Looking to add extra stamina and function to your lifestyle? Consider adding some Maca root to your morning shake. Maca has been shown to increase energy, stamina and endurance.
Maca is a root that grows in the Peruvian mountains, and is the highest altitude growing plant in the world.
A root vegetable that looks like a radish and is related to the potato, Maca is considered a complete protein that provides essential amino acids, calcium, iron, and a variety of other vitamins and minerals. For people that live in the high altitude of the Andes, Maca is the main basis of their diet.
Traditionally used to make medicine, today Maca is used for many reasons and has been shown to have substantial benefits. Maca is considered a super food and an “adaptogen”, which means it normalizes the body, and helps it defend against weakening.
When used as a general supplement, Maca has many uses.
Maca affects the endocrine system and can regulate hormones. Women have found that maca can relieve the symptoms of PMS and menopause, while men have used it to enhance fertility and sexual function.
Maca has many more benefits.
Maca may also enhance fertility, ease the symptoms of migraine headaches and depression and increase fertility, among other positives.
The taste of Maca is…. well, not heavenly. Most people eat Maca for its health benefits, not the taste. There are primarily two ways of adding Maca to your diet.
You can take supplement capsules of 600 milligrams each a couple times a day (or more, as it is very safe). An excellent way to take Maca is in powdered form, which is also very effective.
A teaspoon mixed into a smoothie or yogurt or cold drink is an easy way to get your daily boost. Maca can also be added to cooked food, but as with other vitamins and supplements heat may reduce some of the nutrients. Some folks add Maca powder to desserts like brownies, as it mixes well with chocolate.
There are so many websites, including the one below which offer tonnes of recipes for different ways to use Maca in smoothies and baked foods.
http://www.themacateam.com/maca-recipes
The bottom line is that Maca is a nutritionally loaded Superfood that provides many health and psychological benefits when regularly incorporated into the diet. I highly recommend that you give Maca a try and see the results for yourself!
Let me know how you go 🙂 x
Green juices and green smoothies, filled with green veggies, often vitamin and mineral filled, rich in amino acids and proteins, are well-known to be oh-so good for us. As a health-conscious person who eats a super green diet, I know that raw blended raw smoothies and fresh juices are also much easier to metabolize and often more alkaline.
Alkalinity is generally thought to be highly desirable, compared to overly acidic body pH (acidosis means increased acidity in the blood and is generally associated with over-consumption of acid-producing drinks and foods, and inability of the lungs and kidneys to remove the excess acidity). Related to this, more and more people are choosing an alkaline plant-based diet including lots of fresh, raw juices and smoothies.
It’s commonly known to most of us that acid food and drinks, such as soft drinks, can wear away tooth enamel. What’s much less commonly known is that so can alkaline food and drinks. Seriously. That means that juices and smoothies—whether acid or alkaline—can damage your tooth enamel. It’s true. The organic materials that make up the surface of our tooth enamel (the hardest material in the body, made up of organic materials and minerals and water) can actually be worn down and damaged by excessively alkaline substances as well as acid substances. How do we know this?
We know this from a 2009 study from the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, which revealed that, although the effects of pH substances on teeth is different than the effects of an acid substance on teeth, strong alkaline substances with a high pH value can adversely affect the enamel on the surface of the teeth, making it more porous. 
The elegant solution, simple, affordable, and oh-so eco-friendly is a glass straw. A glass straw is great for smoothies or thicker liquids and juices and other drinks as well.
When you drink through a straw you effectively bypass your teeth (so can avoid damaging the surface of the teeth, your enamel, with either extremely acid or alkaline drinks). But you won’t just be saving your teeth by drinking through a glass straw, you’ll be saving the planet because when you use a glass straw and stop using plastic straws you no longer need to buy or use plastic straws (you and your family could go through thousands in your lifetime and most of them aren’t recyclable).
A glass straw is safe to use in both hot and cold drinks, plus you can see through it so you know exactly what you’re drinking. GlassStraws.com.au straws are made of borosilicate glass, which is Pyrex®-like, sturdy, dishwasher safe, easy to clean, has a two year warranty against chips and cracks, and is known for its ability to withstand extreme hot and cold and it’s lead-free. It’s the best glass straw known to me.
Again, best of all, using a glass straw protects the enamel of your teeth from the extremes of both acidity and alkalinity. Maybe you enjoy the occasional soda but want to keep the acidity of a carbonated beverage from harming your beautiful smile, or maybe you drink highly alkaline juices and smoothies on a regular basis (I drink an average of 1 litre of raw, fresh #SuperGreenDiet juices and smoothies daily—that’s a lot of alkalinity—and you better believe protecting my teeth is a priority for me).
I know you’ll want to protect your own beautiful smile, and those of your family and friends (glass straws make the perfect gift), plus save money and our beautiful earth as well. Think green. Think earth-conscious. Think healthy teeth. Happy Juicy Life!
Reference: Taube et al. Morphological and chemical characterization of tooth enamel exposed to alkaline agents. Journal of Dentistry, 2009; DOI: 10.1016/j.jdent.2009.09.006
Sophia Anne Rose, former ISSA certified personal trainer, student of nutrition, fitness, and a health and wellness advocate for 20+ years, is the creator of the Super Green Diet. An author, screenwriter, playwright, shamani practitioner, and award-winning speaker, she got fit and fabulous in her forties when she discovered that her 40-something mesomorph body and RH negative blood type responded well only to a very specific #SuperGreenDiet. Follow her tweets at SuperGreenDiet and get blog posts here.
This recipe is from www.ChoosingRaw.com
Serves 4
4 cups almond milk
4-6 pitted dates (adjust according to preferences)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamom
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp allspice
1/3 cup raw cacao nibs
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender till smooth.
- Heat gently over the stove before serving.
- Top it off with a gorgeous Everyday Straw.
The combination of chai and cocoa is delish! You could also try using carob instead of Cacao.
Our delicious recipe is courtesy of Robyn Law, Internationally recognised Raw Food Chef.
Choc Monkey
Serves 1
Equipment
Blender
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup or your chosen nut with 1 cup of water and not
- strain it and keep the nut pulp in the smoothie)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 Tbsp cacao powder/carob or cocoa powder extract, a handful of baby spinach
Directions
1. Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth