NEW YORK, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Native to the high Andes, Maca Root, used for thousands of years in Peru for its hormonal effects, is providing effective relief for an increasing number of menopausal women in the U.S. Now we know why. Scientists at the Center for Cardiovascular Sciences at Albany Medical College in Albany, N.Y., discovered in 2004 that Maca Root fed to mice could raise their tissue levels of IGF-1.  This hormone helps regulate many of the body's physiological processes including human fertility.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101026/NY88377 )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101026/NY88377 )

"We finally have a key which helps explain how maca works in a few days to alleviate a wide range of menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, depression, loss of libido, vaginal dryness and insomnia," says Viana Muller, who founded a company which introduced maca root to U.S. menopausal women fifteen years ago.  

"Since IGF-1 helps the body produce its own hormones, maca root works in a completely different way than dietary supplements such as black cohosh and isoflavones of soy," said Muller.  "These plants contain weak plant estrogens.  Although they often work for a few months to alleviate mild menopausal symptoms, they are ineffective for women with more severe symptoms.  In contrast, women generally experience dramatic relief with high quality maca root supplements. Unfortunately though," she adds, "most maca root now sold in the U.S. is raw, which is not very effective and often causes severe side effects. In Peru, maca root is never eaten raw."

According to an article, which follows up on the massive Women's Health Initiative study (2002), published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, breast cancer in
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