Is Maca Bad for Your Liver? (2024)

FAQs

Is maca hard on the liver? ›

When taken in recommended quantities and in proper preparations (powder, capsule and glycerin extracts), high quality maca has to date shown no risk factor for liver health.

Health authorities rate maca root and maca powder as generally safe, but some users have reported side effects. These include moodiness, cramping, stomach distress, and insomnia. In addition, some women say that maca affected their menstrual cycles.

Special precautions & warnings:

Hormone-sensitive conditions such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids: Extracts from maca might act like estrogen. If you have any condition that might be made worse by estrogen, do not use these extracts.

When taken by mouth: Maca is likely safe for most people when eaten in foods. Maca is possibly safe when taken in larger amounts as medicine, short-term. Doses up to 3 grams daily seem to be safe when taken for up to 4 months.

In fact, some common herbs could cause toxic liver disease. Watch out for supplements that contain aloe vera, black cohosh, cascara, chaparral, comfrey, ephedra, or kava. Chemicals and solvents. Some workplace chemicals can harm your liver.

"While maca is considered to be safe for most people, those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, people with liver or kidney disease should be careful and discuss with their healthcare team," says Sheth.

If you are taking blood thinning or medications for high blood pressure, be very careful when adding maca to your diet. Maca root itself supports healthy circulation as well as lower blood pressure. When used in addition to other medicines that have similar effects, it can be detrimental.

If you stop taking it you should be able to keep what gains you've achieved as long as you continue your training. So, the long lasting nature of the results you get from taking maca really depend on what you are taking maca for.

Analysis of clinical trials and findings shows that while maca root may improve sexual function, the changes in serum testosterone levels in healthy men appear to be minimal or non-existent. For instance, a study published on PubMed found that maca had no effect on testosterone levels but did increase sexual desire.

No interactions were found between maca and multivitamin.

Is maca an anti inflammatory? ›

These results show that fermented maca root extracts exhibit higher anti-inflammatory and anti-melanogenesis effects than non-fermented maca root extracts. Thus, maca root extracts fermented using Lactobacillus strains have the potential to be used as an effective cosmeceutical raw material.

Maca root specifically helps with hormone balance by supporting the functions of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. It releases substances that instruct the pituitary gland to produce the right amount of hormones for the body's needs. It's also thought to help nourish your adrenal gland.

“Maca might cause headaches, gastrointestinal issues, insomnia or cause you to feel jittery,” Powers-Parker said. Talk to your health care provider first before consuming maca, especially if you fall under one of these categories: Taking prescribed medication: Some herbal supplements can affect how medications work.

The standard dose for maca is 1,500-3,000 mg. Maca can be supplemented by eating maca root or through a maca extract. Extracts should be water or ethyl acetate-based. Maca should be taken daily, alongside food.

Maintain Balance in Your Use of Maca Products

First, after you've taken it daily for 4-6 weeks, we recommend taking one day off per week. An alternative is to take 5 days off in a row per month. The purpose of these breaks are to give your body a chance to stabilize its hormones without the influence of Maca powder.

The fermented maca root extracts also inhibited tyrosinase activity, melanin synthesis, and melanogenesis by suppressing MITF-related mechanisms. These results show that fermented maca root extracts exhibit higher anti-inflammatory and anti-melanogenesis effects than non-fermented maca root extracts.

Maca can help to balance estrogen and testosterone levels. Maca has been shown to balance estrogen and testosterone levels in both men and women. This is great for people who have low levels of testosterone or have symptoms of menopause such as fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and changes in mood.

How long does maca stay in your body after you take it? Some of the compounds in maca may accumulate in your tissues, but the majority of the active components in this root powder pass through your system within 2-3 days.

The simple answer to this is that it varies person to person. But generally speaking, adding maca root to your diet can lower blood pressure. Various independent research performed on humans since 2006 have indicated that over time maca does lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure numbers.