Is the moringa 'miracle tree' the next big
superfood?
There's a lot of buzz about moringa and its potential to improve
human health. What are the facts behind the hype?
Tue, Aug 27 2013 at 12:42 PM
Another day, another superfood.
This time it's the moringa, or "miracle tree," that is
getting all the attention. Here's a little taste of what's being claimed for
this rather remarkable plant, courtesy of Underground Health Reporter:
The superfood known as
moringa (from the moringa tree) contains several thousand times more of the
powerful anti-aging nutrient zeatin than any other known plant — and that it
also has two compounds that prevent cancer and stop tumor growth.
A long history of traditional use
As someone who had just written about dietitians' reluctance to use
the term superfood, I confess to being a touch skeptical. That said,
moringa does have a long history of use that dates back to the ancient Greeks,
Romans and Egyptians, not to mention a wealth of culinary and traditional
medicinal uses.
But are the claims being made backed up by scientific
evidence?
Originally cultivated in Northern Africa and India and used to
feed both humans and cattle, the tree has since been adopted across much of the
globe, including Central and South America and Southeast Asia. The Honduran
government, for example, has promoted moringa agroforestry as a potential
solution to deforestation.
A proven tool in the fight against hunger
International charity Trees for Life has gotten behind moringa in a big way, claiming that it may hold
the key to combating malnutrition in areas where food insecurity is rife. Claiming
that the leaves of the tree contain more vitamin A than carrots, more calcium
than milk, more iron than spinach, more vitamin C than oranges, more potassium
than bananas, and a protein quality comparable to milk or eggs, it's not hard
to understand what has gotten superfood enthusiasts (and marketers)
excited.
Much more research needed
Jed W. Fahey, a researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,
argues that there is plenty of evidence to
back up Trees for Life's assertions about the
nutritional benefits of moringa for poor communities. Even some of the claims
being made around medicinal benefits, specifically the potential for antibiotic
and anticancer applications, have been shown to have some merit in clinical
trials.
A lot more research is needed, however, and the rich oral history
of uses of moringa has yet to be studied in enough detail to verify what's true
and what's not. Ultimately, says Fahey, there's strong reason to be both
hopeful and skeptical regarding the potential of moringa to improve human
health:
As with many reports of the
nutritional or medicinal value of a natural product, there are an alarming
number of purveyors of “healthful” food who are now promoting M. oleifera as a panacea. While much of this recent
enthusiasm indeed appears to be justified, it is critical to separate rigorous
scientific evidence from anecdote. Those who charge a premium for products
containing Moringa spp.
must be held to a high standard. Those who promote the cultivation and use
of Moringa spp.
in regions where hope is in short supply must be provided with the best
available evidence, so as not to raise false hopes and to encourage the most
fruitful use of scarce research capital.
Given that a recent search of the Internet showed up dozens of
companies marketing moringa "superfood" powders, capsules and even
shampoo, consumers would do well to assess the claims being made by marketers
with a critical eye. (It's also worth noting that WebMD warns pregnant and
nursing mothers to avoid moringa due to potential complications.)
Human history is full of examples of fascinating, useful and powerful
discoveries from the plant kingdom. It's also full of examples of quackery,
hyperbole and jumping the gun.
There seems little doubt that moringa can play a powerful role in
fighting hunger and malnutrition. Whether it can also help us health food
enthusiasts to live forever remains to be seen.
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