Among the dozens of popular herbal supplements in the world, maca root is easily one of the most promising for fertility, hormones and brainpower.
Back in the days of the Incan empire, hundreds of years ago, maca root was so renowned for its libido and fertility-enhancing properties that it was used as a currency. Copious amounts of studies have confirmed maca root’s benefits for brainpower and memory. It’s even said that ancient Incan warriors ate vast quantities of maca before a battle, to enhance their stamina and strength.
But all of this is meaningless without answering an obvious question – how do you take maca?
Therefore, here are the top 10 maca root brands available today. Note that maca root is a powerful herbal supplement, and you should be careful to never overdose. Cease supplementation if you notice any side effects like hot flashes, mood swings and sleep problems.
For a shortcut, The Maca Team Yellow is the best overall brand, while the greatest maca root available on Amazon is Mother Nature Organics.
Let’s get started:
One – The Maca Team Yellow
Firstly, The Maca Team ticks all of the boxes for purity and effectiveness. The dosage is 750mg of powder per capsule, with the maca being gelatinized to ensure optimal absorption and prevent stomach upsets. This maca brand is even certified organic by the USDA.
The only additive is the vegan capsule, which is completely harmless. The Maca Team takes great care with their maca root, and all of their supplements, with each fresh batch being inspected for heavy metals, pesticides and contaminants; heavy metals are a huge problem with herbal supplements, so it’s great to have this assurance.
One fact which all maca root newbies need to know, however, is that there’s three sub-types of the root, all with different medicinal effects: red, black, and yellow.
Yellow maca is the most popular type of maca root for hormonal problems, comprising 60% of Peru’s annual maca root harvest. Roots which are white to yellow in colour are all classified as yellow maca. While black and red maca have their advantages, yellow maca root is the most rounded form, being demonstrated to improve energy building, fertility, hormone balance, and mental focus. Many of the promising hormonal scientific studies have examined yellow maca, and the root has a long history with Peruvian tribes.
That’s why yellow maca should be your default if you’re excited about the benefits for hormones and acne, and that’s what The Maca Team contains. The maca root originates in Peru, as all great maca should. Finally, each bottle contains a 200 day supply, giving you a proper testing period.
The Maca Team is easily the master of the maca market.
Link: The Maca Team Yellow Maca Root.
Two – aSquared Nutrition
Despite being maca root in name, aSquared Nutrition is a very different product to The Maca Team, although just as expertly formulated. This brand consists solely of black maca powder, gelatinized for optimal absorption and in a 500mg dosage per capsule.
Like yellow and red maca, black maca is native to the mountains of Peru, but its powers are particularly beneficial for men, giving it the nickname “men’s maca”. Black maca comprises 15% of Peru’s annual maca harvest; maca roots which vary from light grey to black in colour are all classified as black maca.
Black maca root specialises in the following: memory, concentration and focus skills, fertility and libido in men, stamina and energy, and possibly even bone density. A Peruvian study from 2009 actually compared black maca to yellow and red directly, and concluded that black maca was superior for sperm count and libido in men.
Despite being marketed for men, the libido enhancing powers work well on women too. According to studies, black maca is also more neuroprotective than red or yellow. A study on rats even found that while all three maca root sub-types were effective anti-depressants, black maca was slightly superior.
As for the quality, the only additives are the methylcellulose capsule and rice flour, making aSquared Nutrition a vegan product as well as a healthy one. The bottle contains 180 capsules, while the root is sourced from Peru and free from the heavy metal horrors of China.
If you’re here for maca root’s rumoured benefits for male vitality and brain health, aSquared Nutrition is the brand for you.
Amazon link: aSquared Nutrition Pure Black Maca Root.
Three – Sprout Living
With Sprout Living we have a bulk bag of ground maca powder, for usage in whatever recipe you want. The powder itself is certified organic by the USDA, and gelatinized for optimal absorption and to prevent digestive problems. Sprout Living is pure yellow maca powder rather than a blend.
To take it, mix in with coffee or tea, add it to yoghurt, or stir into water and swallow. Half a teaspoon will suffice. The taste is not particularly pleasant, but has a unique aroma which some like.
Sprout Living is sourced from rural farms in Peru, which is excellent news, seeing as the plant evolved there, high in the Andes mountain range. The high altitude is why maca root is so healthy in the first place; the bitterly cold weather and nutritionally weak soils force the root to produce defences to survive, in the form of antioxidants and phytonutrients which end up affecting hormones in humans.
Peruvian tribes have used maca root for thousands of years, boiling and taking the root ceremoniously before ancient battles. Therefore they have all the expertise on how to make maca root as nutritious as possible.
Elsewhere, Sprout Living is also a well-trusted brand, with reviewers calling the taste nutty. The bag contains 1 pound of maca root, which will last for months.
Sprout Living cannot be beaten for a bulk bag of yellow maca root powder.
Amazon link: Sprout Living Maca Root Powder.
Four – The Maca Team Red
Our fourth top quality maca brand is our one and only pure red maca root.
The Maca Team are true maca experts, with a website which is overflowing with interesting information, and their product is formulated as such. The ingredients are minimal: just the vegetable capsule. The dosage is high: 750 per capsule. The capsule count is 200 per bottle. But what about red maca itself?
Compared to black maca, red maca deserves to be called female maca. It’s particularly promising for female hormonal acne, since red maca is known to lower DHT, and conditions associated with wildly fluctuating DHT like an enlarged prostate in men.
Red maca is not ideal for men, since they need DHT for their health and vitality, but excellent for women, whose skin is vulnerable to even the slightest elevation in DHT. Like yellow and black maca, red maca is promising for mental focus and fertility, but is particularly useful for menopause problems, libido in women, and possibly thyroid health.
Overall, red maca is the least promising out of the three varieties, but ripe for experimentation (in women). Last but not least, The Maca Team is certified organic by the USDA, gelatinized, and sourced from Peru.
The Maca Team is the best red maca root brand you could buy.
Link: The Maca Team Red Maca Root.
Five – Aranka Organic
A less famous company, but one that meets every maca requirement. Aranka Organic is pure yellow maca root powder rather than a blend, and is officially certified organic by the USDA. It’s fully gelatinized, and comes in a smaller 8oz bag, in case you just need a top up or want to launch a shorter test run. Aranka Organic also offers an organic, gelatinised red maca root on the same page, switchable with a simple toggle.
Viva Naturals boasts of a 100% Peruvian origin, which brings us to the subject of Chinese maca root. China is in the midst of a massive economic boom right now, but the unfortunate side effect is lax environmental laws, contaminated fields, and skies which are flooded with pollution.
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China’s government admits that 19.4% of arable land is contaminated with heavy metals, while the region which is high enough to produce hardy and nutritious roots, the Yunnan region, is exempt from many national pollution limits. 82.8% of the country’s non-organic produce exceeds China’s own heavy metal limits. Chinese maca root is highly likely to contain some acne-causing surprises, and that’s another reason why Peruvian, and Aranka Organic maca root is optimal.
Aranka Organic fulfils all the requirements for a pure and effective maca root powder.
Amazon link: Aranka Organic Yellow Powder.
Six – Mother Nature Organics
Mother Nature is a new style: a blended maca root brand. These capsules contain red, black and yellow maca, in the following ratios: 20/20/60. This makes Mother Nature a very different formulation to experiment with. You could potentially cover every base imaginable with this supplement.
Mother Nature meets every other requirement too. The only additive is the vegetable pullulan capsule, while the capsule count is 120. Mother Nature actually contains the highest per capsule dosage here, at 800mg. The Maca itself has USDA organic certification.
Mother Nature is another Peruvian maca brand, which is excellent news, since unlike heavy metal contamination, the next potential failing of Chinese maca root is not an accidental one – synthetic products.
According to the investigations of these maca enthusiasts, many “maca root” brands imported from China are really chemicals manufactured in a laboratory, in an attempt to resemble maca root in taste and appearance but circumvent the hassle of actually growing it.
This won’t apply to all Chinese manufacturers, but just like with computers, headphones and other electronics, dodgy dealers desperate to cash in on demand could be everywhere in China and India. With Mother Nature Organics, your mind can be at ease. Maca root is such a national treasure and important export in Peru that the market is closely regulated.
Mother Nature is another promising maca root, for experimental health enthusiasts.
Amazon link: Mother Nature Organics Maca Root.
Seven – Viva Naturals
With Viva Naturals we have another top quality pure yellow maca root supplement. The dosage here is 500mg per capsule, while the maca itself is sourced from Peru. The only slight flaw is a lack of USDA organic certification.
Like every other product here, Viva Naturals is a gelatinized maca powder. Gelatinized doesn’t refer to animal gelatin, or contain it; after being harvested in May, June or July, raw maca roots are sundried, then boiled and pressurised to remove the starch content.
Why is this an advantage? In its raw state, the maca root (in all colours) is rich in starches which are very hard to digest. Anyone with a slightly less than perfect digestive system can experience bloating, nausea and stomach upset after eating these starches. The word raw is usually associated with being natural, but traditional Peruvian tribes always heated the maca root before consuming it for sexual health, or before a battle. The boiling process alters the nutritional profile slightly in other ways, but the hormonal benefits remain intact.
Viva Naturals also succeeds by being pure, containing only hypromellose (vegetarian capsule) and ascorbyl palmitate as additives. The capsule count is huge at 250, and the product has hundreds of positive reviews on amazon.
All in all, Viva Naturals is a hard maca root brand to beat.
Amazon link: Viva Naturals Peruvian Maca Root.
Eight – Navita’s Organics
The trusted Navita’s Organics brand is another bulk bag of powdered maca root, this time with all three colours.
This maca root is gelatinized for easier digestion, packaged in a 1 pound bag, and certified organic by the USDA. Navita’s Organics has hundreds of happy reviews on amazon, and their other products, like their camu camu powder, are top quality. The ingredients list is very short: “Certified organic maca (lepidium meyenii, walpers)“. The latter part references the Latin name and the researcher who discovered it.
Once more, the origin of this maca root is Peru, grown using traditional agricultural methods. The key problem with Chinese maca is their booming herbal supplement market: they simply pump out goji berries, hemp seeds, maca root and more nonstop, with little thought for quality.
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The Chinese manufacturers have the correct seeds, which they have imported from Peru, but the wrong technique. It’s harsh weather and nutrient deprived soils which stimulate the roots to become so large, so mass-market maca grown in any field won’t cut it, with the roots becoming small and less nutritious.
Luckily, the mountains of the Yunnan province of China reach 12000 feet in size, and higher quality Chinese maca grown there does produce high quality roots. It’s possible to buy an effective maca root from China, but the problems don’t end there. Anyway, Navita’s Organics is grown in Peru, the maca root heartland, bypassing this nonsense.
If a bulk bag of maca root powder is what you want, Nativa’s Organics is the brand for you.
Amazon link: Navitas Organics Maca Powder.
Conclusion
Our job is done – you now have all the tools you need to optimise your hormones fully using maca root.
What’s the optimal time-span for maca root? You should definitely test it for a few weeks, since the hormonal effects are quite subtle and may take time to notice. The precise nutrients which work the magic are unconfirmed, and mysterious. Mental enhancement could arrive more quickly, with the compounds filtering through to the brain fast, but you should always be patient.
Our final question is – what about raw maca root? Some claim that it’s more nutritious, but any difference is negligible. If you have a perfect digestive system which never reacts to anything, and if you’ve been following an acne-friendly diet for a long time, you can experiment with the raw version, but it’s much simpler just to take gelatinized maca root.
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Thanks for reading!