodies do seem to develop some kind of toleracne to maca over the long haul. After a couple months on it you may start to notice less immediate effects. Because of this most maca experts recommend giving yourself a break from the herb once in a while. Taking 1 day off per week and maybe 1 week off every couple of months or so usually does the trick for me. (When I start taking it again, it's amazing!)
So, now here are the amounts of maca I recommend that most people start with. If your brand new to it, try just 1 heaping teaspoon daily for around a week. If you feel good with that, then bump up to 2 and after another week to 3 heaping teaspoons. I'd stabilize around that level. It's more practical to take maca all at once, but it may be a bit more effective if you can spread it out through the day. It doesn't seem to make much difference to take it with or without other food.
And, if you know that you really need some extra energy, try taking up to 2 heaping tablespoons of maca. You can't really over do it. But only do this if you've already got some experience with maca.