Nutritional value of maca
Maca (also known as Maca) is a LEPIDOPTERA plant in Cruciferae, which is wild in the Andes of South America, or artificially planted in south-central Peru, Lijiang, Shangri-La, Zhaotong, Qujing, Jiuzhaigou, Tibet, Xinjiang and other places. Its rhizome is shaped like a radish, which is golden or yellow, red, purple, blue, black or green (the darker the color, the better the price.
Laboratory research shows that the content of protein and cellulose in Maka root is over 10%, and the carbohydrate is 59%. It also contains minerals such as zinc, calcium, iron, titanium, rubidium, potassium, sodium, copper, manganese, magnesium, strontium, phosphorus and iodine, as well as vitamins A, E, C and B/kloc-0. Most of them are unsaturated fatty acids (in which linoleic acid and linolenic acid exceed 53%), and they also contain alkaloids, glucosinolates and their decomposition products, benzyl isothiocyanate, sterols, polyphenols, Maca alkaloids, Maca amide, Maca dilute and other active ingredients.
Maca can provide a lot of heat energy, and its fresh roots can be made into cold dishes, fried with meat or other vegetables, or boiled with water or milk after drying. In the country of origin, people often drink fresh roots with honey and juice, which can make people full of energy and energy.
Can maca be aphrodisiac?
Both Chinese medicine and western medicine rarely study the efficacy of maca. Animal experiments have shown that maca has a certain effect on anti-fatigue, enhancing immunity, improving sexual function and fertility after taking a certain dose and time, but it is by no means quick-acting. Some foreign studies have said that maca contains maca amide and macaroni, which has a significant effect on balancing human hormone secretion, but some papers have said that double-blind experiments have found that maca is no different from placebo in this respect.
Maca products are obviously "national food health word G" functional food, and the approved health care function is "enhancing immunity and relieving physical fatigue", but many advertisements claim that they are drugs, which can strengthen yang and improve sexual ability after taking them. These are all empty words about Maca. Some products were notified by the US Food and Drug Administration for exaggerating curative effect and illegal propaganda.
There is market chaos in maca sales.
Maca industry is still a new thing in China, and there is no unified evaluation standard. Its planting, drying and product processing are demanding, but these processes are tricky, the market source is unknown, and it is difficult to distinguish good from bad. Maca can be seen in pharmacies and health care products markets, and there are many franchise stores. The sales of online stores are also very hot. The price was about 2000 yuan /50 grams a few years ago, and now it is about 178 huangmaka.
Some merchants desperately clamor that their products are authentic South American goods. However, in 2003, the Peruvian government issued two decrees prohibiting the export of pure natural maca plants, seeds and primary processed maca products. Only deep-processed maca powder can be exported. The maca roots claimed to be imported from Peru in the market are obviously smuggled or counterfeit.
Public health is mainly controlled by the Ministry of Health, the US Food and Drug Administration and other administrative departments. So what do these departments think of Maca? Maca is only a new resource food approved by the state, which can be used as a raw material for health food, but it is not a medicine.
China Food and Drug Administration has approved some domestic and imported health foods to use Maca as raw materials or one of them, such as Maca Yikang brand Maca American ginseng chewable tablets, Maca American ginseng capsules, Maca Rhodiola capsules and other 25 kinds. Many health foods containing maca contain dual-purpose raw materials such as American ginseng and rhodiola. Among the functions of these functional foods, the contribution of Maca is questionable.
Special warning not to deify and blindly pursue Maca from Peru. Maca is not magical. When local people make soup, they will put maca as an ingredient, just like China people add ginseng, astragalus root and medlar. Maca is only a new resource food and agricultural product in China, which has certain effects, but it is not as magical as advertised. At least there is no conclusive evidence that it can improve sexual ability and fertility. At least South Americans are not the best in the world in terms of sexual happiness and fertility.
The individual feelings of the public are not confirmed by scientific groups, and some of them may be true, but the possibility of psychological suggestion or other ways to produce results is not ruled out. Because people's constitutions are different, even if they are effective, they cannot be generalized simply. If we want to prove a certain curative effect, we must prove it through strictly designed and standardized experiments and routine double-blind controlled human trials with scientific experimental data.
There are contraindications or precautions for eating maca. Patients with thyroid nodules need a low iodine diet. Maca, especially the dark one, is rich in iodine, which may lead to goiter. Use it with caution. Disabled for those who are allergic to Maca; Pregnant women, lactating women, infants and adolescents are not suitable for eating maca.