K In L.a. (Los Angeles, Ca) on 04/26/2014:
[YEA] I'm in my early 40's and started getting the feeling of being zapped in the middle of my body and then it would spread from head to toe for about 15 seconds. I believe it's a pre-menopause "hot flash" but for me it wasn't hot, just like being hit with an odd energy flow. I did some reading and tried a few things, then started taking 1000mg of Maca root when I wake up in the morning. Those zaps went away but my monthly cycle was more painful than before. I was craving chocolate a lot and read that it may be a sign of the need for magnesium. So I started taking slow release (SRT) magnesium, 500mg per day and after a few months my cycle became more comfortable than before.
I believe the Maca root helps with natural hormone balance, when the imbalance is mild. That is why I took it over black cohosh. I've read black cohosh adds estrogen which could cause your body to produce less, whereas the Maca root encourages your pituitary gland to produce balance in whatever is needed more. It's a facilitator more than a supplement. Not sure if that's true but I can take Maca root with less concern and it works for me.
View Entire Thread
Green Apple (London, United Kingdom) on 01/19/2013:
Maca root seems to really have helped my hot flashes in just 1 week! I came home from a long hall flight and suddenly started getting hot flashes - I was worried that it was pre menopause starting... I did some research on this site (love, love Earth Clinic) and some other recipe sites. One week ago I started taking this morning drink of: 1 tsp maca powder, 1 tsp raw cocoa, 1 tsp organic regular cocoa, 1/3 tsp molasses mixed with warm raw almond milk or raw unpasteurised milk. Its delicious and has the added benefit of reducing my morning coffee intake (which is also supposed to reduce hot flashes). I'm loving this drink - Macca has a bitter coffee like flavour and its the warm, creamy, comforting drink I love in the morning. I do not feel deprived of my coffee at all. My understanding is I should only be having 1 tsp of maca a day but I like this drink so much I sometimes make a second one. Seriously, the last two nights I've had no sweating whatsoever. Thank you for Earth Clinic for pointing me in the direction of maca for hormonal balance.
