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MACA: THE ADAPTOGEN FOR YOU?
Maca is what I refer to as a broad spectrum adaptogen, with strong pro-sexual/performance enhancement properties. Although its popularity is increasing, it still lags behind Rhaponticum Carthamoides Extract, Suma and other adaptogens - thus falling into the category of Moomiyo/Shilajit discussed earlier. Meaning it just may be the "sleeper" adaptogen your physiology responds best to.
Let's take a closer look..
MACA ACTIVES
If you're in it for performance enhancement, it's important to understand where the pro-sexual and performance enhancement qualities originate from. Breaking down its chemical constituents, I see two actives that may be responsible:
1.) Maca contains (1R,3S)-1-methyltetrahydro-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, a molecule which has been shown to benefit the central nervous system.(1) There's evidence this CNS benefit goes back to bringing cortisol into balance, and it's particularly effective during and immediately after peaking 1RM strength where the CNS has been overly taxed (2).
(1) Piacente, Sonia; Carbone, V., Plaza, A., Zampelli, A. & Pizza, C. (2002). "Investigation of the Tuber Constituents of Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.)". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 50 (20): 5621–5625. doi:10.1021/jf020280x. PMID 12236688
(2) Short and Long-Term Physiological Responses of Male and Female Rats to Two Dietary levels of Pre-Gelatinized Maca (Lepidium Peruvianum Chacon)
https://www.ijbs.org/User/ContentFullTex ... artPage=15
2.) Maca also contains a chemical called p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate, which has demomstrated aphrodisiac properties.in several studies (3,4)
(3) Taylor LG (2005). The healing power of rainforest herbs: a guide to understanding and using herbal medicinals. Garden City Park, NY: Square One Publishers. ISBN 0-7570-0144-0.
(4) Clément, Céline; Diaz Grados; Diego A.; Bharathi A.; Khan I. A.; Mayer A. C.; Ponce A.; Dante D.; Manrique I.; Kreuzer M. (2010). "Influence of colour type and previous cultivation on secondary metabolites in hypocotyls and leaves of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers)". JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 90 (5): 861–869.
Collectively, these two are my picks for MACA's "feelable" effects and responsible for its growing popularity among athletes. The real question though, is will it benefit your performance? There is in fact, research supporting the fact that it does in humans. (5)
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19781622 - A pilot investigation into the effect of maca supplementation on physical activity and sexual desire in sportsmen
"Results
ME (Maca Extract) administration significantly improved 40 km cycling time performance compared to the baseline test (P = 0.01), but not compared to the placebo trial after supplementation (P > 0.05). ME administration significantly improved the self-rated sexual desire score compared to the baseline test (P = 0.01), and compared to the placebo trial after supplementation (P = 0.03).
Conclusions
14 days ME supplementation improved 40 km cycling time trial performance and sexual desire in trained male cyclists. These promising results encourage long-term clinical studies involving more volunteers, to further evaluate the efficacy of ME in athletes and normal individuals and also to explore its possible mechanisms of action..."
As we can see here, it took just 2 weeks of supplementation with MACA to observe "significant improvement" in 40km cycling time/libido. That's pretty fast by adaptogen standards, and bodes well for my original recommendation for using MACA during the 2-3 week "Cruise" phase of The Blueprint...
. Little wonder then, feedback from the BP Army oftentimes sees gains not just cemented during Cruise, but ongoing! You can learn more about The Blueprint here...https://bodybuildingsupplements.com/ ... nials.html
So what are the real "actives" involved in MACA's performance enhancing effects? It's anyone's guess... MACA is so rich in both MACRO and MICRO nutrients, any "authority" (including me) that tells you they know is full of it. If you doubt that, take a gander at the swath of what MACA contains...
MACRO NUTRIENTS
59% carbohydrates, 10.2% protein, 8.5% fiber, 2.2% lipids.
Amino Acids: Quite a few including Aspartic Acid, Glutamic acid, Serine, Histidine, Glycine, Threonine, Alanine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Valine, Methionine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, HO- Proline, Proline, Sarcosine
Free Fatty Acids: 20 have been found of which the most abundant are linolenic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid
MICRO NUTRIENTS
Vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, C, D
Minerals:Iron, magnesium, copper, zinc, sodium, potassium, calcium, bismuth, phosphorus, manganese.
Bismuth is known to participate in the processing against gastritis caused by bacteria.
Phosphorus regulates the transmission of neuromuscular chemicals and electrical stimuli. Important for the hemostasis of calcium and the reactions of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins. The body’s chemical energy is stored in phosphate compounds.
Sterols: Campesterol, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol
Alkaloids, Aromatic glucosinolates including: Benzyl glucosinolate, p-methoxybenzyl glucosinolate. These are responsible for activating hormone regulators located in the brain that in turn regulate the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in the blood
Isothyocyanates:benzyl isothiocyanate, p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate
Part food, part supplement. I think it's fair to say MACA's performance enhancement effects are due to both its Macro and Micro nutrient content. We can speculate all day about whether it's the AA's, alkaloids, reduction in cortisol etc. but do you really care? The bottom line is it gives many "clean energy", balances cortisol and imroves physical performance.
Which brings us to...
DOSING AND PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
Burn It Up! from Muscle and Sports Science
https://bodybuildingsupplements.com/energyfatloss.html
A bottle of 60 goes for $29.95 OR there's a buy 3/get 1 free special for $89.85. Each bottle lasts about a month. Quite a bit longer, if you use it strategically as I recommend. A bit more now, on what you get for the extra coin...
BIU contains a generous dose of a premium organic 10:1 maca extract. The other heavy hitters include the known cortisol inhibitor/brain superfood Phosphatidylserine and PeakATP, to improve nutrient uptake and utilization. To this, another adaptogen in the form of legit Korean Red Ginseng and just a smidgeon of caffeine puts this formula over the top. It isn't a rattler like Ephedrine/Caffeine or DMAA. Rather, it imparts a subtle but very "crisp" CNS when hitting the weights and noticeable brain/body boost.
I particularly like dosing it prior to writing and students will appreciate its use when studying long hours/using it to improve recall. In total, there are 22 ingredients in this little bugger and it takes but 2-3 caps/day prior to physical or mental tasks to reap the benefits. It fits the "Cruise" phase of Blueprint like a glove given most are coming off of new PR's, which heavily taxes the CNS.
If you study my train of thought and the research on adaptogens, one thing is clear - They are effective nutraceuticals as standalones, but all the more powerful when combined with other known winners.
Many of you have done exceptionally well with Rhaponticum Carthamoides Extract. Yet when paired with EAA's, methyl donors like TMG which re-cycle protein synthesis in the liver etc. as you see in Synthagen - results are magnified many times over. That feedback is all over the net, but I'll offer just one example here. This guy admittedly ordered Synthagen to prove he'd be a NON-RESPONDER.
Boy was he pleasantly surprised...
"So I promised Mixelflick to shortly write down my thoughts about Mass Pro Synthagen after my 270 caps ran out.
Okay I'm 24 years old, about 175 cm tall and before my experience with synthagen I was around 88.x kg. I've been training for about 6 years now. To really test synthagen I quit taking all other supplements except PWOs and my multivitamin (Animal PAK) I didn't have in mind to actually log/write a review about Mass Pro Synthagen because I was very very skeptical towards it and I got to admit that I just bought it so I could post to prove my point how I'm a non responder to it! crazy yeah I know (My apologies Mixelflick MPS is awesome!)
While being in this calorie deficit I managed to improve almost in every exercise + recovery was still through the roof and I could witness rapid fat loss. The funny part though being when I stepped on the scale after finishing the last capsules of Synthagen I had actually gone up in weight from 88.x kg to 89.x kg. I'm still rubbing my eyes seeing these results as it couldn't have been possible to gain weight and lose fat while in this crazy calorie deficit?"
The point being, if standalone MACA isn't cutting it for you - don't give up. Combination formulas like Burn It Up are designed to magnify the qualities certain adaptogens convey by virtue of their other ingredients. This isn't just marketing hype....
BOTTOM LINE
If you're age 30 or older, feeling run down and could use a libido boost - MACA has a fine track record of delivering the goods. Part food, part supplement it delivers multiple benefits and has a relatively high success rate in the training population. The caveat of course is the same with all adaptogens; You need to find a quality extract and use enough of it to get results. Fortunately, MACA's research points to the fact these should be realized within 2 weeks.
Thus, you should know in short order whether MACA is the right adaptogen for you...[/img]
