Today I want to shine a spotlight on maca, a herb you’ve probably heard lots about in the wellness space, but for those of us with endo, it can be confusing to know if it’s helpful or whether we should avoid it.

Because maca can help us handle stress and burnout, I thought this busy time of year is a perfect opportunity to talk about it!

Maca is an adaptogen herb, which means it helps our bodies to adapt to physical and emotional stressors. Maca does this by acting on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA axis) to promote a more normalised stress response.

The HPA axis is a system between our brain and adrenal glands that controls our stress response and our cortisol and adrenaline output. If you want to learn more about the HPA axis, I’ve linked to an episode in the show notes.

Read more.

Show Notes

Maca adaptogenic properties

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10910417/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3991026/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3614567/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3614644/

Maca and energy/fatigue

https://www.ffhdj.com/index.php/ffhd/article/view/912

https://ffhdj.com/index.php/ffhd/article/view/912/1603

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212429222003364

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2017/2904951

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813017351681

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1360422/full

Maca and hormones

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405654524001483

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09513590.2024.2360085

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3614604/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6419242/#bibr89-2515690X19829380

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3614596/#R5

https://vuir.vu.edu.au/33971/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2015/949036

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236909766_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

https://journals.ekb.eg/article_79449_fda1706194d865cd287c03d88ef02905.pdf

http://eplant.njau.edu.cn/maca/publication/47.pdf

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/rmb2.12357

Maca isn’t a phytoestrogen

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3614604/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3614596/#R5

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/is-flax-bad-for-endo?rq=flax

Endo and cortisol

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253890701840610

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/tired-all-the-time-hpa-axis-dysfunction-and-endo?rq=HPA%20axis

Maca brands (not sponsored/affiliated)

https://supplementhub.com/en-gb/products/maca-powder-gelatinized-227g-gaia-herbs

Recipe

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/burnout-busting-luteal-phase-malted-milk

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This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson