The Hormone-Balancing Plant That’s Great for Your Libido

If you’re looking for a natural way to boost your desire, look no further than maca root. This Peruvian plant has been used in traditional medicine by cultures all over the world for centuries to improve health and vitality in men and women. Maca is especially beneficial for women, as it helps to increase libido and energy levels, and might even help you break up with annoying hormonal imbalances. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the science behind maca’s libido-boosting effects, as well as ways to take maca and the potential side effects. We’ll also help you choose the best supplement for your needs!

Your libido and sex drive–basically just your desire to get a little frisky–all these things are controlled mainly by your hormones. Your hormones regulate just about everything in your body–from sleep and hunger, to your mood and libido.

Your hormones can also be influenced by a lot of things, including what you eat, environmental toxins, and stress. Other signs you’re dealing with a hormone imbalance that’s throwing your libido out of whack are things like mood swings, PMS, weight gain, heavy or irregular periods, or new breakouts.

In my integrative medicine practice, CentreSpringMD in Atlanta, when a patient comes in with any of these problems we make sure to start by testing hormones to get to the bottom of these symptoms.

An imbalance can tank your libido

A hormonal imbalance ramps up a lot of annoying symptoms, but it can also really put a damper on your libido. And while a lot of women don’t think of a dip in their sex drive as a big deal, it really can be a sign of an underlying health issue. Yes, that’s right—not feeling into sex and intimacy can be a symptom of something else going on.

Hormone issues like estrogen dominance, low progesterone, PCOS, and even perimenopause can all result in your libido taking a hiatus.

So, how do you even start to get your libido back and restore balance to your hormones? In my clinic, I use a holistic medicine approach, which includes ordering labs and getting a thorough health history from my patients. This allows us to individualize care and target the root cause. But while we’re busy gathering this info, there are a few strategies I recommend to get a healthy shift started—including one of my favorites: adaptogens.

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Plants you can use to regain balance…and your desire

While there’s no singular herb, supplement, or vitamin that will completely turn your mood around, adaptogens can do work wonders alongside other lifestyle changes you’re making. Things like diet, keeping stress in check, and creating space to nurture your emotional health are also key for balancing hormones. And, there are a few holistic supplements that can be a great help.

How do they work? Simply put: adaptogens promote balance. They do things like promote healthy cortisol levels–that pesky stress hormone that can get in the way of a healthy libido. They also help uplift your mood so you feel more like getting in the mood.

Here are a few benefits associated with various adaptogenic herbs (1):

Promote healthy cortisol levels
Enhance adrenal function
Decrease inflammation caused by oxidative stress (free-radicals)
Support a balanced immune system
Boost cognitive (mental) and physical health

In this article, we’ll be talking mostly about one of my favorite adaptogenic supplements: Maca.

What is maca root?

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is the root of a plant native to the Andes in Peru. In South America, this sweet and slightly nutty root is commonly used to boost fertility. Grown predominantly in the mountains of central Peru, you might be surprised to know maca is actually a member of the cruciferous family—the same that includes broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. It also goes by the name “Peruvian ginseng” and has gained a reputation for boosting libido and sex drive in both men and women, but cultures have used it to promote vitality for many years.

In recent decades, researchers have also found that maca may help uplift mood, offset some of the side effects from medications like SSRIs, and stave off hot flashes. More details on this below.

You’ll usually find maca root as a powder, in capsule form, or as a tincture or extract. It’s relatively safe at even high doses, but you’ll want to be aware of how you’re feeling and discontinue and speak with your holistic provider if you feel any negative side effects.

Hormone Helper contains 1.5 grams of maca root extract, formulated to optimize hormone and metabolic health.

Maca may make you feel a little frisky

There is plenty of research on maca supporting both its libido-enhancing effects, as well as its ability to improve fertility. One study observed that taking maca improved erectile dysfunction, and another found that treatment with maca improved sexual desire (2,3).

As you might’ve guessed, there’s a lot that can influence your desire for your partner, including your energy levels that day, any stress you might be dealing with—right down to things like caring for children and running a household. And while maca can’t help with the latter two, it might be great for boosting your overall mood and helping you deal with stress so you can actually get in the mood.

The same properties by which maca helps boost libido also help to improve mood. Plus, it’s ability to modulate cortisol and support adrenal function are a big help to give your libido the green light. While the research is still early, studies suggest that maca might be most beneficial for menopausal or post-menopausal women who want to support a healthy libido (4).

Other benefits of maca root

Because maca is an adaptogen, it can benefit your health in several other ways. It’s most noted for improving mood and overall vitality.

Maca has been used traditionally as a tonic to boost energy, and to alleviate anxiety. Maca root is a rich source of vitamin C, which makes it beneficial for your immune function.

Antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction

Maca may help boost sexual desire for people taking SSRI antidepressants, which are often have reduced sex drive as a side effect. These types of medications vastly improve quality of life (and in many cases save lives), but there can also be some undesired side effects, including a reduced libido.

Among women of reproductive age taking SSRI antidepressants, 3 grams of maca a day was found to “significantly” improve libido (5).

Maca powder benefits for menopause, perimenopause

Maca appears to have the greatest benefit for women who are going through perimenopause or menopause. This is amazing for many women who struggle to find relief from side effects like hot flashes, mood swings, and crazy menstrual cycles.

One study of postmenopausal women found that 3.5 grams per day of maca powder lowered measures of sexual dysfunction, and decreased anxiety and depression symptoms after 6 weeks of use (4).

Ok, but what about other menopause symptoms that make day-to-day life downright uncomfortable—and sometimes maddening? Things like disrupted sleep, hot flashes, and heart palpitations. Well, maca seems to help with those classic menopause symptoms too. Researchers called out its potential for use as a “non-hormonal alternative to HRT”.

This study showed that maca was effective in reducing the physiological symptoms of perimenopause

and menopause, like (6):

Hot flashes
Heart palpitations
Night sweats
Interrupted sleep patterns
Nervousness
Depression

What’s also really exciting here is this study also showed a reduction in body weight, blood pressure, while increasing HDL cholesterol and iron. Researchers suggested that maca seemed to act like a hormonal “toner” to help alleviate discomfort in the perimenopausal stage when hormones fluctuate (6).

Fertility

Various cultures have used maca to enhance fertility for centuries, but scientists are only not beginning to understand exactly why this happens (7). We now think that a particular substance in maca may stimulate the endocrine (hormone) system, helping to maintain hormonal balance, which is a necessary part of healthy fertility (8).

In one study, maca increased two important fertility messengers, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), in female rats, supporting its traditional use for enhancing fertility in human women (9).

In another small study, a dosage of either 1.5 g or 3 g per day of maca helped increase sperm count and motility in men (10). This study didn’t find any change in serum hormones, such as testosterone or luteinizing hormones in the 9 men who participated.

Depression

Maca may help reduce symptoms of depression, especially in perimenopausal and menopausal women.

One study showed that maca decreased blood pressure and depression after a period of 12 weeks (11).

Golden maca is best to increase sex drive and desire

Maca is available in three different varieties: red, golden (or yellow), and black. They all have slightly different uses in traditional and holistic medicine, but all support energy and have adaptogenic benefits.

Red is the sweetest but most mild tasting. Golden maca is most commonly used to boost desire, but is the least sweet, and black is somewhere in the middle of the 3.

How much maca should I take?

It’s best to start slowly with maca root supplements, and work your way up gradually. Some people can even find maca to be a little too “stimulating”. If this is true for you, you can reduce your dose.

Most studies use somewhere between 1.5 to 3 grams per day, but animal studies show safe use at up to 7.5 mg per kg of body weight (6). This would be about 510 grams per day for a 150 lb woman—way more than you’d ever be taking in a supplement.

Possible side effects

Maca is pretty well-tolerated by most people, which is why it’s such a desirable adaptogen for libido-boosting and menopausal support. Participants have reported slight digestive upset at higher doses.

When using maca, it’s best to choose either an extract of maca root or gelatinized maca to avoid both mold contamination, and the interference of goitrogens, as these aren’t good for thyroid health. Goitrogens are present in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, but the good news is they don’t hold up to heat well. If you have thyroid issues, be sure to cook your cruciferous veggies, and opt for gelatinized maca or a maca root extract.

The best diet to boost libido

You can maximize the effects of libido-boosting supplements like maca by following a few other basic changes to your diet and lifestyle. Here’s what I recommend for healthy hormone balance and a more balanced mood.

Eat a hormone-healthy diet. Hormone imbalances (and all of its related symptoms) are definitely worse when you’re eating a diet that’s not good for you. Promote a better mood and desire by eliminating added sugars and gluten, and adding plenty of vegetables, quality proteins, and healthy fats.

Manage stress, and move your body. For many women, you need all the help you can get to clear excess cortisol that can wreak havoc on hormonal balance and your libido. Getting regular exercise and managing stress also support healthy adrenal glands—key for overall hormone balance. Yoga, breathwork, meditation, and any regular exercise you enjoy are great options.
Don’t be afraid of fats. If your diet is low in fats, your hormones may be paying the price. The right kinds of fats (omega-3s) are your hormones’ best friends. Healthy fats from nuts and seeds, cold water fish, avocado, coconut, and olives can help calm inflammation that plays a role in low libido.

Hormone balance is your gateway to a healthier, happier life at any stage, and the first step to this transformation begins in the gut.

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