Maca for Nutrition

Overview

Maca, or Lepidium meyenii, is an herbaceous plant native to the Andean mountains. You can eat its taproot as a root vegetable, and powdered maca root is also a common herbal medicine. The inhabitants of central Peru have cultivated maca for centuries, although it was of little commercial value until the 1980s.

Serving Information

BuddySlim provides nutrition information on maca. This data applies to dried maca root that has been ground to a fine powder. The serving size is one level tablespoon of powdered maca root weighing 7 g, or about ¼ oz.

Calories

A serving of maca contains a total of 30 calories. Carbohydrates contribute 21 calories, protein provides 8 calories and fat accounts for the remaining calorie. Maca provides 1.5 percent of the daily value for calories per serving, assuming a diet of 2,000 calories per day. 

Fat and Protein

Maca contains a total of 0.1 g of fat per serving, which is less than 1 percent of the daily value for fat. This fat content consists entirely of unsaturated fats, as maca contains no saturated fats, trans fats or cholesterol. A serving of maca also contains 2 g of protein, or 4 percent of the daily value for protein. 

Carbohydrates

A serving of maca contain 5 g of total carbohydrates, or about 2 percent of the daily value for carbohydrates. This carbohydrate consists of 3 g of starch and 2 g of simple sugar. Maca doesn’t contain any dietary fiber. 

Vitamins and Minerals

Maca has 0.014 mg of thiamin in each serving, or about 1 percent of the daily value for thiamin. The riboflavin content in a serving of maca is 0.025 mg, which is about 1.4 percent of the daily value for riboflavin. A serving of maca also contains 0.7 mg of vitamin C, which is about 1.2 percent of the daily value for vitamin C.

Maca has 144 mg of potassium per tablespoon, which is 3.1 percent of the daily value for potassium. It also has 11 mg of calcium, or 1.1 percent of the daily value for calcium. The sodium content in a tablespoon of maca is 1.3 mg, which is less than 1 percent of the daily value for sodium.