October 2021 - Live Clean n Prosper

Todays post is about a powder made from Maca root. This powder is something that we use quite regularly in our smoothies. I thought I would share a bit of information about it.

What is Maca Root?

Maca, known scientifically as Lepidium meyenii, has many names including Peruvian ginseng and maca-maca.

An edible herbaceous biennial plant that is native to South America in the high Andes Mountains of Peru. It is grown for its fleshy, bulbous root.

Related to radishes and turnips, its growth habit, size, and proportions are roughly similar. However it most closely resembles a parsnip. And it has a nutty, earthy slightly butterscotch-y taste.

The root is typically dried. Once dried, it may be further processed and is commonly available in powder form or as a supplement.

What makes it ‘super’?

In Peru, maca has been used for centuries as a food supplement to improve health and for its medicinal properties to enhance energy and fertility. In fact, the indigenous people of Peru have traditionally used it to improve children’s performance in school.

The root is an excellent source of essential amino acids, and calcium. It has very high levels of vitamin K, which helps the blood form clots.

As well as high levels of iron and iodine, which promote healthy cells, and to help keep the metabolism on track. Its big doses of potassium help digestion and make muscles happy.

Lepidium meyenii also contains various unique plant compounds called macaridine, macaenes, macamides and maca alkaloids. These qualities contribute to it being known as an adaptogenic plant. This means it gives the body the ability to adapt to or resist what’s going on in and around it.

What are the health benefits?

Some studies of menopausal women found that maca, in conjunction with other supplements, helped alleviate menopausal symptoms. It does this by stimulating the endocrine system helping to maintain hormonal balance.

The body uses the plant compounds to improve adrenal function, ovarian and testicular function as well as the functioning of the thyroid, the pancreas and the pineal glands.

Additional studies suggest that it can enhance mood and also help protect bone health. Women have a higher risk of osteoporosis after menopause.

With so many benefits, no wonder it is sometimes called a ‘superfood’.

How to take it –

Easy to incorporate into the diet, Maca can be taken as a tablet supplement or the powder can be added to smoothies, oatmeal and many other recipes.

The optimal dose for medicinal use has not been established. However, the dosage of powder used in studies generally ranges from 1.5–5 grams per day.

It is generally considered safe as a food or as a supplement if you don’t take more than 3 grams (less than a teaspoon) a day for a period of up to 4 months.

However, if you’re on blood thinners, maca may not be right for you, as it may counteract your medication. The same goes for men with elevated blood PSA (prostate specific antigens). The plant’s extracts act like oestrogen for many people, so those who have hormone-sensitive conditions like breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers or endometriosis should avoid it.

We hope you found this information interesting.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

(Sources – National Library of Medicine, National Centre for Biotechnology Information – WebMD – Medical News Today – Healthline )

Today’s post is about Sleep Apnea, a common sleep disorder that affects thousands of individuals. This is a condition that most people know of; however possibly don’t know much about.

I have done some research and this is an overview of what I discovered.

It is a sleep disorder, which is estimated to affect about five per cent of Australians. Statistics show that it’s mostly men that suffer with this condition, with around one in four over the age of 30 affected.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep Apnea is categorised by intermittent episodes of pauses in breathing while asleep.

This occurs when the walls of the throat come together while sleeping, blocking off the upper airway. Breathing stops for a period of time (anywhere between a few seconds and 90 seconds) until the brain registers the lack of breathing, or a drop in oxygen levels. It then sends a small wake-up call, causing the body to wake slightly, open the upper airway, with a possible snort and gasp, and then drift back to sleep almost immediately.

These episodes can happen many times a night. The sufferer is often unaware of it happening, but will wake feeling tired. Sleep apnoea ranges from mild to severe. In severe cases, sleep can be interrupted hundreds of times each night, causing fragmented sleep.

Continued fragmented sleep can then cause excessive daytime sleepiness, poor daytime concentration and work performance, and fatigue.

Are there different types?

There are actually 3 main types of sleep apnea.

The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea, sometimes referred to as OSA. With OSA, the throat muscles in the back of the throat collapse too much during sleep to allow for normal breathing. This blockage commonly causes snoring.

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is less common than obstructive sleep apnea. It can also be trickier to diagnose and treat. During sleep, breathing is disrupted regularly because of how the brain functions. The brain is not sending the proper messages to the muscles that control breathing

CSA is typically associated with severe illness, particularly an illness where the lower brain stem is affected. With newborns, CSA produces up to 20-second pauses in breathing.

Doctors have more recently identified a third type of this sleep disorder called complex sleep apnea syndrome, which is a combination of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

In patients with complex sleep apnea syndrome, breathing problems persist even after the airway obstruction is addressed and treated. This means something besides the collapsing throat muscles are also contributing to the apnea.

The problem is that there is still a lot of debate among sleep medicine specialists about what exactly is going on in complex sleep apnea, or what the key characteristics that define it are.

Common causes

Obesity is one of the most common causes of sleep apnea, however there are some other contributing factors. These include:

alcohol, especially in the evening – this relaxes the throat muscles and hampers the brain’s reaction to sleep disordered breathing
some medications, such as sleeping tablets and sedatives
nasal congestion and obstruction
certain illnesses, such as reduced thyroid production or the presence of a very large goitre
large tonsils, especially in children

How is it treated?

For people with mild sleep apnea all that may be needed are some lifestyle changes.

These may include losing weight (if overweight) side sleeping (utilising devices like special pillows and rubber wedges) and decreasing the amount of alcohol drunk during the evening.

With a mild to moderate condition, another possible treatment is the use of a specially made mouthguard or splint that can be provided by a dentist. The mouth-guards work by holding the jaw forward during sleep

For those who suffer with moderate to severe sleep apnea, more active treatment may be required.

In addition to lifestyle changes, this may include a mask with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) pump. The pump feeds pressurised air into a face mask to hold the throat open during sleep.

Any contributing medical conditions, such as low production of thyroid hormone or large tonsils, would also need to be corrected.

For sufferers of severe sleep apnea, a doctor may recommend surgery.

If you think you may have this sleep disorder, see your chosen health professional.