The domestic health care product market has never been short of weird products.

In recent years, the Peruvian aphrodisiac Maca) has been added.

This is a common food used by South Americans to feed livestock and cook, along with radishes and sweet potatoes.

But when resold to China, it becomes "natural Viagra" and "American ginseng" priced at 10,000 yuan per kilogram.

Merchants claim that it can enhance the sexual function of men and women, treat infertility, and have a lot of magical health effects such as replenishing blood.

However, many scientific researches on maca have not yet reached the exact conclusion of "improving yang", and other "health functions" are even more fictitious.

For this reason, the U.S. Drug Administration determined that some maca merchants had engaged in "illegal promotion" behavior.

Domestic andrology experts suggest that patients with sexual dysfunction or fertility disorders should receive formal medical treatment and not believe in the "miraculous effects" of maca.

Miraculous: South American “radish” sells for 10,000 yuan per kilogram in China.

Maca is a cruciferous plant native to the Andes Mountains of South America.

It is now artificially cultivated in Peru and China, and widely cultivated in Yunnan and Xinjiang.

The main edible part of maca is its starch-rich tubers, which contain carbohydrates, proteins, fats and dietary fiber, as well as phytosterols, iron, magnesium, selenium, calcium and other elements.

Maca and radish belong to the same family, and the root is shaped like a round radish.

Nutritionally, maca is similar to sweet potatoes, yams, radishes, etc.

It is a very common vegetable food in Peru and can be eaten by men, women, old and young, patients, and pregnant women.

Maca is ground into flour, which is similar to flour.

It is used to make bread, cakes, etc.

In many places it is also used as fodder to feed large numbers of livestock.

Data show that maca was approved as a new resource food by the former Ministry of Health in May 2011.

At present, products made from maca are mainly marketed in China under the name of "health food".

In the Inca culture of South America, for more than two thousand years, folklore has said that maca can strengthen the body, refresh the mind, stimulate emotions, and aphrodisiac.

Many businesses promote that maca has many miraculous effects such as enriching blood, fighting fatigue, enhancing memory, treating osteoporosis, treating depression, and even treating AIDS!

Maca is said to enhance libido and treat infertility.

Known online as "aphrodisiac", "natural Viagra" and "South American ginseng", it has become a new favorite in the health care field.

It can be found in domestic pharmacies, supermarkets and even farmers markets.

It is reported that in some domestic maca stores, the price of maca is as high as over 10,000 yuan per kilogram.

Research: There is a lack of human research evidence for maca’s miraculous “aphrodisiac” effects.

However, the current scientific evidence on the health benefits of maca is still very limited, and only a few randomized controlled studies have shown that it may have a certain effect.

Catherine Seelmann, a registered dietitian and director of the nutrition department of the American medical website WebMD, said that some scientists have studied whether maca can help men and women with low sexual desire and found that it can reduce prostate enlargement.

Several animal studies have also found that maca can stimulate sexual desire, but there is currently a lack of large-scale human studies, and the mechanism of maca as a "health food" is still unclear.

NYU Langone Medical Center points out that there is no reliable evidence that maca really has any "benefits", and the plant has not had any impact on men's hormone levels.

Andrew F.-Berman, a professor at Georgetown University Medical Center in the United States, believes that maca may be helpful for sexual dysfunction, but the evaluation of the efficacy involving sexual function is affected by many psychological and sociological factors, making it difficult to draw a conclusion.

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Maca only slightly increased sexual desire compared to placebo.

She also points out that there are no clinical studies on maca for relieving menopausal symptoms.

A review in the international medical journal "Latest Sexual Health Reports" also concluded that there is no strong medical evidence to support the role of maca in female sexual dysfunction.

It is said that Chinese maca has 10 or 20 "functions" that can improve male and female reproductive functions.

Some experts questioned: "This is too 'intelligent'." Judging from the literature, there is insufficient evidence for almost every item. In particular, the impact of maca on reproductive function is not supported by scientific research evidence. Only the quality of clinical studies is poor.

Not high enough.

For example, in 2010, a paper that systematically evaluated the relationship between maca and sexual function concluded that the current research data is indeed limited and it is difficult to explain the problem; another study stated that after taking maca for 4 months, the number of male sperm and

The functions have improved, but the sample size of this study is too small (only 9 people), and there is not even a control group, so it cannot explain the problem.

Reminder: Some maca products may contain illegally added Viagra.

In the United States, many of the miraculous effects claimed by Maca advertisements are not recognized by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).

The FDA also warned a company that Maca supplements were illegal because its ads claimed the product could help with male impotence, infertility, rejuvenation and endocrine regulation.

Experts say maca doesn't really have magical powers.

It is unreliable for patients with sexual dysfunction or fertility disorders to try to "return to their former glory" through Maca.

It is recommended to receive formal treatment.

He also reminded that "impotence" health products have always been the hardest hit area for violations.

It is not ruled out that some products under the banner of Maca may secretly add certain pharmaceutical ingredients (such as "Viagra"), which will provide good erectile function, but also bring additional health risks.