Yacon and Maca the authentic Peruvian superfoods

Learn the nutritional power of Peru’s native plants and how others are trying illegally harvest these crops in other soils - and why they are not the same.

Yacon is gaining popularity as one of the natural prebiotic aid foods, not only does it help nourish the gut but it has added benefits like zero to none calories and very little sugar.

Also, we have Maca, this unique plant has been used since ancient Inca civilizations as a sacred food and as well as an aphrodisiac, nowadays in known, the Maca roots possess a wide array of health benefits like:

01 Improves Energy

02 Boost Immunity

03 Improves Memory

04 Balances Hormones

05 Enhances Stamina

And is also a great source for minerals like calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Yacon is another superstar by itself, aside from all the benefits mentioned above, antioxidants is also another component of its high nutritional profile; Ivan Manrique a Bolivian food researcher stated: “Yacon in other countries is used to have a healthy skin” in the Netflix show “Down to Earth” with famous actor Zac Efron.

“In Bolivia, Yacon consumption is recommended to diabetics,” said Manrique.

The reason behind this statement is because Yacon has a very low glycemic content meaning its only sugar content is made of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) which are prebiotics, meaning they do not spike blood glucose at all, therefore, Yacon is diabetic friendly.

The syrup derived from Yacon is a natural sweetener, tastes like honey but without sugar, nutritionally speaking is almost like cheating, having the best of two worlds - sweetness and very little calories.

It’s illegal to grow Yacon and Maca outside of Peru.

See, native plants are part of the cultural and genomic heritage, in a recent era as globalization grows new problems emerge regarding this topic, and that is Biopiracy.

Taking native plants out of their origin is illegal and countries like China is growing Yacon and Maca illegally in Chinese soil, biopiracy not only is wrong but it also affects the consumer.

The Chinese version of Yacon and Maca are genetically modified, they add pesticides and other chemicals in order to compensate for the poor growing conditions and in terms of nutritional properties they are nothing alike compared Peruvian Yacon and Maca, Chinese versions lack the health benefits because they are simply not from Peru, they just can’t mimic the weather, the soil, the altitude, etc.

So to all the consumers out there be aware of where to look for your foods, by buying authentic products not only Biopiracy will slow down but also you will strengthen sociological ancestry.

“All Wholefort products are 100% Peruvian, ensuring our consumers the highest nutritional profile”.

Antonio Gomez, RDN, Nutritionist at Wholefort