The Most Popular Nutritional Supplements in the UK
What is aa? Where does Echinacea come from? If you don't know your Ginkgo biloba from your glucosamine, read on to find out more about the UK's most popular nutritionalsupplements.
Aa is the ripe purple berries of the aa palm, which grows in Brazilian and Peruvian swamps. The Amazonian Caboclo people have eaten aa for centuries, making up 40% of their diet[1]. In Brazil, it is found in aa na tigela (aa pulp, granola and fruits) and even in ice cream!
Echinacea is made from coneflowers, related to daisies and found on the North American prairies. Traditionally, the Kiowa, Cheyenne, Pawnee and Lakotah Indians used it[2].
Acidophilus is a bacterium that ferments milk. It is used in dairy products, including yoghurt.
Ginkgo biloba is a "living fossil", dating back 190 million years.[3] It has a long history; Buddhist monks planted ginkgo trees in China 1,000 years ago![4] Ginkgo nuts are used in Chinese cooking, especially on occasions such as New Year. Supplements are made from gingko leaves.
Glucosamine is found in bones and crustacean shells (such as crabs). Supplements are usually made from these shells.
Aloe vera is a succulent (like a cactus), originally from Sudan, but now grown in dry climates around the world. There are references to Aloe vera in an Egyptian papyrus from 1500 BC.[5]It is used widely in cosmetics, and is often applied to the skin or taken as a juice or supplement.
Ginseng is a fleshy-rooted plant that was first mentioned in Shnnng B?n C?o J?ng, a book attributed to the Chinese Emperor Shennong, who is said to have lived around 2800 BC.[6] There are several species, including Asian ginseng and Korean (red) ginseng. North American ginseng was used by Indian tribes and began to be imported into China in the 19th century.[7]
Garlic is something we all use for cooking, but did you know that garlic is related to onions? It has been used for thousands of years and is mentioned in the Bible.[8] Don't worry about offending people if you take garlic supplements - they are odourless!
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids[9], which fish get from eating algae. Interestingly, 87% of fish oil is used to feed farmed fish![10]
Green tea is just what it says it is - tea! It comes from the same plant that gives us black tea, but is made from un-oxidised leaves. Oxidation makes tea dark, and so green tea is light.
[1] Murrieta RSS, Dufour DL, Siqueira AD (1999). "Food consumption and subsistence in three Caboclo populations on Marajo Island, Amazonia, Brazil". Human Ecology 27: 455-75. http:// www. springerlink. com /content/l2j3720765pq5263/
[2] Moerman, Daniel E. (1998). Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p. 205 http:// books. google. com/books?id=UXaQat5icHUC&pg=PA205&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
[3] Julie Jalalpour, Matt Malkin, Peter Poon, Liz Rehrmann, Jerry Yu (1997). "Ginkgoales: Fossil Record". University of California, Berkeley.
http:// www. ucmp. berkeley. edu/seedplants/ginkgoales/ginkgofr.html
[4] Shen, L; Chen, X-Y; Zhang, X; Li, Y-Y; Fu, C-X; Qiu, Y-X (2004). "Genetic variation of Ginkgo biloba L. (Ginkgoaceae) based on cpDNA PCR-RFLPs: inference of glacial refugia". Heredity 94 (4): 396-401
http:// www. nature. com/hdy/journal/v94/n4/full/6800616a.html
[5] Sean Foley. "Ebers Papyrus". Toxipedia.
http:// toxipedia. org/display/toxipedia/Ebers+Papyrus
[6] Shouzhong Yang (1998). "The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica: A Translation of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing".
http:// books. google. co.uk/books?id=NjC-eTffFeQC&pg=PR4&dq=Shennong+Ben+Cao+Jing&hl=en&ei=_IxbTbu3NsGbhQfuiPmuDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
[7] Donald Watts (2007). "Dictionary of plant lore".
http:// books. google. co.uk/books?id=WAagnZNb0cAC&pg=PA165&dq=north+american+ginseng+china+import+century&hl=en&ei=Ko9bTaXNGIezhAe4kbTaDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
[8] "The King James Bible". Numbers 11: 5
[9] Moghadasian MH (May 2008). "Advances in dietary enrichment with n-3 fatty acids". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 48 (5): 402-10.
http:// www. informaworld. com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10408390701424303
[10] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2008). "World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2008: Highlights of Special Studies".
ftp:// ftp. fao. org/docrep/fao/011/i0250e/i0250e03.pdf
Aa is the ripe purple berries of the aa palm, which grows in Brazilian and Peruvian swamps. The Amazonian Caboclo people have eaten aa for centuries, making up 40% of their diet[1]. In Brazil, it is found in aa na tigela (aa pulp, granola and fruits) and even in ice cream!
Echinacea is made from coneflowers, related to daisies and found on the North American prairies. Traditionally, the Kiowa, Cheyenne, Pawnee and Lakotah Indians used it[2].
Acidophilus is a bacterium that ferments milk. It is used in dairy products, including yoghurt.
Ginkgo biloba is a "living fossil", dating back 190 million years.[3] It has a long history; Buddhist monks planted ginkgo trees in China 1,000 years ago![4] Ginkgo nuts are used in Chinese cooking, especially on occasions such as New Year. Supplements are made from gingko leaves.
Glucosamine is found in bones and crustacean shells (such as crabs). Supplements are usually made from these shells.
Aloe vera is a succulent (like a cactus), originally from Sudan, but now grown in dry climates around the world. There are references to Aloe vera in an Egyptian papyrus from 1500 BC.[5]It is used widely in cosmetics, and is often applied to the skin or taken as a juice or supplement.
Ginseng is a fleshy-rooted plant that was first mentioned in Shnnng B?n C?o J?ng, a book attributed to the Chinese Emperor Shennong, who is said to have lived around 2800 BC.[6] There are several species, including Asian ginseng and Korean (red) ginseng. North American ginseng was used by Indian tribes and began to be imported into China in the 19th century.[7]
Garlic is something we all use for cooking, but did you know that garlic is related to onions? It has been used for thousands of years and is mentioned in the Bible.[8] Don't worry about offending people if you take garlic supplements - they are odourless!
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids[9], which fish get from eating algae. Interestingly, 87% of fish oil is used to feed farmed fish![10]
Green tea is just what it says it is - tea! It comes from the same plant that gives us black tea, but is made from un-oxidised leaves. Oxidation makes tea dark, and so green tea is light.
[1] Murrieta RSS, Dufour DL, Siqueira AD (1999). "Food consumption and subsistence in three Caboclo populations on Marajo Island, Amazonia, Brazil". Human Ecology 27: 455-75. http:// www. springerlink. com /content/l2j3720765pq5263/
[2] Moerman, Daniel E. (1998). Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p. 205 http:// books. google. com/books?id=UXaQat5icHUC&pg=PA205&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
[3] Julie Jalalpour, Matt Malkin, Peter Poon, Liz Rehrmann, Jerry Yu (1997). "Ginkgoales: Fossil Record". University of California, Berkeley.
http:// www. ucmp. berkeley. edu/seedplants/ginkgoales/ginkgofr.html
[4] Shen, L; Chen, X-Y; Zhang, X; Li, Y-Y; Fu, C-X; Qiu, Y-X (2004). "Genetic variation of Ginkgo biloba L. (Ginkgoaceae) based on cpDNA PCR-RFLPs: inference of glacial refugia". Heredity 94 (4): 396-401
http:// www. nature. com/hdy/journal/v94/n4/full/6800616a.html
[5] Sean Foley. "Ebers Papyrus". Toxipedia.
http:// toxipedia. org/display/toxipedia/Ebers+Papyrus
[6] Shouzhong Yang (1998). "The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica: A Translation of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing".
http:// books. google. co.uk/books?id=NjC-eTffFeQC&pg=PR4&dq=Shennong+Ben+Cao+Jing&hl=en&ei=_IxbTbu3NsGbhQfuiPmuDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
[7] Donald Watts (2007). "Dictionary of plant lore".
http:// books. google. co.uk/books?id=WAagnZNb0cAC&pg=PA165&dq=north+american+ginseng+china+import+century&hl=en&ei=Ko9bTaXNGIezhAe4kbTaDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
[8] "The King James Bible". Numbers 11: 5
[9] Moghadasian MH (May 2008). "Advances in dietary enrichment with n-3 fatty acids". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 48 (5): 402-10.
http:// www. informaworld. com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10408390701424303
[10] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2008). "World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2008: Highlights of Special Studies".
ftp:// ftp. fao. org/docrep/fao/011/i0250e/i0250e03.pdf
Source...