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Maca for Adrenal Fatigue

• Maca can balance your hormones. But how does it do that?
• If it works as a stimulant, will it make your adrenal fatigue worse?

Your immediate reaction to Maca is hard to predict. It seems to depend on how far along your adrenal fatigue is, and how sensitive you are to supplements.

Some people get a nice boost in energy. Some get increased anxiety. Some get an increase in energy, followed by a crash (that's what happened to me).

Maca has been shown to act as an adaptogen⁴, meaning it can balance hormones in a positive manner, without any negative affects.

However, Maca can also act as a stimulant, which makes it a risky adrenal fatigue supplement.

In general, it seems the more advanced your adrenal fatigue is, the more likely it will act as a stimulant.

As described below (forum posts), some people have found Maca very effective for treating adrenal fatigue.

The question is ... for those people that is does provide more energy, how does Maca do that? Long term, will this boost in energy make your adrenal fatigue worse?

Maca Increases Energy and Libido

If you are searching for adrenal fatigue treatment options, you probably suffer from low energy and libido. These are common adrenal fatigue symptom.

Maca has been found to increase libido, energy and general feeling of well being^{1, 2}. Treatment with Maca has been shown to result in a significant improvement in erectile dysfunction ¹.

Maca was also found to reduce sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women³.

Low energy and libido are a couple of classic adrenal fatigue symptoms that I am sure you would love to eliminate. But how does Maca do this?

Hormone Balancing effects of Maca

There is no question that Maca has the ability to produce many positive physiological changes. Maca does not contain any phyto-hormones (plant based hormones). Yet it is able to produce many positive changes in hormone levels, which can actually be measured.

  ... Maca-GO acted as a toner of hormonal processes along the axis Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovaries, significantly stimulating production of estrogen without significant affect on progesterone, with a simultaneous suppression of blood FSH, LH, T3, Cortisol and ACTH levels, together with an increase in blood Fe and bone density index, as well as alleviation of menopausal symptoms .....after two months of Maca treatment. ⁴

Now THAT is a lot of positives. If you are struggling with adrenal fatigue, the ability of Maca to balance hormones is very attractive.

The question is .. if Maca does not contain any phyto-hormones .... how does it create these positive changes?

There are some hints in the same study that Maca produces some of it's effects by stimulating glands.

  The multi-functional effects of Maca on endocrine relationships may also explain reports in the literature, of its positive influence on stimulation of endocrine glands in regulating hormonal balances in the body⁴

  .....Maca exerts its expected (and observed for centuries), therapeutic action on the body by stimulating the pituitary to produce and secrete the precursor hormones, which in tern, elevate estrogen, and testosterone levels, with simultaneous help in balancing the adrenal glands,⁴

The implication that it works as a stimulant even as it balances hormones explains my reaction to trying maca for adrenal fatigue. I felt better for a couple of weeks, but then I experienced a crash.

Forum Posts: Maca for Adrenal Fatigue

The following are some forum posts on Curezone.com related to people with adrenal fatigue using Maca.

Next is someone who experienced anxiety and shortness of breath.

  I have been trying Maca powder for a days and I have had nothing but bad reactions. It makes me very breathless and anxious. ^{post by sobeman88}

Here is a forum post from someone with adrenal fatigue who tried Maca:

  I also make maca shakes, smoothies, or just add to milk or juice. It really does work and the thing I like the most is that it's a herb!!!! I have soooooo much energy, ^{post by Robie}

However, if you read through the rest of the forum posts by Robie, Maca did not solve her adrenal fatigue in the long term.

Here is a forum post from someone who experienced the same thing I did. Maca gave them a nice boost, but ultimately caused a set back in their adrenal fatigue recovery.

  Maca will make your libido higher and your ejaculations larger in my experience but it seemed to accelerate my adrenal decay. Definitely an stimulant and an aphrodisiac. ^{post by Blistering Fate}

Summary

The following post (by jameskep37) perfectly summarizes my own experiencing trying stimulating herbs for adrenal fatigue.

  I gave up on trying to use herbs for energy. ..... The herbs will work for about 4-5 days and then actually do the opposite...make me tired. ^{post by jameskep37}

It doesn't matter if it is Maca, Rhodiola, Ginseng, or any other stimulant. They might make you feel better for a while ... but will very likely make your adrenal worse in the long run.

See the article Supplements to Avoid for other supplements you should approach with caution.

If your adrenal fatigue is not too bad, you may be able to use Maca to give you a boost, maybe for a long time. But it is likely making you slowly worse.

People that are already well along into Stage 3 adrenal fatigue seem to be less able to handle any stimulation without a crash.

Stimulating herbs do not address the root cause, they do not correct mineral imbalances or deficiencies. There are safer options.

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References

1. Effect of Lepidium meyenii (MACA) on sexual desire and its absent relationship with serum testosterone levels in adult healthy men
2. Subjective effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) extract on well-being and sexual performances in patients with mild erectile dysfunction: a randomised, double-blind clinical trial.
3. Beneficial effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on psychological symptoms and measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women are not related to estrogen or androgen content
4. Hormone-Balancing Effect of Pre-Gelatinized Organic Maca (Lepidium peruvianum Chacon): (III) Clinical responses of early-postmenopausal women to Maca in double blind, randomized, Placebo-controlled, crossover configuration, outpatient study