[dropcap]O[/dropcap]NE of my favorite root vegetables, that’s right, a root vegetable, has the power to put you “in the mood.” It has the power to lift depression, fire up the libido (or chill it out), give sustainable energy, and regulate the endocrine system. Curious?
Those are powerful statements. I know many people looking for all of the above. This little root saved my life more than a decade ago and I have used it almost every day since. Out of balance and craving some kind of stability emotionally, physically, sexually, I found maca. Actually, maca found me. It came in and gave me everything I needed, wanted and more!
Maca was able to, quite literally, get rid of the depression I had struggled from for years. It calmed down my completely out of balance sex (over)drive and gave me the sustained energy I needed to get through my very full schedule.
This gorgeous, powerful, little root is what’s called an “adaptogenic” food. Adaptogenic foods (or herbs) have an intelligence all their own in that, when they enter the body, they help regulate your nervous system and/or hormonal system.
How adaptogenic foods work is simple. If you need more energy, if you need more sleep, if you need a stronger libido, or a chill pill in that department, the adaptogenic food delivers. It does this on the molecular level, helping to produce neuropeptides or amino acids that act like neurotransmitters in the brain.
These help combat the steroid hormones, such as cortisol which is indicative of stress and very destructive. As a neurotransmitter in the brain, it is produced in various locations including the hypothalamus. This is very important to understand because when these neuropeptides are created in the hypothalamus, they regulate our ability to increase food intake, store energy, reduce anxiety, reduce stress and to increase pain perception. They also affect our sleep cycles, reduce involuntary alcohol intake, reduce blood pressure and reduce epileptic seizures.
Take a moment to digest this information. The potency of these adaptogenic foods shows how important it is to understand the many aspects of our food. Everything you eat has the power to shift your mental and physical being in the best way ever. All it takes is a moment to stop the rat race, slow down, pay attention, do some research and discover that everything you need is in the palm of your hand.
My slogan, “There are no rules, only choices,” fits perfectly in this moment.
The reality is all rules are made up. Choice is the ultimate power to self-healing and self-love. What are you worth? This simple little root vegetable has the power to heal your body and your mind on a molecular level. I have seen this powerful root help every single person who has taken it, whether it was a 250-pound man working construction, a 14-year-old boy or girl going through hormonal changes, a woman in her 30s looking to reconnect with the passion of her libido, or a woman going through menopause.
It can help you.
Gabrielle Brick