Maca for Health & Longevity - Quick Reference Sheet
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Maca for Health & Longevity

Created on 09/13/2026 – Quick Reference based on Evidence Review created using AI4L / Opus 5 – Audit

An Andean root food taken as a powder. Its clearest effect is on sexual desire — in men, menopausal women, and people whose libido has been flattened by antidepressants — without any change in sex hormones. Menopausal, erectile and urinary symptoms improve modestly. Performance and fertility claims do not survive placebo control. Risks are mostly product quality: lead, adulteration, distorted testosterone tests. (Full Review)

Protocol

Standard dose
1,500–3,000 mg daily
Dried maca root powder, oral, with food. 3,000 mg separated from placebo where 1,500 mg did not.
Time of day
Morning, with breakfast
Mildly stimulating in reported experience; evening dosing is the commonly cited cause of disturbed sleep.
Phenotype selection
Red or black by goal
Red for mood, energy and prostate outcomes; black for memory and sperm; yellow is the commodity default.
Time to effect
Sexual desire
Week 8
Desire separated from placebo from week 8 at 1,500 and 3,000 mg daily.
Menopausal symptoms
6–12 weeks
Symptom scores fall relative to placebo at 3.3–3.5 g daily.
Erectile and urinary symptoms
12 weeks
Erectile, aging-male and urinary symptom scores improved over 12 weeks.

Benefits

Contraindications
  • Pregnant and breastfeeding women
  • Active liver disease or liver failure (Child-Pugh Class B or C)
  • Diagnosed prostate cancer, or prostate-specific antigen above 4 ng/mL under investigation
  • Children and adolescents under 18
  • Athletes subject to anti-doping testing
    •
Key Interactions
  • Antidepressants (mianserin, mirtazapine, sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine)
  • Erectile-dysfunction drugs (sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil)
  • Thyroid hormone replacement (levothyroxine, liothyronine)
  • Testosterone replacement therapy and androgen testing
  • Antihypertensives (amlodipine, lisinopril, losartan, hydrochlorothiazide)
  • Blood-pressure-lowering supplements (beetroot nitrate, magnesium, potassium, garlic extract, hibiscus, omega-3 fatty acids)
  • Iron and zinc supplements
  • Over-the-counter medicines (ibuprofen, acetaminophen, antacids, antihistamines)
    •

Risk & Side Effects

  • High:
  • Medium: Mild gastrointestinal upset
    •
  • Low: Lead contamination and product adulteration; falsely elevated testosterone readings; adverse events alongside antidepressants; acute liver injury
  • Speculative: Sleep disruption and overstimulation; thyroid suppression from glucosinolates; androgen receptor and prostate-specific antigen upregulation; alkaloid burden

Monitoring

Marker Target Why
Blood lead Below 1 µg/dL Root powder has carried lead into a user's blood
Diastolic blood pressure 70–80 mmHg Maca lowered diastolic pressure in one trial; additive with antihypertensives
Total testosterone 500–800 ng/dL in men; 15–70 ng/dL in women Anchors response and exposes assay interference
TSH 0.5–2.0 mIU/L Screens the theoretical glucosinolate goitrogen concern
Haemoglobin and ferritin Haemoglobin 13.5–15.0 g/dL in men, 12.5–14.0 in women; ferritin 50–125 ng/mL Maca lowered haemoglobin in highlanders with abnormally high levels
PSA Below 1.0 ng/mL under age 60; below 2.0 ng/mL thereafter Cell-culture work showed red maca raising antigen gene expression
Fasting glucose and HbA1c Glucose 75–86 mg/dL; HbA1c 4.9–5.4% Black maca lowered blood glucose in a controlled trial
ALT and AST ALT below 25 U/L in men, below 20 U/L in women; AST below 25 U/L One unreplicated case of acute liver injury is attributed to maca

Cadence: Seated blood pressure weekly for the first month, then monthly. Bloods repeated at 12 weeks, then every 6 to 12 months, or sooner if the product lot changes.

Qualitative Assessment

  • Sexual desire, rated on the same simple scale weekly rather than recalled
  • Menopausal symptom burden — hot flushes, night sweats, mood volatility — scored monthly
  • Energy and perceived exertion during ordinary daily activity
  • Mood stability, and specifically anxiety and low mood, tracked separately from energy
  • Sleep onset and continuity, which is where an unwanted effect would show first
  • Urinary flow, urgency and night-time voiding frequency in men over 50
Not medical advice. Educational distillation of a single evidence review. Confirm any decision with a qualified clinician, especially in the presence of prescription drugs or chronic conditions.