Purple maca, relief from premenopause and PMS symptoms

José Miguel Olivencia 8 min. of reading Plants Leave a comment

Purple Andean maca helps women ease menopause symptoms and ensures a balance between estrogen and progesterone from within the body, without needing to rely on external hormone supply.

Properties of purple maca

First off, it’s worth mentioning that it’s rarely sold classified this way. It’s more commonly marketed together with red maca in a mixed variety of red Andean maca.
Along with red, it’s the most beneficial maca variety for health. It’s richer in nutrients than other types of maca. It has a higher potassium content, so one of its standout properties is that it lowers blood pressure.
It relieves premenopause symptoms caused by progesterone deficiency. It also soothes typical premenstrual syndrome (PMS) signs like migraines, mood swings, fluid retention, and low mood.
It has properties to treat menopause, as it balances the ratio between estrogen and progesterone, adjusting the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis with its plant sterols.
It helps prevent osteoporosis by improving calcium absorption. It also increases blood iron levels and lowers cortisol levels, which creates a calming effect.
Until now, it’s been quite hard to find on the market. Maca, in general, is sold raw, gelatinized, or as an extract.

Discover all the properties and full benefits of Andean maca on our website.

Differences between purple and red maca

22% of the shrubs harvested each year in the Junín region are characterized by their intense purple color.

This type of maca is rarely sold individually as powder. Instead, it’s processed together with the red maca variety, which makes up about 17% of each annual harvest. It’s marketed as a mixed powder called red maca. The same happens with other types of maca, like black or yellow maca.

The therapeutic properties of both types come together in a natural product blend. It contains: pure, violet, and red maca, all with similar health benefits.

Both red and purple (or violet) maca help treat age-related issues. Enlarged prostate, as well as psychological problems: depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue.

Purple and red Andean maca strains (unlike black) help boost female fertility, lift mood, lower blood pressure, aid weight loss, and increase good cholesterol (HDL). This is largely due to their vitamin and mineral content.

Black strains are known for their benefits in addressing male fertility issues.

Balance of progesterone and estrogens

One of the main benefits of purple maca is that it helps achieve a balance between progesterone and estrogens.

Both hormones must always stay balanced to ensure mental and physical health. When an imbalance occurs, with progesterone deficiency or excess estrogens, the following symptoms appear:

Premenstrual pain (PMS).
Low mood.
Weight gain.
Breast pain.
Dry skin.
Hot flashes and night sweats.
Emotional instability and lack of concentration.
Prone to migraines.
Temporary infertility.
Decreased sexual desire.
Sleep disorders.
Higher risk of osteoporosis, breast cancer, or heart attack.

Progesterone deficiency worsens with age (in premenopausal women). It can also be caused by excessive estrogen intake through foods like soy products, contaminated tap water, or chemicals.

One of the properties of purple or red maca is increasing progesterone balance. It also helps women who want to have children by reducing female infertility often caused by progesterone deficiency.

Purple maca and premenopause

During premenopause, women gradually experience a drop in progesterone levels until menopause appears. This stage is marked by decreased estrogen levels.

Depending on each woman’s constitution, around age 35, the body helps the ovaries increase FSH levels to boost progesterone hormone production.

Purple maca raises progesterone and FSH levels to help ease symptoms that appear during premenopause due to progesterone decline.

Progesterone deficiency causes symptoms similar to premenstrual syndrome, including fatigue, loss of sexual desire, vaginal dryness, weight gain, and emotional imbalance, which can lead to stress, depression, and anxiety.

Compensating for estrogen level drop in menopause

Estradiol is the key estrogen in fertile women. It’s responsible for keeping skin and hair healthy and beautiful, much like vitamins and minerals do.

After menopause, estradiol is replaced by estrone estrogen (E1). Lack of estradiol causes hot flashes, fatigue, and night sweats.

Because of this, estradiol is replaced by hormone-based medication to treat menopause.

In 75-87% of cases, maca increases estradiol and progesterone levels in menopausal women and reduces menopause symptoms within 2 months.

Also, women taking maca report feeling more energetic. This may be linked to the adrenal stimulating hormone ACTH, whose production also rises with maca intake.

To set up a dosing and consumption plan for maca during menopause, you can check more info here: maca dosing during menopause.

Buy purple maca

It’s recommended to always buy maca with a certificate of origin from the Junín-Pasco region in the Andes.

The certificate usually states the protected geographical indication ‘Maca Junín-Pasco’ or the words ‘Meseta del Bombón’.

Maca is sold in different formats, such as raw material (for people with normal digestion), gelatinized powder (for those with sensitive digestive systems), or extract (for those with digestive issues).

Heads up: Pure purple maca is rarely available individually and is mostly sold combined with red maca.

Types of maca available on the market:

raw powder	gelatinized	dry extract	glycerol extract	alcohol extract
glucosinolates	without mustard oil glycosides	<mustard oil glycosides	glucosinolates	without mustard oil glycosides
normal digestion	sensitive	normal	normal	sensitive
1: 1	1: 1 or 4: 1	up to 20: 1	high doses	high doses
Powder, capsules	Powder, capsules	Capsules, tablets	tincture	tincture
Purple Maca + Organic + Junín-Pasco + raw + varietal +> 4000m + lab tested	Purple Maca + Organic + Junín-Pasco + gelatinized + sorted + 4000m + lab tested	Maca + Organic + Junín-Pasco Extract + Extract + varietal +> lab tested from 4000m +	Purple Maca + Bio + Junín-Pasco + Glycerin + sorted + 4000m + lab tested	Purple Maca + Organic + Junín-Pasco + Alcohol + varietal +> 4000m + lab tested