A:  – Fermented soy foods, which include tempeh, natto, soy and tamari sauce are fine. The only type of soy which could be a problem is any supplement in which the isoflavones — the phytoestrogens present in soy beans — are extracted from the whole food and concentrated into a pill. These phytoestrogens combined with a potent type of maca root like Royal Maca, which acts as an adaptogen and helps your body utilize its own hormone production more effectively and in a more balanced way, can actually be unbalancing when combined.

Most women´s health formulas in health food stores contain phytoestrogens. So you need to read the label carefully on the bottle before combining with Royal Maca. The well known ones like black cohosh are easy to spot. But there are hundreds of phytoestrogenic compounds in nature which could be extracted and concentrated in a women´s health product, including lignans. Another ingredient in many of these women´s health products is an adaptogenic botanical.

The Chinese herbal pharmacopeia contains many such herbs and they do not generally combine well with maca root. Royal Maca works very well by itself for the overwhelming majority of women, helping to reduce symptoms of estrogen dominance while raising estrogen levels where estrogen depletion exists (as in women with menopausal hot flashes) that there is no need to look for another product to add as a hormone balancer.

A:  It is not necessary for your daughters to take Royal Maca Plus with DIM. This product is particularly useful for helping to significantly lower a woman’s risk for getting breast cancer but girls have a very low incidence of breast cancer anyway. For half the cost you can have your daughters take the regular Royal Maca. For girls who haven’t had a period for several months we generally recommend 6 capsules a day for a period of 30 days. If they have a period before the end of the 30 day period, they can reduce their dosage to 3 capsules daily, starting from the day they begin to bleed. If this dosage is effective in helping to establish a healthy menstrual cycle for a second month, in the third month have them try taking two capsules daily on an indefinite basis.

Research published in the Journal of Food Chemistry suggests that Cat’s Claw( Uncaria tomentosa) possesses higher antioxidant properties than the fruits, vegetables, grains and other medicinal plants which were also tested.

The Cat’s Claw was tested in two ways: as an aqueous extract (a traditional tea prepared by simmering the bark in hot water) and as an alcoholic extract. Both types of extracts were prepared from the bark as it grows in nature, not a patented formula in which certain types of alkaloids were removed. Both of these extracts were found to contain a high TEAC level. TEAC stands for trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity.

The trolox (a form of Vitamin E) equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay is a popular method for assessing the capacity of a compound to scavenge a form of free radicals known as ABTS*.

ABTS is a chemical compound frequently used by the food industry and agricultural researchers to measure the antioxidant capacities of foods.[1] The ABTS [free] radical form is reactive towards most antioxidants including phenolics, thiols and Vitamin C The reactivity of the various antioxidants tested are compared to that of Trolox, which is a vitamin E analog using the TEAC test. In this case, the ABTS antioxidant capacity of Cat’s Claw—Uncaria tomentosa—was measured and compared to a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains. Cat’s Claw came out on top.

(For more information, see Food Chemistry, Vol. 88, Issue 4, Dec. 2004, pp. 567-570.)

* in biochemistry, 2,2?-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid

A: Doctors in Peru use organic precooked maca to help regulate cystic ovaries. Published research on the effects of maca show that it supports healthy estradiol and progesterone levels and that it reduces DHT levels in animals. Doctors suggest 2 capsules a day for perimenopausal women. You might also try taking at the same time Royal Camu (Camu-Camu) which is very high in natural Vitamin C complex. This product is helpful for modulating hormone balance, reducing your body’s reaction to stress (and these two subjects are interrelated), as well as helping with all kinds of skin conditions.

To read more about the Effect of Maca on Hormonal Functions click here.

I’ve had amazing results preparing the cat’s claw tea and sipping it over a day.

Here is what’s improved:

No more acid indigestion a couple hours after I eat.

Greater energy (unexpected).

Also, strangely, I can eat and digest carbs, sugars better (which I’d really cut down before the tea).

Thanks!
Karen

DIM is converted to red-brown metabolites in the body, thereby causing harmless changes in urine color. The color change is usually unnoticeable in people who consume enough water each day. It only becomes apparent in people who have little water intake. Therefore, by increasing water intake, the urine color change can be reversed back to normal color.

Directions: Take 2 Royal Maca® capsules daily with breakfast.  If you are hypersensitive to herbs or to drugs, take only 1 capsule daily.

If you are on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), please follow directions for getting off HRT before starting Royal Maca®.

Women with skipped periods, hot flashes, and other menopausal symptoms, please read Royal Maca® booklet for more dosing information.

Whole World Botanicals has been surprised and delighted to receive feedback from hundreds of women with hypothyroid issues who have benefited greatly upon taking Royal Maca®.  Most of them were having other hormonal imbalances, such as PMS, perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms and discovered “accidentally” how much better they felt when combing Royal Maca® with their thyroid medication. In some cases, they even faxed WWB their “before” and “after” results of their hormone thyroid test in order to show us how much they had benefited.

Please see the test results of one such woman sent to us.

WARNING: Consult a physician if you are on birth control pills or have a hormone related cancer.  You may consider, with your health care practitioners consent, to take our Royal Maca® Plus with DIM for Women.

Women who want to get off of conventional HRT, bioidentical hormones, precursor hormones such as pregnenolone and HgH or HgH precursors, estrogen suppositories, estrogenic herbs like black cohosh, red clover, or isoflavones of soy need to STOP these hormones and estrogenic herbs, as well as adaptogenic herbs, such as ginseng.

Royal Maca works best by itself.   Although there is no contraindication for using progesterone cream with it, it is probably unnecessary as maca root appears to increase the body’s production of progesterone and testosterone, as well as DHEA.

Going Cold Turkey

It takes about 4 weeks for both animal and plant hormones to leave your body.  Many women find that the least painful way to make the transition from hormone replacement to the maca root is to stop cold turkey for the first two weeks.  If you had hot flashes before you started taking hormones, it is almost certain that they will return.  After two weeks of taking nothing, you can start taking one capsule a day of Royal Maca. At the beginning of the 4th week, you can take two capsules a day.  You will probably continue to experience your hot flashes however.

After four weeks of NO hormones, you can increase your dosage of Royal Maca as follows**:

If your hot flashes are MILD, (1 or 2 a day) take 3 caps (1/2 tsp. of powder daily).

If your hot flashes are MODERATE, (3 - 5 a day or night sweats), you can start with 4 a day.  Evaluate after a week.  Increase to 6 capsules daily if your hot flashes are not 80% better.

If your hot flashes are SEVERE (more than 6 daily and frequent night sweats), start with 6 capsules a day for 5 days.  Then if necessary, increase to 9 a day for another 5 days.  If you still need more Royal Maca to control the hot flashes, you might want to take 2 tsp. of Royal Maca Powder, which is more economical.  Some women might need as much as one tablespoon (= 3 tsp.) a day of Royal Maca Powder.  (One tsp. of powder = 6 caps)

** Women who are petite with light body weight or highly sensitive to small amounts of herbs or pharmaceutical drugs will want to cut the dosages in half.

WARNING: Consult a physician if you are on birth control pills or have a hormone related cancer.  You may consider, with your health care practitioners consent, to take our Royal Maca® Plus with DIM for Women.

4-10 caps 3 times a week:

for men seeking a dramatic effect the same day.

(Usually doesn’t work if you repeat every day.)

WARNING: Consult a physician if you have a hormone related cancer.  You may consider, with your health care practitioners consent, to take our Super Royal Maca® with DIM for Men.

6 caps or one tsp. every day for 30 days OR until period comes–which ever comes first.

If still no period after 30 days: increase to 12 caps or 2 tsp. daily for 30 days or until period comes.

If still no period, she is probably pregnant.

Once period comes, for the next month, reduce dosage to one half of what it was: for most women, that means 3 caps daily or 1/2 tsp. daily.  If period comes within 30 days, can keep on same schedule or can reduce to 2 caps (1/3 tsp) for the third month.  This should then be a steady dosage, but women could try 6 days/week instead of 7.

For Young women with painful periods, heavy periods, PMS, mood swings: 2 caps daily (or 1/3 tsp)

For Perimenopausal Women (women in late 30′s through age 50 who have a period even if irregular: to control PMS, mood swings, migraine headaches, hot flashes, low energy, & to support bone strength:

Start with 2 caps a day (1/3 tsp) for 30 days or until period comes.  If this dosage is not completely effective, go up to 3 caps daily (1/2 tsp) for the second month.  This should work really well.

For Highly Sensitive Women: They should start with as little as 1/2 of one capsule or just a pinch of the Royal Maca and build up slowly from there.

Symptoms of Taking Too Much Royal Maca: Increase in Hot Flashes! Irritability or Anxiety. Insomnia. Headaches.  If this happens, STOP for one day, then cut your dose in half.

WARNING: Consult a physician if you are on birth control pills or have a hormone related cancer.  You may consider, with your health care practitioners consent, to take our Royal Maca® Plus with DIM for Women.