Health And Fitness News 

The Maca Root Love Bar

A new confectionary bar with a healthy twist is going to be released in Europe soon. That in itself is not news, as Europeans have really embraced the health benefits of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has a naturally high level of antioxidants, and some European chocolate manufacturers even publish the level of antioxidants each bar contains on the packet.

What makes this bar more interesting is that it contains Maca root, a food supplement that originates in Peru. Maca is traditionally used for improving energy levels, and as an aphrodisiac, as well as a lot of other things. This last use, however, has been jumped on by a group of confectionary manufacturers because it provides a great marketing angle for their new bar. They've called it the 'Love Bar'.

Unfortunately, herbal history is littered with herbs and other substances that were used as aphrodisiacs. Traditional Chinese culture really turned this into a 'science', in that anything was really fair game for use as an aphrodisiac, so interested in the subject were they.

Maca root is an excellent supplement. When it is used to regulate hormone levels, it has many powerful uses. But the crunch is that it is a regulator of hormone levels. Perhaps if some sort of deficiency existed, or problems with low levels of circulating hormones due to stress, fatigue or other reasons, then maca might help with sexual performance. But it will not act like pharmaceuticals do in that area. And in any case, this type of use can muddy the real benefits of a very versatile herb