Anxiety

When stress gets out of hand, anxiety disorders often manifest physical (somatic) symptoms and the following debilitating mental health symptoms:

For more days than not over a six month period;

• Excessive worrying or apprehension about several of events or activities
• Difficulty managing the worrying
• Three or more:
  • Restlessness or on edge
  • Easily fatigued
  • Irritability
  • Body tension
  • Sleeping problems
• Can also be associated with panic attacks and other severe symptoms

Depression

Major depressive episodes are the most prevalent lifetime mental health syndrome, affecting 16.6% of the United States population. Within this group, about 10% experience a single episode, and 12% of those with recurring episodes³. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5), depression is characterised with a depressed mood or loss in pleasure for over two weeks with:

• Feeling down almost every day for two weeks or more
• Notably loss of enjoyment in almost all activities during this time
• Significant weight changes absentmindedly
• Other people notice that you are slowing down in movement or thinking
• Almost constant fatigue
• Recurrent thoughts of self-harm

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder describes a variety of types and experiences altering between manic, hypomanic, and depressive moods characterised as follows:

Manic episodes

• increased rate of speech and feeling pressured to talk
• Notably over-inflated ideas of abilities or self-esteem
• Reduced need for sleep
• Racing thoughts
• Easily distracted
• Restlessness and agitation
• Risky behaviours

Hypomanic episodes have overlapping characteristics with manic episodes, and may also include:

• Reckless spending
• Flamboyant behaviour
• Talking noticeably fast
• Jumping between random topics in conversation

Depressive episodes

• Include symptoms of depression
• Insomnia or hypersomnia almost every day
• Excessive feelings of worthlessness or doubt

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Adults will frequently experience five or more indications of inattention and hyperactivity that impairs daily life for over six months in multiple settings. These adults will often manifest these symptoms before the 12 years old according to the DSM-5. The symptoms of ADHD include:

Inattention

• Carelessness: making mistakes and lacking attention detail
• Difficulty concentrating
• Does not listen to direct communications
• Lack of follow-through
• Poor organisation
• Avoids or dislikes tasks with sustained mental effort
• Loses necessary items
• Easily distracted
• Generally forgetful

Hyperactivity/impulsion

• Fidgets
• Leaves conversations randomly
• Restless
• Has trouble with calm activities
• Always on the go
• Talks excessively
• Bursts out comments
• Difficulty waiting
• Interrupts or intrudes on others

Many people suffering mental health disorders, as well as those subthreshold, often seek complementary or alternative medicines to treat their symptoms⁵. Studies indicate cognitive and psychological improvement with maca, a traditional medicinal root vegetable found in the Peruvian Andes. Traditionally maca has been used in Peru to improve mental health and well-being for centuries. Known locally as the ‘food of the brain’ the Incan people use maca as a tonic for brain and cognitive function. They say that when you consume her (maca) regularly she builds strength and resilience to stress in your brain and creates more clarity in thoughts. Children are also fed maca to help with brain and cognitive development especially whilst learning at school and beyond.

Maca’s therapeutic components include macamides⁶ that act to regulate brain function via the endocannabinoid system and other active ingredients that demonstrate neuroprotective actions⁷. By activating cannabinoid type-2 receptors, maca biochemical compounds such as their n-alkylamides also have been demonstrated to positively improve psychological symptoms^8,9. These compounds and others found in maca also act to simultaneously relieve physical fatigue^10,11,12,13, a symptom of many psychological disorders. Maca was shown to preserve cognitive function in a clinical model¹⁵, which may indicate concentration improvement for ADHD patients. After treatment with maca, an anxiety laboratory model showed antidepressant-like effects on behavioural, anatomical, and biochemical levels¹⁶.

In traditional medicine, synthetic antidepressants sometimes result in sexual dysfunction. In women, maca alleviated this side effect in a double-blind placebo-controlled study¹⁷. In men, maca extract moderately improved well-being and sexual performance in patients with mild sexual dysfunction¹⁸. These beneficial effects are not due to estrogen or androgen as maca works independently of sex hormones¹⁹.

Maca has three different variants described by the colour of the root: yellow, red, and black. All varieties showed antidepressant activity in studies on learning and depression²⁰. Laboratory studies primarily test yellow maca, although psychological symptoms benefit from treatment with all types of maca. In addition to the benefits of yellow maca described above, black maca improved memory impairment in scopolamine-treated mice, restoring acetylcholinesterase (AChE) without affecting monoamine oxidase (MAO)²¹. Black maca demonstrated more beneficial effects than yellow and red maca on learning in a post-menopause mouse model, although all varieties positively affected mood²¹.

Our treatment approach is to use all three types of maca for men and women suffering from mental health symptoms. Yellow maca improves mental health overall, while red maca is more calming, and black maca is more uplifting according to traditional use. Own own experience shows that the use of 3-coloured combinations can help bring harmony back to brain function, while high dose extracts of red offer a more calming effect (ideal for anxiety) and high-dose black extracts improve brain and cognitive function (ideal for depression).