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A: Consumers buying herbal products run into this problem all the time. You see wildly different prices on a 2 oz. bottle of an herbal extract made by two different companies. And you begin to wonder how you can evaluate comparative value. Rule No. 1: Look for the strength of the extract on the bottle – or on the description of the product on the Company’s website.

What??? The strength of the extract isn’t listed? This is definitely a bad sign. The company selling an herbal extract should definitely make this information available to you the customer. Here are some typical strengths: 1:4 What this means in the case of a liquid extract is that the extract has been produced by adding 4 gallons of solvent (water, alcohol, glycerin) to one gallon of dried plant material (leaves, roots, or bark) to produce the extract.

If the company states that the strength is 1:2, that means that for every 2 gallons of solvent, one gallon of plant material has been added. If a company’s extract is listed as 1:1 that means for every gallon of liquid solvent, one gallon of plant material has been used. Obviously the 1:1 extract is 4 times as potent as a 1:4 extract. To get the comparative value, multiply the price of 2 oz. of the 1:4 extract by 4 and compare that to the price of 2 oz. of the 1:1 extract. Of course, if the company doesn’t tell you the strength of extract, BUYER BEWARE.

A: The short answer is, “Yes.” BUT if you have an estrogen or testosterone dependent cancer you should do so only under your doctor’s supervision and with his/her consent.

Traditionally, native Peruvians have used maca root to strengthen people who are recovering from illness, who are frail or if children have a “failure to thrive” syndrome. It is considered a vital energy boosting tonic. Recent research has shown the anti-inflammatory effects of maca root if taken at its minimum effective dosage.

Royal Maca should be fine unless the patient has a hormone-dependent cancer (such as prostate or testicular) and part of his treatment is to block the body's production of male hormones. In Peru, maca root is commonly used to strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, lift the mood and provide extra vitality for cancer patients.

Mainstream medicine uses estrogen-blocking drugs as part of the treatment for women with estrogen-dependent cancer and testosterone-blocking drugs as part of the treatment for men with prostate cancer. Since the use of maca root encourages normal, healthy hormone levels, it is quite possible that your doctor will not want you to take this product while you are in treatment for these kinds of cancer.

                                          -- Copyright 2009© by Viana Muller

A: Yes, Royal Maca can be very helpful for adrenal fatigue. The maca root is an adaptogenic botanical and as such its therapeutic benefits are believed to derive primarily from its effect on the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands are considered “master glands” of the body. Normally, a perimenopausal woman would take two capsules (1/3 tsp.) daily of Royal Maca – or at the most three caps or ½ tsp. if the lower dose didn’t seem to help much. (People weighing 115 or less and very sensitive people would start at one capsule ONLY per day.) But people with adrenal fatigue issues are often able to utilize 5 capsules or one tsp. daily of Royal Maca and may need that much in order to feel the full benefit. CAUTION: Start with the regular dosage suggested above and only increase dosage every two weeks if desired.

-- Viana Muller, Ph.D., Co-founder, Whole World Botanicals

Many women write to tell me that they have uterine fibroids and wanting to know if it safe for them to take Royal Maca. There are no studies on this subject, but more than a dozen years of reports of clinical cases to me have shown the following: we have not had a single adverse event reported to us in this time. In fact, a number of women claim that their fibroids have either shrunk or completely disappeared. This claim has been echoed by several health care practitioners as well. Whole World Botanicals does not sell Royal Maca to “cure” fibroid tumors. In fact, if you have one or more large fibroids, we strongly urge you to work with a health care practitioner who can measure your fibroid prior to starting Royal Maca and then again after two or three months of taking the product. Each person is different and it is important that your fibroids be monitored while you are taking the product.

-- Viana Muller, Ph.D., Co-founder, Whole World Botanicals

I read with interest the article on Kidney Stones at www.mercola.com. There was some excellent advice about life style changes which can help prevent kidney stones. And Dr. Mercola mentions a whole list of herbs available in the U.S. that have traditionally been used for kidney health and kidney stones. But curiously, the greatest herb in the world for the kidneys was not mentioned! I guess it takes time to get the word out. The truly remarkable Peruvian herb, Phyllanthus niruri, also called Chanca Piedra (we market it as Royal Break-Stone and it comes as a Tea, liquid extract (1:1) and as capsules) which not only has been used for centuries to break up and expel stones (hence the popular name "chanca" -- to break and "piedra" - stone, but which has excellent research to back up its reputed qualities.

Here are a couple of citations: Urology Research, Oct.; 32 (5):362-6. Nishiura, JL, et al. "Phyllanthus niruri normalizes elevated urinary calcium levels in calcium stone forming (CSF) patients.”

Also: BJU Int. 2002, June; 89 (9): 829-34. Freitas AM, et. al. "The effect of Phyllanthus niruri on urinary inhibitors of calcium oxalate crystallization and other factors associated with renal stone formation.”

Dr. Mercola is highly respected for his cutting edge information related to natural and holistic medicine and has one of the most popular health-related sites on the web. On June 18, 2009 on his website (www.mercola.com), he endorsed Royal Maca® as far superior in safety to bioidentical hormones for relief of perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms. He noted that Royal Maca is a adaptogenic botanical from Peru and should be purchased over other “cheaper” products in the same category, because it is highly effective. 

Read full article here.

about our Royal Maca® products.
our Royal Maca® products.

A: Dear Beverly,
Any time a woman tells me that Royal Maca was working great for her for several months and now it’s not, I know that all she has to do is reduce her dosage and it will be working great for her again!  Maca root’s effects are cumulative, and if you take too high a dosage FOR YOU, the results will not be good.  That’s why I always recommend starting low and evaluating after every 5 days, asking yourself the questions:  “Are my symptoms 80% better than before I started taking Royal Maca?”  If the answer is, “only 50% better,” then you can increase your dosage a little, and evaluate again 5 days later.  When you hit that “80% better” mark, that’s your correct dosage!  Over a month or two, the effects will only get better and better.  If things stop getting better, you know you have to stop taking the product for one day and then reduce your dosage a little.

about our Royal Maca® products.
our Royal Maca® products.

Copyright 2009 © by Viana Muller

A: Dear Kathie,
You can take a break if you feel that the product is not working quite as well as it was before.  Since maca tends to have a cumulative effect, over time, you may need less on a daily basis than you did before. Some people will reduce their dosage.  Others will choose to take periodic breaks as a way of accomplishing a better hormone balance. The break can be one day a week or two days a week.  Some people may never need to take a break.  Others will find that they are taking “accidental breaks” by forgetting or running out of product.  All of this is O.K. 

about our Royal Maca® products.
our Royal Maca® products.

Copyright 2009 © by Viana Muller

A: What Whole World Botanicals advises only applies to Royal Maca., our brand, which is so much more powerful and effective than most other brands of maca root on the market. If you take an inferior maca product with very little potency, then you might be able to combine that with taking hormones.

Most of the maca root on the market is not Certified Organic  that is, third party, USDA approved, where there is independent verification that the product has truly been organically grown. Those other maca products have been produced with chemical fertilizers, producing a denatured, weaker maca.

Most of the other maca root available has not been sundried for 6 to 8 weeks. It has been bought fresh, washed and tumble dried for 4 or 5 hours in a dryer similar to a clothes dryer. Drying maca in this way does not allow the glucosinolates in the maca roots to partially convert to isothiocynateswhich are one of the principle chemical actives in the maca plant which helps to balance hormones.

And very important, most maca root available in the U.S. is raw maca  a form not acceptable to native Peruvians and never consumed that way. Recently, a Peruvian university conducted a two generation mouse study in which it compared the birth weight and growth rate of baby mice in three different groups: a group in which raw maca was fed to the parent mice; a group in which precooked maca was fed to the parent mice; and a control group of parent mice which were fed NO maca  just animal feed. Guess which group had the lowest birth weight of baby mice and the slowest growth rate? If you guessed the group fed RAW MACA  you are right. The control group fed NO MACA had a better birth weight and growth rate of its baby mice. The group fed PRE-COOKED MACA ( like Royal Maca.) had the highest birth weight and growth rate of its baby mice!

about our Royal Maca® products.
our Royal Maca® products.

A:Whole World Botanicals frequently gets this question from potential customers and we are happy to report that overwhelmingly we get feedback from our customers that Royal Maca® has been highly effective in regulating their menstrual cycle.  Very often these women have first gone to their physician to discover if there is some underlying cause for their irregular periods but their doctor has not been able to discover the reason.  Typical of the mail that we receive on this subject is the email that came in last week:

The reason I started Royal Maca was to regulate my menstrual cycle, my husband and I were trying to get pregnant for the first time. It took a few months before I was regular but within two months of being regular I got pregnant!  I also noticed my overall emotions/mood had improved. I continue to take the Royal Maca to continue to keep my hormones regular and to sustain my pregnancy. I will more than likely keep taking Royal Maca after pregnancy mainly for my mood. I am very happy with this product.  – H.H.

I wrote back to this customer and asked her to tell her doctor that she is continuing to take the Royal Maca during pregnancy (2 caps daily). Since Whole World Botanicals is not aware of any study documenting the safety of the continual use of maca throughout pregnancy, we ask that customers discuss this with their physicians and follow their advice.  We are very happy for her though, that Royal Maca was so effective in regulating her cycle and helping her establish optimum reproductive function.

about our Royal Maca® products.
our Royal Maca® products.

A: Not at all!

It's a better value than other leading brands of Maca because it is so potent and concentrated that the suggested serving sizes are much smaller.

our Royal Maca® products.

A: A pregnant woman should consult with her physician about this subject.  That is why we have this Warning on every bottle of Royal Maca.  Having said that, Whole World Botanicals stands by that as our last word, we can share some Traditional Usage of the maca root in the Central Sierra of Peru where it originates.  One of the main uses for maca root (cooked) over the centuries has been to increase fertility.  It is difficult to get pregnant at 14,000 ft. above sea level, where the maca growers live.  Men have a lower sperm count and women are not as fertile either.  We have many testimonials from women who have even failed to conceive using fertility drugs who have had conceived after using Royal Maca!  There actually are no human studies to the best of my knowledge of the use of maca root for conception.  However, there are numerous animal studies.  At higher doses of precooked maca powder or maca extract, these animals are producing twins and triplets!  But again, we say, do consult your physician and make your decisions with her approval.

in our herbal research library.
Royal Maca® products.

A: So many women have multiple issues going on, like you do!  And the beautiful thing is that Royal Maca will probably help with them all. I would suggest that you stop taking DHEA once you start taking the Royal Maca®. The two together tend to be over stimulating for a lot of women.  Royal Maca usually helps improve adrenal function, as well as thyroid functioning. If you are taking thyroid medication, don’t stop though.  The medication and the Royal Maca work well together for most women.  Royal Maca also helps estrogen – progesterone balance, so you might want to taper off your bio-identical progesterone gradually. 

You can start with 2 capsules (1/3 tsp.) daily, best taken in the morning, with or without food.  If after one month you feel about 80% better with all of your symptoms, well that’s a success story and you’ve found your right dosage.  If you’re only feeling about 50% better, then you might try alternating between 2 caps (1/3 tsp.) one day and 3 caps (1/2 tsp.) the next for the following month.  Just by trial and error, little by little you can find your optimum dosage.

in our herbal research library.
our Royal Maca® products.

A: Pre-cooked (gelatinized) maca root—which is the ingredient of Royal Maca—is much purer than raw maca powders which are so commonly sold.  If kept out of the refrigerator, which tends to be humid and a breeding ground for bacteria and mold—it will be fit for human consumption for years past its expiration date.  It has a really long shelf life because its water content is so low.  In fact, it is 20% lower than raw maca root powder.  This much lower water weight of the powder also makes it much more potent. The serving size for most purposes is tiny.  A little bit goes a long way!   For this reason, Royal Maca® also offers much better value. You’re not paying for water—you’re paying for maca.  Look at the number of servings per bottle.  Then look at the price.  All this, and its Certified Organic as well—a premium quality sundried maca product.

in our herbal research library.
Royal Maca® products.

A: Maca root definitely has adaptogenic properties and as such, will often help raise blood pressure if it is low and will help lower it if it is high.  However, it’s also considered a “warming herb” to use the Chinese herbal classification, and when you take too much maca it is “unbalancing” – and could increase your high blood pressure.  Used in very small amounts – say, one capsule daily, it has actually helped significantly decrease high blood pressure.  It’s important to keep a close watch on your blood pressure when you use Royal Maca to determine what your optimal dosage is.

in our herbal research library.
our Royal Maca® products.

Q: Why should certified organic, precooked Royal Maca be in every sports supplement formula in every health food store in America?

A: Because maca root is an anabolic adaptogenic botanical, increasing energy and stamina, supporting the adrenal glands and increasing Igf (insulin growth factor) in all of the tissues of the human body.  Insulin growth factor is the precursor to Human Growth Hormone so vital to building muscles and collagen.  Unlike some other ingredients used in sports formulas, it does not give a temporary energy boost, only to deplete the physiology of the athlete on a long term basis.  It optimizes physiological responses of the body without testosterone supplements.

an in depth article on maca and its effect on hormonal functions.
our Royal Maca® products.

A: Men often contact Whole World Botanicals wanting to know how much Royal Maca to take.  One man who recently emailed us wanted to increase his testosterone level, diagnosed as low. (He is 70 years old.)  I told him about the study which shows that men with a normal testosterone level experience a tremendous increase in libido taking maca concentrate and the experience of Dr. Eugene Shippen’s patients who were diagnosed with low testosterone levels. (He is a nationally known M.D. who specializes in men’s health issues.)

Scientific research on the maca root suggests that it improves tissue levels of Igf (insulin growth factor).  Insulin growth factor is a precursor for human growth hormone.  This hormone declines as human beings age, making glucose metabolism less efficient.  The maca root improves Igf, thus promoting healthy glucose metabolism.  People suffering from borderline high blood sugar have been able to normalize and stabilize their blood sugar levels, thus improving their overall health. 

how Royal Maca can help stabilize blood glucose levels.
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