Start low and build up
Start with 1 teaspoon daily.
Add it to smoothies, yoghurt, porridge, milk, protein shakes or cacao.
Maca works best as a consistent daily food, not something you take once and expect an immediate effect.
Men often choose black maca for stamina, libido, physical performance and reproductive support.
Women also use maca for energy, mood, libido and general vitality, although red maca tends to be the variety more closely associated with women's wellbeing. Black maca can still be taken by both.
Black maca is also not just maca in a different colour. The colours have different chemical profiles and they have not performed identically in research. Black maca has attracted particular attention for male reproductive health, physical performance, learning and memory.
That is why choosing the colour matters.
This is one of the areas where black maca stands apart.
Research specific to the black variety has focused heavily on sperm production and reproductive function, and human maca studies have also investigated sperm concentration, motility and semen quality.
Black maca has traditionally been eaten as a strengthening and endurance food.
Human research has also found improvements in energy and general wellbeing, and newer black maca studies in athletes have reported improvements in several measures of physical performance.
Maca has some of its strongest human evidence around sexual desire.
In a controlled trial, men taking maca reported improved sexual desire after several weeks, without an increase in testosterone or oestrogen.
That makes maca different from the usual testosterone booster story.
Black maca has attracted particular research interest for learning, memory and cognitive performance.
Studies comparing the different maca colours have repeatedly found black maca especially active in learning and memory models, which gives it a cognitive support profile alongside its physical benefits.
Black maca has been studied in male and female athletes for aerobic capacity, muscular performance, endurance and agility.
It contains no caffeine, which makes it useful for anyone who wants daily performance support without relying on stimulants.
Human research comparing black and red maca has also looked at mood, energy, sexual desire and quality of life.
That makes black maca more than a fertility or gym product. It is traditionally used as a broader daily vitality food.
One method. Build up slowly and take it every day.
Start with 1 teaspoon daily.
Add it to smoothies, yoghurt, porridge, milk, protein shakes or cacao.
Maca works best as a consistent daily food, not something you take once and expect an immediate effect.
Maca is a brassica, the same family as broccoli and cabbage, and it carries the same compounds in higher amounts. If you have a thyroid condition, check with your doctor before taking it daily. Speak to your doctor first if you have a hormone sensitive condition or are taking medication. Do not take maca if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. There is no safety data either way.
Speak to your healthcare professional before use if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication, or managing a thyroid or hormone-sensitive condition. Sold as a food, not a medicine.
Gelatinised red maca root from the Peruvian Andes. The colour that beat black maca on mood and energy.
Raw golden granules from WA Redgum and Jarrah forests. Never heat treated, never powdered.
Cold pressed Nigella sativa at nearly three times the thymoquinone of most oils on the market.
A high-potency magnesium chloride oil absorbed straight through the skin. No digestion required.
The Lakadong variety, at 6 to 9% curcumin rather than the usual 1 to 3%.
Finely milled organic barley flour, at the ideal texture for preparing talbina.