Is maca root safe to take?

Safety: It is considered as safe to eat as any other vegetable food. However, maca does contain glucosinolates, which can cause goiters when high consumption is combined with a diet low in iodine. Darker colored maca roots (red, purple, black) contain significant amounts of natural iodine, a 10-gram serving of dried maca generally containing 52 µg of iodine. It is uncertain if maca can worsen a goiter.

Relatively safe: They also named it peruvian viagra (sildenafil) . Its benefits include improved skin texture , vitality , vigor and virility (which may benefit both men & women). I won't suggest it to people with heart/coronary artery disease esp. Those taking nitrates. Discuss with your dr( who more likely is naive about its benefits and uses) or with your local chinese/peruvian herbalist. Check out with dr oz or oprah!

Mostly, yes: People use maca for energy, stamina, memory, and sexual functioning. There's not enough research to say it's safe in pregnancy, so i'd stay away from it in that situation. But 1 report showed that using 1.5 to 3 grams per day of the ground-up root provided at least subjective improvement in male libido w/no effect on hormone levels. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12472620?dopt=abstract.

WHY?: Why would you take anything that you don't know what it is, don't know what it's supposed to do for you, don't know how to judge if it's helping and don't know what harm it might do or how it could interact with your medication? Don't get your medical information from friends, tv or the internet. Stick with what your doctor prescribes and that only. It won't help you and could hurt you.

Yes: Many research studies have been done ; maca has been found to be very safe ; well-tolerated in them. As it's in the cruciferous family, large amounts of raw maca may reduce thyroid function. Safety in pregnancy hasn't been researched in humans so it would be wise to stop if pregnant.See http://examine.Com/supplements/maca/ for a review of research.