Maca Root for Women Over 40: What Three Small Trials Actually Found

September 13, 2026

Maca root for women over 40: dried maca roots, powder and an amber dropper bottle in morning light

You type it into your phone before the house wakes up: "maca root for women over 40." The ads call it a natural hormone balancer. A cousin at church swears by it. And you are tired, foggy, and carrying weight where it never used to settle.

Here is what most of those posts leave out. Only three small randomized trials have tested maca in postmenopausal women, and in two of them, hormone levels did not move at all. What did change is more useful than the marketing. This article walks through all three trials, the doses they used, who should be careful, and what a realistic eight-week test looks like.

Maca root for women over 40: why "hormone balancer" is the wrong frame

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a root vegetable from the high Andes of Peru, a cousin of mustard and radish. A systematic review indexed by the NIH National Library of Medicine notes it has been used there for centuries as an adaptogenic plant, including for what tradition calls female hormone balance.

The problem is the leap from "traditionally used for" to "raises your estrogen." Memorial Sloan Kettering's herb database notes that some maca constituents show estrogenic activity in the lab, but also that systematic reviews judge the human evidence for menopausal symptoms and sexual dysfunction to be limited. So the honest question is what happened when researchers measured it.

What the research says about maca root for women over 40

A 2011 systematic review in Maturitas found only four placebo-controlled trials of maca for menopausal symptoms. All four reported favorable effects on symptom scales, yet the reviewers called the evidence limited and said safety "has not been proved yet." Three enrolled postmenopausal women, and they do not agree with each other.

Trial one: 14 women, raw maca powder, hormones unchanged

In a 2008 crossover trial published in Menopause, 14 postmenopausal women took 3.5 grams a day of powdered maca for six weeks and placebo for six weeks, in random order. Blood tests showed no differences in estradiol, FSH, LH or sex hormone-binding globulin. Yet on the Greene Climacteric Scale, anxiety, depression and sexual dysfunction scores dropped significantly on maca compared with placebo. The authors concluded the benefit was not related to estrogen or androgen content.

Trial two: 34 women, gelatinized maca, hormones shifted and LDL rose

The outlier is a 2006 Polish trial in the International Journal of Biomedical Science. Thirty-four early-postmenopausal women aged 49 to 58 took 2 grams a day of pre-gelatinized maca (Maca-GO) or placebo, two months each. Here the labs did move: estradiol rose, while FSH, T3, ACTH, cortisol and BMI fell. Symptom scores improved and bone markers rose. The same abstract reports a significant increase in LDL cholesterol on maca, a detail supplement listings skip.

Trial three: 29 women, lower blood pressure, hormones flat again

In a 2015 pilot study in Climacteric, 29 postmenopausal Hong Kong Chinese women took 3.3 grams a day of maca or placebo for six weeks each. There were no differences in estradiol, FSH, TSH, SHBG, glucose or lipid profiles. What did change was diastolic blood pressure and depression scores, both of which fell significantly on maca.

Trial	Women	Dose and form	Length per phase	Hormones	What improved
Menopause, 2008	14	3.5 g/day raw powder	6 weeks	No change	Anxiety, depression and sexual function scores
Int J Biomed Sci, 2006	34	2 g/day gelatinized	2 months	Estradiol up; FSH, cortisol down	Symptom scores, bone markers; LDL rose
Climacteric, 2015	29	3.3 g/day powder	6 weeks	No change	Diastolic blood pressure, depression scores

What changed, what did not, and what nobody measured

Side by side, a pattern shows up that the "hormone balancer" label hides.

Mood-related scores improved in all three trials, whether or not hormones moved.
Sexual function improved in the 14-woman trial; diastolic blood pressure fell in the 29-woman trial.
In two of three trials, estradiol and FSH stayed exactly where they were.
In the one trial where hormones shifted, LDL cholesterol went up.

Now the part that matters if you searched "maca root benefits for women body" or "maca root benefits for women weight gain." None of these trials measured waist, hips, fat distribution or anything about body shape. One reported a small drop in BMI, which says nothing about where weight sits. Healthline's maca overview, updated April 17, 2026, covers libido, menopause symptoms, mood and energy and never mentions body composition. Any post promising that maca reshapes your figure is not quoting a study. And 14, 34 and 29 women is enough for "worth a look," not "proven."

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How much maca should a woman take daily, and in what form

The three postmenopausal trials used 2 to 3.5 grams a day. Healthline puts the range used across maca studies at 1.5 to 3 grams of powder daily, for no more than four months. Those are powder amounts, and the form changes what a gram means.

Raw maca powder. The dried, milled root, used in the 2008 and 2015 trials at 3.3 to 3.5 grams a day.
Gelatinized maca. Heat-processed to remove starch, so a gram is more concentrated. This was the 2-gram form in the 2006 trial, the only one where hormones and LDL moved.
Concentrated extracts. Sold in capsules, tinctures and blends, labeled with a ratio such as 30:1, meaning 30 parts raw root reduced to one part extract.

A liquid blend such as ADIRA VitalDrops lists 80 mg of a 30:1 maca root extract per 2 mL serving alongside ashwagandha, beet root and fenugreek. On paper, 80 mg of a 30:1 extract corresponds to roughly 2.4 grams of raw root, inside the trial range. But a ratio is not a tested dose, and no published trial has studied that blend. Treat the math as a way to compare labels, not a promise.

How long does maca root take to work for women

The honest answer is six to eight weeks. Two trials ran six weeks per phase; the Polish trial ran two months.

The trials also tell you what to track. Researchers used the Greene Climacteric Scale and the Kupperman index, which score specific things: anxiety, low mood, sleep, hot flashes, sexual function. Score those once a week, before you start and for eight weeks after. If nothing has shifted by week eight, the studies give you no reason to keep going, and Healthline's four-month ceiling is a sensible point to reassess with your doctor either way.

Who should be careful with maca

WebMD and Healthline call maca generally safe at up to 3 grams a day. That is not the same as safe for everyone.

Hormone-sensitive conditions. Memorial Sloan Kettering advises talking to your provider if you have a hormone-sensitive cancer such as breast or uterine cancer, since maca may affect treatment. WebMD adds ovarian and endometrial cancers, and says women with uterine fibroids should not take it.
Blood pressure medication. MSK notes maca was shown to enhance the blood-pressure-lowering effect of losartan. Tell your doctor if you take any blood pressure medicine.
Lab tests. MSK reports maca may interfere with testosterone tests. Mention it before any hormone panel.
Cholesterol. The gelatinized-maca trial reported higher LDL, worth a conversation if your numbers are borderline.
Side effects reported. MSK lists subjective reports of altered menstrual cycles, moodiness, cramps, gastritis and insomnia.

Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a condition.

What this means for you: an eight-week test

Name what you are testing. Reasonable targets are mood, anxiety, sleep, sexual interest and blood pressure. Body shape is not on the list, because no trial measured it.
Clear the exclusion list. Fibroids, a hormone-sensitive cancer history, blood pressure or thyroid medication, or a pending hormone test mean a call to your provider first.
Write down your baseline. Rate your three main symptoms 0 to 10, and log your blood pressure if you own a cuff.
Pick a form and read the label. Powder in the 1.5 to 3 gram range, or an extract whose label math lands there. A fixed morning routine helps; a dropper stirred into your coffee is one way, a scoop in oatmeal is another.
Take it daily, with food, for eight weeks. The shortest window the trials used.
Score weekly. Same symptoms, same scale, same day.
Decide at week eight. Clear improvement is a reason to continue. No change is a reason to stop.

The weight settling at your middle deserves its own plan: protein at each meal, strength work, sleep, and a talk with your doctor about what changed after 40 or after a GLP-1 medication. Maca was never tested for that.

FAQ

Does maca root balance hormones after menopause?

Not in the way the ads imply. In two of three trials on postmenopausal women, estradiol and FSH did not change, yet mood and symptom scores improved. Only one trial, using 2 grams of gelatinized maca, reported hormone shifts, and it also reported higher LDL cholesterol. Maca may support how you feel without changing your labs.

Can maca cause weight gain in women over 40?

None of the three postmenopausal trials reported weight gain. One reported a small drop in BMI over two months. But no trial measured waist, hips or fat distribution, so there is no evidence maca changes body shape in either direction. Weight shifting to your middle needs its own plan with your doctor.

Is maca safe with blood pressure medication?

Ask first. Memorial Sloan Kettering notes maca enhanced the blood-pressure-lowering effect of losartan, and a 2015 trial found maca alone lowered diastolic pressure in postmenopausal women. Combined with medication, that could push your numbers lower than intended. Bring the supplement label to your next appointment.

How much maca should a woman over 40 take daily?

Trials in postmenopausal women used 2 to 3.5 grams of powder a day, with meals, for six weeks to two months. Healthline cites a study range of 1.5 to 3 grams and a four-month limit. For extracts, multiply the milligrams by the label ratio to estimate the raw-root equivalent, and stay inside that range.

The bottom line

Maca root for women over 40 has been tested in three small trials, and the story they tell is smaller and more specific than "hormone balancer." Mood and anxiety scores improved in all three, sexual function in one, blood pressure in one. Hormones stayed flat in two, and the trial where they moved also raised LDL. No trial measured body shape. If you try maca, use a dose in the studied range, take it daily for eight weeks, track a few symptoms, and clear it with your doctor first if you have fibroids, a hormone-sensitive cancer history or blood pressure medicine.

From ADIRA

A daily maca routine that fits in your coffee cup

ADIRA VitalDrops is a vegan, sugar-free liquid blend of maca, ashwagandha, beet root and fenugreek made for women over 40 who want one simple morning habit. Buy 2, Get 1 Free (three bottles for $59.90, applied automatically at checkout) with a 90-day money-back guarantee.

See ADIRA VitalDrops →

Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.