Rainforest Foods Organic Maca is a plant grown in the Peruvian Andes over 4000m above sea level. Its root and hypocotyl - the bulbous stem below the leafy growth - have for centuries been part of the diet and culture of people in the region. Legend has it that Incan warriors consumed it prior to battle to increase their fighting spirit, and it has historically been used to enhance strength, stamina and libido. It presents a broad spectrum of nutrients, and is increasingly popular with athletes. The core of Macas nutritional profile is carbohydrate, which is over half its volume. This is an energy source and vital to active people. The carbohydrate is balanced in Maca by a healthy dose of proteins. The Calcium offered by Maca is also a vital resource, and is backed by several other vital minerals. These include Iron and Magnesium. Maca also contains Vitamin B1,Vitamin B2 and the antioxidant Vitamin C. A signature component of Maca is dietary fibre, an absolutely essential part of our intake and one which many modern foods lack in sufficiency. They combine the different coloured roots to offer a complete nutritional profile than the standard yellow maca. It is also gelatinised; a process that promotes the bioavailability of the maca. Production Rainforest Foods Maca is cultivated in Peru, at high altitude (over 4000m). The growing season is eight months long, which gives time for the nutritional profile to develop fully. A further three months is given to a natural, open-air drying process. The dried roots are cleaned and broken into small pieces. These are then processed to reduce the starch content to make the nutrients more easily absorbed by the human body and more concentrated. This finished maca powder contains the full array of nutrients that maca offers with just the levels of starch being reduced. It takes over 5kg of Maca root to make 1kg of our maca root 5:1 powder with each 500mg capsule containing the equivalent of 2500mg of maca root. The powder is encapsulated in the UK by a leading GMP (Good Marketing Practice)-registered pharmaceutical manufacturer. GMP registration requires rigorous inspection by the MHRA (Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency), the government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are safe. Regular GMP audits enforce optimum quality standards in the encapsulation process. Rainforest Foods capsule casings are made from HPMC, a plant-based cellulose material approved for vegetarian and vegan use by the Vegetarian Society, and Halal and Kosher-certified. HPMC is about as biologically neutral a foodstuff as it is possible to find, and the only other ingredient in the casings is water. The capsules are 100% pure, using no fillers, binders or bulking agents. Each capsule contains 500mg of powder. Organic Certification Certified by the Soil Association, one of a handful of organic certification bodies in the UK. These are regulated in their turn by DEFRA (Department for...