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The Hormone Replacement
(Therapy) Properties of Maca Root
Notes on articles and research findings
Maca Laboratory Study
and Report
Source: Dr. Gloria Chacon de Popivici,
Lima, Peru
Effects of Maca on the
Endocrine Glands
Dr. Gloria Chacon isolated four alkaloids
from the maca root and carried out animal
studies with male and female rats given
either powdered maca root or alkaloids
isolated from the roots. In comparison
with the animal control groups, those
receiving either root powder or alkaloids
showed multiple egg follicle maturation in
females; and in males, significantly
higher sperm production and motility rates
than in control groups. Dr. Chacon
established that it was the alkaloids in
the maca root, not its plant hormones,
that produced fertility effects on the
ovaries and testes of the rats. "These
effects are measurable within 72 hours of
dosing the animals", she offered in a
recent telephone interview from Lima,
Peru.
Through the experiments,
she deduced that the alkaloids were acting
on the hypothalamus-pituitary gland, which
explains why both male and female rats
were affected in a gender-appropriate
manner. This also explains why the effects
in human beings are not limited to ovaries
and testes, but also act on the adrenals,
giving a feeling of greater energy and
vitality, and on the pancreas and thyroid
as well.
Implications of Dr.
Chacon's discovery of the pituitary
stimulating effects of maca are enormous.
What it appears to mean is that
hormone-replacement therapy, even the
natural varieties, will no longer be the
gold standard for optimising a holistic
point of view.
Alternative to HRT
It is important to remember that maca does
not itself contain any hormones, but its
action on the body jogs the pituitary into
producing the precursor hormones which
ultimately end up raising oestrogen,
progesterone and testosterone levels, as
well as helping to balance the adrenal
glans, the thyroid and the pancreas. But
this occurs naturally, not with time-bomb
drugs which throw the entire body into a
dangerous state of confusion.
Dr. Jorge Malaspina, a
respected cardiologist, has been using
maca in his practice in Lima, Peru, for
over a decade. He says, "Maca does not
cause the ovaries in women to atrophy, as
conventional hormone replacement therapy
does." This means that maca may be
discontinued at any time without danger.
He adds, "Different medicinal plants work
on the ovaries by stimulating them. With
maca, though, we should say that it
'regulates' the organs of internal
secretion, such as the pituitary, the
adrenal glands, and the pancreas. He has
also found mace to be effective even on
women who have undergone complete
hysterectomies. He describes one patient
who had a serum oestradiol level of 15,
which is very low. After two months on
maca it went up to 75. He says that a
level above 60 is an adequate
postmenopausal level. "Maca enables the
adrenals to make sufficient hormones to
avoid symptoms", he says.
Dr. Malaspina strongly
prefers maca therapy to HRT. "The presence
of outside hormones circulating in the
system sends a message to the pituitary
and the hypothalamus that there is a
sufficient quantity of hormones in the
body, and so they stop producing them.
When menopause arrives, then, the ovaries
are atrophied and do not produce the
oestrogen and progesterone which the body
requires minimally to function. For this
reason, I encourage women to start with
maca before menopause. It seems to help
the endocrine system to stay in balance."
Article: Nurse
Practitioner's notes and testimonial
Source: Stephanie Sulger-Smith, RN, MS
Results
for a Nurse
Practitioner and
Her
Patients
From her White Plains, New York, clinic,
nurse-practitioner Stephanie Sulter-Smith,
RN, MS, says that she read an article
about postmenopausal health which
discussed Maca. At her clinic she offers
nutritional counselling for a variety of
conditions. 'I had been prescribing black
cohosh, dong quai, oil of evening
primrose, vitamin E and other natural
remedies to women with perimenopausal
symptoms. But when I began using these
remedies to help with my own hot flashes
and other symptoms of approaching
menopause, I didn't get the relief I
needed. So I acquired a supply of maca
powder and took it as advised. Almost
immediately, my hot flashes disappeared
and my energy level went up. My response
to maca was surprising to my gynecologist,
who insisted that I undergo a series of
laboratory studies, including estrogen
levels, uterine monograms and others. They
all turned out normal. I haven't had a hot
flash since the beginning of November
1997, and I feel fabulous. When I told my
patients about maca, they tried it and
found freedom from their perimenopausal
and menopausal symptoms."
"One patient who has been
taking maca for over a year had a series
of bone density studies done that showed
increasing density in the spine. Other
case histories exhibit similar positive
results from taking maca. In fact, most of
the women taking the root powder report
that they feel less fatigue, greater
energy, are less susceptible to stress,
and do not experience hot flashes or night
sweats. There are always a few individuals
who will show an allergic reaction, or who
fall into a group of women or men for whom
a pituitary stimulator such as maca is
contraindicated in the absence of studies
that prove its safety. These groups
include men with a high PSA level or a
history of prostate cancer. Men using maca
on a regular basis should undergo periodic
PSA tests. Women with a history of breast
cancer or other types of hormone-related
cancer also fall into this group."
Article: Reprinted
from Nature & Health Magazine, December
1999/January 2000
Maca: Discover how this
new phytonutrient can ease menopausal
symptoms
Rather than hormone replacement therapy
(HRT), millions of women are putting their
faith in a remedy which has been used for
10,000 years, which is safe and amazingly
effective: a cruciferous root vegetable
from Peru called maca. Anthropologist Dr.
Viana Muller has brought this
extraordinary remedy to the attention of
the Western world. "Once in a decade a
remedy used by native peoples for
thousands of years comes to our attention
and it seems so important to health that
we wonder how we ever got along without
it," Dr. Muller says. "Maca is that kind
of supplement. Now women have an
alternative to hormone replacement therapy
drugs. Maca works in an entirely different
and more satisfactory way for most women
than phytoestrogen herbs like cohosh and
licorice root."
And men, too, find that
maca can counteract the difficulties they
may experience in maintaining good sexual
relationships as they age, due to a
general slowing down in the output of the
endocrine glands."
The scientist responsible
for much of the current knowledge of the
maca root is Dr. Gloria Chacon de Popivici,
a biologist trained at the University of
San Marcos, in Lima, Peru. Dr. Chacon says
that maca root works in a fundamentally
different way from HRT, promoting optimal
functioning of the hypothalamus and the
pituitary, thereby improving the
functioning of all the endocrine glands.
Dr. Chacon has done the most important
scientific work to date on the maca plant.
Dr. Muller says,
"Implications of Dr. Chacon's discovery of
the pituitary-stimulating effects of maca
are enormous.
What it means is that
hormone replacement therapy, even the
natural varieties, will no longer be the
gold standard for optimising health from a
holistic point of view."
Article: Maca Provides
Benefit Following Hysterectomy
Source: Dr. Hugo Malaspina, MD and
cardiologist, Lima, Peru
Maca
Provides Benefit
Following
Hysterectomy
Dr. Malaspina has found maca to be
effective even for women who have
undergone hysterectomies. He discussed a
49 year old woman who had a hysterectomy
eight years ago, although she still
retained her ovaries.
"The woman was beginning
to get menopausal symptoms - hot flashes,
cold feet, depression, tachycardia, some
constipation and some bone loss. Because
she had breast implants, usual hormone
replacement therapy was not an option for
her," explained Dr. Malaspina. "I started
her on maca and within three months the
depression, constipation, and hot flashes
cleared up. Based on my experience with
some other patients, I expect that her
bone density will improve as well, but
that will take longer."
When I examined her the
blood serum estradiol level was 15, which
is very low, and she was experiencing hot
flashes. Two months after she began taking
maca I retested her, and the woman had a
level of 75. Anything above 60 is probably
an adequate postmenopausal level. Maca
enabled the adrenals to make sufficient
hormones to avoid symptoms," he said. Dr.
Malaspina adamantly prefers maca therapy
to HRT. [In HRT treatment], "presence of
the outside hormone circulating in the
system sends a message to the pituitary
and the hypothalamus that there is a
sufficient quantity of hormones in the
body, and so they stop producing them.
When menopause arrives, then, the ovaries
are atrophied and do not produce the
estrogen and progesterone which the body
requires minimally to function. For this
reason, I encourage women to start with
maca before menopause. It seems to help
the endocrine system to stay in balance."
Note and Disclaimer:
This information is presented only as
material of general interest and not as a
prescription for any specific person or
any condition in a specific case. We do
not claim that any of these experiences
will be duplicated by others, and we
encourage everyone to seek the aid of a
qualified health practitioner for advice
pertaining to her/his particular condition
and needs.
Copyright Herbs America
Network. Reproduced by permission.
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