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Travel to Peru with us to learn about the maca root You know those days where it seems like there will never be enough coffee in the world to wake you up or turn your bad mood around? We’ve been there too. So… have you tried maca yet? Maca is a power-packed root that works as an adaptogen to support mood balance, supply you with antioxidants and even promote sexual health to help engage the va-va-voom. We love it! So much so, that we recently went to Peru where it’s natively grown to visit the farms that supply Organika® with the maca root powder we use in our Organic Gelatinized Maca powder, and capsule products. Travelling to the maca farms Peru is stunning. Just driving through the winding roads of the Andes Mountains, there's vast countryside, 30-foot aloe plants, golden berry farms, yacón farms, and gorgeous rivers flowing through the mountainside. Maca has been a part of Peruvian culture for a long time. It's found in candies, flours and alcohol all throughout the local shops. There was even a 60-foot statue of a bright purple maca root located in the village of Huayre, on our way to the maca farm. Yep, maca is kind of a big deal there. The farms are based in Junín, Peru. The drive there reaches elevations of 4500 meters above sea level – that’s more than twice the elevation of Whistler Mountain in British Columbia! Nearing Junín, the beautiful scent of maca is overwhelming. The scent is reminiscent of chestnuts, with just a hint of caramel. Growing and harvesting maca root Maca is the largest export in the region. It has helped grow the city, create jobs and improve the local economy. Only 10 years ago there were about 50 farmers in the region; but today, there’s well over 1000. Maca thrives at 4500 meters above sea level, where most plants die. The nutrient rich soil grows the maca root for 1-3 years before cultivating by hand. After harvesting, the nutrients in the soil are replenished for five years, before maca can be replanted in the same place. The maca roots are hand selected, tested for heavy metals, crushed and dried. They then go through an Organic Sterilization System, that uses steam and vacuum to disinfect, pasteurize and sterilize the root. This pasteurization process removes the yeast from the maca, resulting in a gelatinized maca product easier to digest and absorb. The maca is then milled into a fine powder and prepared for export. The manufacturing process When we receive the maca in our manufacturing facilities in British Columbia, we use third party testing for heavy metals, pesticides, microbes, solvent residues and potency. Once everything is manufactured, we send the finished product for a second round of third-party testing for quality, purity and potency. And that’s not just maca we’re talking about, that’s how we handle all of our products. We want you to trust our products so you feel great using them. From there, the power is in your hands. Make it maca.

Have you been feeling the need to spice things up in the bedroom? Your libido is affected by many different factors, from your age and hormone levels to your dietary and sleeping habits. Try these helpful tips to boost your libido naturally with some simple adjustments to your everyday routine. Get active If you lead a sedentary life, you may notice a drop in your libido. Both men and women can benefit from getting active, and I don’t just mean active between the sheets. If you are new to the exercise game or have been on hiatus for some time, start small: walking for 30 minutes, yoga, low-impact exercises while watching television. Short bursts of fitness are better than no fitness. Physical activity & libido for men Focus on more weight lifting than cardiovascular activity. Resistance training has shown to support testosterone levels (1) Physical activity & libido for women If you engage in high-intensity workouts often and notice your libido has slipped by you, try slowing it down with a juicy yoga class one or two times per week, or skip a few HIIT classes and walk instead. In many cases, over-exercising can be just as problematic for our libido as under exercising. Commit to quality sleep Lack of sleep, changing sleep times and poor quality sleep can all lead to a lowered libido. This is because our body works around a circadian rhythm – a 24 hour clock where our cortisol levels (stress hormone as well as wake hormone) and melatonin will typically rise and fall around the light dark cycles of the day. Our hormones all work together. This means if we disrupt our natural cortisol curve by going to bed late, waking early or waking in the night consistently, we can impact our sex drive – both our desire and performance. In order to get a good night’s rest, it is important to start shutting down phones and computers by 10pm. Wear blue light blockers in the darker hours and start dimming lights. Even try a magnesium supplement like Enhanced Collagen Relax in an evening herbal tea to help induce fatigue and restfulness. Manage stress Similar to sleep, high stress typically leads to low libido for both men and women. Sleep, diet adjustments, getting outdoors and adequate exercise can all be excellent stress reducers. Other stress-reducing practices to try: Add in adaptogens like ashwagandha, which have been shown to lower the body’s cortisol (2). You can combine an ashwagandha powder, like Organika’s Mood, in a smoothie or add it to your morning tea or coffee. Alternatively, capsules offer the same benefits and can be more convenient. Deep breathing exercises. Set a timer in your calendar to take three deep belly breaths. Ideally, try this before meals to prepare your body for better digestion. Get outside: similar to a deep breath, getting outside can revitalize us and help us de-stress. Eat well You can’t out-exercise or out-supplement a poor diet. A diet rich in antioxidants can increase blood flow, protect our cells, support stamina, provide energy... the list really does go on. A good diet is also even more essential for those looking to conceive as antioxidants like Vitamin C are essential to reduce oxidative stress and protect sperm as well as support ovary health (3). It can also be helpful to add in adaptogens, especially maca powder, which is easy to take as a capsule or in a powdered form to add to smoothies or your morning coffee. How maca powder boosts libido Maca is a root grown in the Andes of Peru, that has been used for centuries by both men and women to help support libido, fertility, hormone health and overall energy. Similar to other adaptogens, you see the most libido and fertility benefits with consistent use. This means using maca daily for at least a few weeks to even a few months to reap the most libido-boosting benefits – and this will differ depending on your use. Maca for men’s libido If you are using maca for men’s libido, it may take four months to see the benefits of sperm production (4), while it can take two to three months to see an increase in sexual desire (5). Maca for women’s libido Maca for women’s libido is just as important. One small study using primarily women, has shown that using 3 g of maca per day can reduce the impact of SSRI’s (selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor, typically used for anxiety and depression) on sexual dysfunction (6). As well, we’ve seen the impact of maca for women’s libido in post-menopause in use over a 6-week trial, where women’s feelings of anxiety and depression, as well as sexual dysfunction were decreased (7). How maca powder boosts libido is truly multi-fold in both men and women, as it has been traditionally used to also lower blood pressure, reduce stress and anxiety, as well as help with anemia. All of these areas, when out of balance, can disturb our libido.