Known to help improve endurance and stamina, maca root has been grown and harvested since 1600 B.C. in Peru. It also helps improve fertility and promote overall health. Many believe that it has cancer-preventing antioxidants as well. It is a great source of fiber, protein, and calcium. Also available in powder form, it is easy to include maca root in your diet. With its sweet flavor, it blends well with most dishes and also works great in beverages. Continue reading to learn the recipes of maca powder to get maximum benefits.

How to Use Maca Powder

There are a number of ways to include maca powder in your diet.  Here is more about how to eat maca powder in a healthy way.

1. Maca Powder in Beverages

Ingredients

• 2-3 tsp of maca powder
• Rice milk

Directions

• Maca powder works great when added to your drinks. All you have to do is add 2-3 tsp of maca powder to rice milk or even a cup of tea to enjoy amazing health benefits. It will provide you with numerous benefits without changing the flavor of your drink.

2. Chocolate Maca Drink

Ingredients

• 2-3 teaspoons of maca powder
• 8oz of almond milk
• A cup of strawberries
• 8oz of purified water
• 2 tablespoons each of chocolate powder and honey

Directions

• Mix all ingredients well.
• Blend them until they are combined well.
• Enjoy this specialty drink for an energy boost.

3. Maca Smoothie

Ingredients

• A handful of spinach
• Half cup of coconut water
• A ripe banana
• A ripe kiwi
• 2-3 teaspoons of maca powder
• A tablespoon of coconut butter
• A tablespoon of honey

Directions

• Add spinach to coconut water and throw in kiwi, banana, maca powder, honey, and coconut butter.
• Blend these ingredients well until smooth.
• Add some ice cubes to it to make it even more refreshing. This is an amazing way about how to use maca powder.

4. Maca Energy Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup of almonds
• Half cup of sunflower seeds
• Half cup of pepitas
• Half cup of flax meal
• 2 tbsp each of maca powder and chia seeds
• Half tsp of salt
• ¼ cup of maple syrup
• 1/3 cup of almond butter
• ¼ cup of coconut oil

Directions

• To make energy bars, start by chopping the almonds and mixing them with flax meal, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pepitas, salt, and maca powder.
• Melt your maple syrup with coconut oil and almond butter in a saucepan on low heat.
• Introduce dry ingredients to this mixture and mix well.
• Take an 8x8 inch pan and spread parchment paper on it.
• Pour the mixture on the pan and refrigerate for an hour.

5. Maca Crunch Truffle

Ingredients

• Half cup each of raw walnuts, coconut butter and cacao butter
• 1/3 cup of maple syrup
• ¼ cup of coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoon of maca powder
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Half cup of sweet cacao nibs
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt

Directions

• Place your walnuts in a food processor and then add the coconut butter, cacao butter, maca powder, maple syrup, salt, vanilla, and coconut sugar as well. Process it well.
• Add the remaining walnuts with 2 tablespoons of sweet cacao nibs and process again. Stop when there is still some texture left.
• Shift into a bowl and leave in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so.
• Use the remaining sweet cacao and grind it to form a coarse powder. Transfer it into a bowl.
• Form the truffle mixture by using a melon ball scooper and then roll the ball in the cacao nib powder. Place on a place and repeat the same to make truffles.
• Put these truffles in the refrigerator for an hour and store at room temperature.

The Dosage of Maca Powder

Knowing how to use maca powderis important but it is equally important to know exactly how much to consume. It helps boost make fertility and libido, but you should know how much to take to see results. You may have to take 1,500-3,000mg of maca to treat fertility issues. You should be taking 2,000mg of maca daily to treat menopause. Ideally, you should start with a teaspoon daily – if you are using loose powder – and then take it to 3-6 teaspoons a day. Continue using it for at least 3-6 months and then take a break for a couple of weeks. Resume its use after the break to see effects.

The Nutrition Facts of Maca Powder

To understand the real benefits of maca powder, it is important to know exactly what it contains. Here is the table to help get a better idea about the nutrition facts of maca powder:

Not only this, maca powder also provides you with a good amount of amino acids – it contains 20 amino acids. It is also a rich source of minerals such as iron, magnesium, sodium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese. You will also get vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, and B-vitamins from maca powder.

The Health Benefits of Maca Powder

Including maca powder in your diet will offer numerous health benefits. For instance:

• It improves energy without stressing the adrenals.
• It acts as aphrodisiac and boosts libido.
• It improves sperm count in men and helps maintain hormonal balance in women.
• It contains macamides that help reduce depression and improve mood.
• It lowers the effects of hot flashes and reduces the severity of other menopausal symptoms.
• It boosts mental health and improves memory as well.
• It improves blood circulation and prevents cardiovascular disease.
• It makes your skin look healthy and prevents acne as well.
• It helps your athletic performance and improves muscle gain.

Not only this, regular consumption of maca powder may also help improve thyroid function, strengthen your bones and teeth, and stimulate hair growth.

Precautions

Besides the information about how to use maca powder, you need to keep the following notes in mind. While it is usually safe for most people, you may want to avoid using it in larger amounts for more than 4 months. You may avoid using it when pregnant or breastfeeding because there isn't enough evidence to confirm if it is safe for pregnant women. Similarly, you should not use maca powder if you have any hormone-sensitive conditions, such as uterine cancer, breast cancer, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, or ovarian cancer.