CHEESESLAVE

As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I suffer from adrenal exhaustion. I’m sure it was caused by the high-stress work I used to do in advertising, compounded by my coffee addiction (which I’ve now kicked — thanks, Dandy Blend!).

Anyhow, about a month or so ago, I started on a supplement called maca.

Maca is a tuber, in the same family as the radish and the turnip, grown in the Andes Mountains in Peru. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

For approximately 2000 years, maca has been an important traditional food and medicinal plant in its growing region. It is regarded as a highly nutritious food and as a medicine that enhances strength and endurance and also acts as an aphrodisiac. During Spanish colonization maca was used as currency. Source: Wikipedia

Maca is used as a hormone regulator — so it helps with symptoms of hormonal imbalances — from PMS to menopause to infertility.

It’s also supposed to be really good for your adrenal glands, which is why I started taking it.

I was on it for about a month or so when I got my period. I was stunned to find that, for the first time ever in my life, I had absolutely no symptoms of PMS.

I’ve always had PMS. Like, always. And it’s always been bad PMS. Such bad cramps that I had to pop ibuprofren like candy.

When I changed my diet and started eating a more WAPF diet (more saturated fats, fewer vegetables oils — except coconut oil and olive oil, pastured meats, raw dairy, etc.), the PMS got a lot better. I’d say the cramping and pain was reduced by half. A pretty substantial improvement!

So you can imagine my astonishment to find that all my PMS symptoms — pain, bloating, cramping, tenderness, irritability, mood swings, etc. — were GONE.

Interestingly, my melasma (hyper-pigmentation, often referred to as “pregnancy mask”) is also starting to clear up. I had forgotten about it because I’ve been wearing bangs. I visited a friend a few weeks ago and she pointed it out — said she could tell that it was definitely lightening.

It makes sense, because I have read that adrenal fatigue causes melasma.

I’m still in a state of amazement. And I’m thrilled that I have proof that I am recovering from adrenal fatigue.

One caveat:

However, maca does contain glucosinolates, which can cause goitres when high consumption is combined with a diet low in iodine. Source: Wikipedia

So if you take maca, you will want to also supplement with Iodoral or Lugol’s to get extra iodine. I am taking 50 mg daily of Iodoral (for one year, at which point I will drop down to a maintenance dose of one pill or 12.5 mg per day), so it should be fine. I personally think everyone should supplement with iodine (12.5 mg daily is considered a maintenance dose for adults).

And I don’t think maca is something that you would need to take forever. It’s something you can take to help with balancing hormones and issues surrounding imbalanced hormones (infertility, low sex drive, menopause, and PMS).

Incidentally, I take 1/2 to 1 tsp of maca per day, in a little kefir or raw milk, along with 1 TBS of coconut oil (when I remember), and I recently started adding 1/2 tsp of bee pollen to the mix.

If you want to know where to get it, I’ve been using two different brands (I got one at the store and then ordered the other online — and have been taking both of them for no particular reason). Maca Magic, which I got at Whole Foods (but you can order online) and the other from Radiant Life Catalog. (And no, I’m not making any money from these people.)

Photo credit: The National Academies Press