To all da ladies in da hizzy!

All you men out there, stop reading now as you'll find words coming out of your mouth like "eeew," "ick," "natny" (as Steven would say).  This post is for the ladies!  Well, actually, men can find some useful knowledge here, too ;-)

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(don't say I didn't warn ya)

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(turn back now!)

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Menstrual Cycle!  Periods!  The Crimson Wave!  Tampons!  Midol!

All I have to say here is MACA!

Holy crap, I am so excited about this super food!  Maca, Lepidium meyenii, is an annual plant which produces a radish-like root. The root of maca is typically dried and stored, and will easily keep for seven years. The plant is cultivated in the Junin plateau of Peru's Central Highlands, and was highly revered by the Inca.  Maca has been shown to:

• increase energy, endurance, and stamina
• improve sexual function in both men and women
• enhance fertility in people and animals
• reduce hormonal dysfunction during menopause and andropause
• regulate hormonal imbalances
• aid in alleviating depression
• reduce anxiety and stress
• have beneficial action on the circulatory system; speeds wound healing, and reduces anemia
• enhance memory, learning, and mental ability
• act as an alternative to anabolic steriods; helps to build muscle

In a nutshell, maca helps to regulate hormone producing glands, but maca is not a hormone, itself.  Hormones have a HUGE affect on our bodies and minds!  As many of you know, I'm pretty much obsessed with hormones and how they affect me.  I believe the endocrine system is way too often overlooked.  I have dealt with anxiety/depression my whole life, and believe it to be caused by hormonal imbalances.  With that being said, I was quite interested to see what maca could offer me.  I'm not going to lie, I've had a hard time believing in homeopathic/natural remedies to mental health issues.  Basically, I just think mental health is too fragile to screw around with.  When one comes to the point of recognizing they need help, that usually means they need it now and fast.


On another note, I have stopped taking hormonal birth control.  After years of debating whether hormonal birth control is right for me, I have come to the conclusion it is not.  Basically, my decision came down to the sheer fact that I think it's the most unnatural thing to trick your body into thinking it's pregnant for years on end.  As for me, hormonal birth control made me stale to the world.  Yes, I was not crying due to hormonal waves...but I was never smiling, either.  I remember in high school I used to have a couple friends who could make me laugh to tears!  Now, I can honestly say I haven't laughed to tears, or just simply genuinely laughed, in years.  That's sad, right?  So I asked myself, is it "worth it" to live in a sedentary emotional state just so you can be more sedentary in your sexual contraceptive responsibility?  For me, no.  Why take hormonal birth control when it makes the thought of sex seem appalling?  Isn't that sorta counteractive?  Why take hormonal birth control when there's a chance it may cause irreversible damage to your reproductive system?  Is it worth living in an emotionally "dead" trance for the ease of popping a "no pregnancy here!" pill when there are other effective non-hormonal ways of being sexually responsible?


So now you're asking yourself, "Where the hell is she going with all this?!  Maca's not birth control...."  Here's the deal, the only plus for being on birth control for me was lighter, less painful, periods with no flair-up acne.  Pain?  Cake-walk.  Acne?  Now you got me.  My one true vanity I have no problem admitting to is my facial complexion.  In my opinion, there's nothing more detrimental to your self-esteem than acne.  When I'm off birth control, I do get hormonal acne.  The thought of possible acne flair-ups worries the hell out of me.  Pathetic, I know.


Since starting this raw diet experiment, I have learned about about "super foods."  Maca especially stood out for me because of its properties as a hormonal stabalizer.  Hmmmmm....me and hormonal imbalances don't mix well.  I need some stabilization, fo sho!  Out of all the superfoods out there, I thought I'd start with Maca first since it supposedly addresses my only real "problem area" I was immediately concerned with.  So, I got online, ordered me up some maca, and starting taking it daily.


Last week was to be my first period off birth control.  I was expecting the worst.  I had already been telling Steven how much pain I was going to be in, how ugly my zit pitted face would be, and how I'd probably bleed heavy for 9 days straight (as was the trend pre-birth control years ago).  Well, all I have to say is THANK YOU GOD FOR MACA!  Holy zit-pitless face, cramp-free, short period yawowza!  This first non-birth control period was awesome (that is if a period can be awesome).  I had some first day cramping, but nothing unbearable, no major PMS before hand, no freak-out "I hate myself"'s, no zit break-outs, and the whole thing lasted roughly three days....THREE DAYS!  The whole time I was so confused as to why this period was so easy, not even thinking about the maca addition because I honestly didn't have that much faith in it.  Day three, I stated putting two and two together, and came up with maca.  Granted, I am curious to see how next month's period on maca will be since I will have been off hormonal b.c. for two months at that point.  I'm still not sure my hormones are totally adjusted to pre-b.c. "normalacy" just yet, as I've only been off birth control for a month; but, if I get this same effect from Maca the second time around, I'm claiming myself a total believer.


As for the other attributes of maca, well...I'm not so sure, yet, as I was only focusing on my menstrual cycle (makes me sound more professional when you call it that).  Also, I doubt I'll get into real depth about libido and fertility since my mother can read this (gross!); you can e-mail me for my opinion on maca's affect on those, if you wish.  All I know is I feel the best I have in a long time, both emotionally and physically.  I've had nothing to complain about since this food experiment in regards to how I feel.  If it's the maca, the lack of animal products, the greens, the live foods, the running...I don't know!  


You can buy maca at Matt Monarch's store here , or to be specific, this is the maca I'm using right now.  It seems most maca is sold in the loose powder form, but I went for the vcap version as I heard maca's flavor was one to be acquired.  I knew I could swallow anything down in pill form, so I went for that.  Many people add the loose powder to smoothies, or in their nut mylks.  According to Karen Knowler...

Maca is a food it should be taken in decent sized quantities – in this case less is NOT more! To be consistent with Peruvian use the ideal “dosage” is 3000 – 5000 mg per day – but more is no bad idea. A tablespoon blended into a smoothie is the quickest and easiest way to get a good amount of maca into your daily diet. As it is a food and not a medicine, you cannot overdose. (Toxicity studies have been carried out in the US and have showed absolutely no toxicity and no adverse pharmalogic effects). Maca has a malty taste to it which is fairly strong, for this reason it is best taken in a capsule or taken as part of a drink or mixed into your food rather than taken alone.

'Till next time!
CC Bloom