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Maca, friend or foe?

dodododo Raw Newbie

Hi i posted this under intolerances but only one person saw it

I seem to have a problem with Maca, mostly it makes me feel sick, and can make me vomit quite badly, really doesnt seem to agree with me. Is there somthing else i could take instead, im after energy, libido, all the usual stuff.

any one else have this problem and can anyone think of a suitable substitute?

many thanks

Comments

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    No, but sometimes you can have an add reaction to something. When I was trying to eat macrobiotics, everytime I ate a ouece of tempeh, no matter how small, I would vomit. That is the only thing I know of that causes that reaction. Your trigger food just must be maca.

  • dodododo Raw Newbie

    le sigh, its strange how the body rejects something even when its good for you isnt it, i was enjoying the rebalancing effect of my hormones as i had an early menopause due to hysterectomy, but i dont want to feel like i have morning sickness everytime i use it. maybe its because of that, the hormones being adjusted, like with pregnancy. ive taken it for quite a long period in small amounts and it hasnt settled at all :(

  • jenny2052jenny2052 Raw Newbie

    my dad raved (a little too much for my comfort, actually) about the libido benefits of goji berries. they don't seem to have that effect on me, but maybe they're worth a try? i think he was drinking the juice, though, so you may have to eat a fairly hefty quantity to get the same benefit.

    cacao definitely gives me that jolt of energy (physical/sexual/etc.) that maca does, and i know some people go on and on about its benefits, but i tend to think that it's primarily just the caffeine that makes me feel so good--and i'm definitely not convinced it's a good thing on a regular basis. i don't have it often, but i do enjoy it a lot as an occasional treat.

    ginger juice and kombucha both give me a jolt, too.

    i have a similar reaction to wheatgrass as you had to maca. i've tried several times to get into it, but it invariably makes me sick. just thinking about the taste makes my physically gag. after giving it a few chances, i finally just figured however good it was for other people, it wasn't good for me. i may try again at another point, but it definitely hasn't worked for me yet!

  • CarnapCarnap Raw Newbie

    When I was eating (I think too many) red clover sprouts, I had an increase in libido. Too much. But I love those sprouts ! They also made my breasts tender while PMSing, so I decided to cut back.

    Sprouts are powerful foods...

    I ate too many black radish sprouts today and now my urine stings me a little...

  • Too bad about the Maca. You might like to try Vitex (Chaste Berry) - it's one of the best natural female hormone balancers ever. You may be able to find the berries for making Vitex tea, or take it in capsules or as a tincture. (Good herb sources you may already know: mountainroseherbs.com, Wise Women Herbals, Vitanica, Gaia, HerbPharm). Dong quai, the "femal ginseng" might also be nice for you. And for energy, maybe an adaptogenic herb like Eleuthero...?

  • Fermented foods always give me a buzz between my legs. Kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, etc.

  • dodododo Raw Newbie

    i eat goji berries and raw cacao maybe 4 times a week each and that helps some with the libido and energy, just doesnt sort the hormones out. fortunatly i love both of them so happy to keep scoffing them :)

    thanks jenny

  • dodododo Raw Newbie

    carnap, i shall definatly be trying red clover sprouts then :P

    had to chuckle at "I ate too many black radish sprouts today and now my urine stings me a little..." hehe, does that make me mean?

    :P

    RawLifer
  • dodododo Raw Newbie

    eat2evole, wonderful help, many thanks, i shall have a look for the vitex, dong quai and eleuthero, many thanks

  • dodododo Raw Newbie

    Sophia... "Fermented foods always give me a buzz between my legs"................. i gotta get me some of that fermented stuff then :P

    RawLifer
  • ras-saadonras-saadon Raw Newbie

    Same here Dodo, first two times a really bad nausea, the 3rd a night full of vomiting, try hemp maybe, use hemp powder for a while was doing good.

    My mom is 53 and she used maca for about two weeks then suddenly after a year of no period she got it again, her entire system kicked into action again, no idea if its connected but now she ain't using it no more(for that reason), at any case it seems like powerful stuff, both in the negative&positive effects.

  • ambiguousambiguous Raw Newbie

    try fo-ti, also known as he shou wu or ho shou wu. It's a chinese mushroom usually prepared with black beans. As for chaste berry . . . isn't it supposed to, you know, live up to its name?

    ClaireT
  • dodododo Raw Newbie

    ras-saadon, im totally bummed out that i cant use the maca anymore as its so effective if you know what i mean ;) . did your mom find a substitute at all? i had to have a total hysterectomy at 29 so i underwent a very early menopause years ago, just need that vitality back somehow

    ambiguous i looked up chaste berry and it said its works as and against your libido depending on your problem, supposedly if you have too high a libido and need to lower it it will, and if you have too low due to lack of hormones it will raise it, BUT im sure my husband would urge me to think about it first just in case :). i guess if i took it and it lowered it instead i could come off of it again. hmmmmmmmm

  • ras-saadonras-saadon Raw Newbie

    I don't think she looked she started eating it in the first place just so it won't go to waste as I can't use it so she doesn't really need to replace it.

  • strangeasangelsstrangeasangels Raw Newbie

    Same problem here.  I tried the raw maca root and it made me sick for about 15 minutes, then it passed.  I switched to the gelatinized since it's supposed to be more gentle on the digestive system.  That also made me sick so I tried another brand of gelatinized.  I just finished violently throwing up in a garbage pale for 15 minutes.   Maca root just doesn't agree with me and I'm pretty devastated because I am experiencing a perimenopause from hell and have read wonderful things about maca root's ability to help with this.  The libido bump was a bonus.

    Any luck finding an alternative to Maca Root?

  • ClaireTClaireT Raw Master

    What about Ashwaganda root or Muira Puama? 

  • RawLiferRawLifer Raw Jr. Leader

    it's amazing how many reactions Maca has on people.  I recently read an article from www.therawfoodworld.com that truly raw, organic maca might be a thing of the past.  Farmers in Equador are using pesticides and other growing alternatives to produce a larger harvest to suit the needs of the people.  However the good intensions....I believe the pesticides and growth hormones, etc...is what might be making people sick instead of the plant itself.  But, I could be wrong.  It just makes sense to me. 

  • SophieschSophiesch Raw Newbie

    I had the same problem with Maca. The first few times I had it nothing happened, but one day I drank my smoothie and about an hour or two later I started very suddenly feeling sick and then violently throwing up for like 3 hours straight. I thought it was a stomach bug first, and since this was the last thing I ate before being sick I just didn't have the taste for it for a while (did not assume it was causing it though). Few weeks later I put one teaspoon in my smoothie again, same story an hour or two later vomiting, lasting for hours...It was so bad, severe stomach cramps constant nausea and throwing up like crazy every 10 minutes. The only thing that I ate on both of those days was Maca, so by then I was sure it was the cause...I don't know if I'm allergic to it or simply my stomach is too sensitive, either way I won't experiment with it ever again because I went through hell. Quite a shame though, I heard really good stuff about it from other people....

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