On the therapeutic use of Maca
On May 20, 1997, Dr. Hugo Malaspina, who practiced for years as
a neurologist before beginning a practice based on complementary
medicine involving the use of herbs, agreed to be interviewed by
Viana Muller, Ph.D., Founder, Whole World Botanicals on his use
of the herb maca(tm) (Lepidiium meyenii/peruvianum) in his practice.
VM: How did you first hear about maca?
Dr M: The first contact I had with maca was seven years
ago. There was a circle of elderly gentlemen, a bit playful, who
wanted to maintain their sexual activity. Well, one of them had
heard about the properties of maca, and so at their social get-togethers,
they began to consume maca together. Within this circle was an 88
year-old gentleman, who had a sexual relationship once a week, and
he was able to perform. And they all had their sexual relationships
going well, which was notable since they were all above 70 years
in age.
VM: You have told me that you use maca in your practice
for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. What are the benefits
of this?
Dr M: I can tell you the following: the women who use maca
are not going to have peri-menopausal symptoms. I have seen this
in many patients, but, of course, that is not enough. What is needed
is a double-blind study with a control group. But I am absolutely
certain that maca can substitute perfectly for nature herself-or,
rather, not substitute but continue nature, because the mechanism
of action is simple. Because it is not acting from outside-from
introducing something into the body from outside-that is, introducing
hormones into the body. In some cases, this may be necessary, but
in general-no. It is only necessary to see to it that the ovaries
do not completely atrophy. So that the ovaries continue to produce
more than the minimum amount of estrogen necessary, in order that
we don't run into problems later. And if the ovaries have been removed
from the body, so that the adrenal glands can be in the condition
to continue to produce the minimum quantity of estrogen necessary
to avoid problems.
VM: Oh, it works on women who've had hysterectomies? That's
important, because I've read that more than one million women in
the U.S. have had complete hysterectomies-and they no longer have
their ovaries. It's really an abuse of the doctors to so regularly
remove a woman's ovaries.
Dr M: Yes, that's true. And then it becomes necessary to
use hormone replacement therapy, which carried its own risks,and
its own economic benefits (for the pharmaceutical companies)! That's
why it's difficult to find a scientific group to finance a study
of the use of maca in place of hormone replacement therapy. Because
the study would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
There are different medicinal plants that work in different ways on
the ovaries-that stimulate them. Maca is one of them, but we should
use the word "regulate" the ovarian function instead of "stimulate."
Maca regulates the organs of internal secretion, such as the pituitary,
the adrenal glands, the pancreas, etc.
VM: What scientific information is available on maca?
Dr M: In addition to the information we have from Dr. Chacon,
there has also been scientific research from some North American
and English scientist who were studying all of the pathologies of
people living at high altitudes-that is, about 4,000 meters. These
are precisely the people who cultivate maca because this is where
maca is grown. Well, they observed that the women there had no post-menopausal
problems. Something that they thought was quite exceptional.
VM: What types of problems
Dr M: The typical problems of hot flashes, depression, osteoporosis,
cardiac circulatory problems, etc.-all of the problems are much
more evident now than in previous generations, because after menopause
women use to live maybe 15 or 20 years more. Now they regularly
live another 25 or 30 years more.
VM: Do you know how much maca these women were eating? If
you translate what they were eating into dry powdered maca, for
example, how many teaspoons were they eating?
Dr M: Well, one small dried plant root equals about one
teaspoon of dried powdered root. Let's say, about one teaspoon 3
times a day. For perimenopausal women-that is, women who are anovulatory.
For these women, to use hormones derived from an outside source
causes their ovaries to effectively atrophy. Because later they
stop producing hormones. The fact that there is a sufficient level
of hormones in the blood sends a message to the pituitary and the
hypothalamus indicating that there is a sufficient quantity of hormones
in the body, and for that reason they can stop producing them. And
then when menopause arrives, there is almost a complete atrophy
of the ovaries, which means that there is practically an absence
of estrogen in the body-which then causes all of these other symptoms.
Because the body requires a minimum amount of estrogen and progesterone
in the body in order to maintain a functional equilibrium in the
body. So, everything has stopped. Then the woman needs a continuous
hormone replacement therapy since her own body no longer puts out
its own hormones. For this reason, we are giving maca to women who
are perimenopausal or who are just starting menopause. Maca from
what we have observed of its effects, by the results we have obtained,
has a type of stimulating effect on the ovaries- the minimum quantity
that is necessary.
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VM: From the experience of some of the postmenopausal women
in the U.S. who are using maca, after taking maca, , one or two
teaspoons a day for several weeks-they begin to feel some tenderness
in their breasts. Why is that? How do you respond to such a situation?
Dr M: Yes, this can happen. Some women notice changes in
their breasts using maca, others don't. Generally, what we have
found is that women who have had a tendency to have cystic breasts
or who have previously had some type of pathology--but some kind
of dysfunction in this aspect. Nevertheless, we have not had any
reports of any kind of breast cancer resulting in women who are
using maca. It appears that the estrogenic effects of maca are not
of the same type as the estrogenic problems which can unleash a
series of events leading to breast cancer. What should these women
do who have the sore breasts -- cut back on the maca?
Dr M: Yes, also it would be advisable for them to have a
periodic check of their hormone levels to make sure that their estrogen
and progesterone levels are at the normal level and in balance.
But often these changes in the breasts are temporary and they disappear
in time.
VM: For how long does the pain usually last?
Dr. M: For about a month, or a month and a half at the longest, in
the great majority of cases. For that reason, we don't interrupt their
treatment for this reason. We may reduce the dosage though. We advise
using maca on an off-and-on basis, [6 days on, one day off] once their symptoms have stabilized [after 2 or 3 months of use].
VM: You mentioned to me that you consider maca to be an
effective-and superior-substitute for a pharmaceutical hormone replacement
therapy. Can you give me a concrete example from your practice?
Dr M: Yes, we prescribe between 1,200 and 3,600 milligrams
of precooked, organic maca (3-8 capsules) daily for menopausal and postmenopausal women and have had
very good results. For example, I saw someone this morning, a 49
year old woman who had a hysterectomy eight years ago, although
they saved her ovaries. She had borne three children. Her last menstruation
was eight years ago. Her last Pap smear was one month ago. She had
a moderate bone loss, according to the results of a bone density
test which was performed. A tendency to get depressed, cold feet,
some constipation, hot flashes and tachycardia. Her medical history
included in addition to the hysterectomy, an appendectomy, tonsillectomy,
and she had breast implants-for which reasons, it was impossible
for her to use hormone replacement therapy. She was taking calcium,
Vitamin C and Vitamin E. She started using maca three months ago,
and her depression cleared up, her constipation has cleared up,
and she no longer has the hot flashes. Her circulatory symptoms
have improved also. Here is someone who had no choice-she couldn't
have HRT because of the breast implants, yet she needed a higher
hormone level to help with the bone loss, the hot flashes and the
depression.
VM: Have you used maca successfully with post-menopausal
women who have had complete hysterectomies?
Dr M: Yes. I had one patient who had her ovaries removed
who started using HRT. She had had a bone scan and showed some bone
loss, so it was necessary to raise her estrogen level. But she didn't
feel well on HRT and so she stopped it. When she came to me she
had a blood serum estradiol level of 15-very low, and she was laving
hot flashes. We started her on maca and we re-tested her estradiol
level two months later. this time her level was 75-quite an adequate
level for a postmenopausal woman.
VM: What is the average level for a postmenopausal woman,
untreated?
Dr M: O-30 blood serum estradiol level. Thirty is the absolute
minimum that a woman needs to avoid symptoms but 60-75 is a more
adequate level.
Viana Muller, Ph.D. 1997-2008 This article may not be reprinted
without permission from the author.
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