What is Swiftlet Nest?

What is Swiftlet Nest?

Primarily known as Swiftlet Nest, Swiftlet Nest has been consumed by the Chinese people since more than 1500 years ago, firstly discovered during the Tang Dinasty (A.D. 618-907) in China. In the earliest records, it was said that the Swiftlet Nest were actually traded for porcelain during that time, and Admiral Cheng Ho returned from South East Asia, bringing back the Swiftlet Nest to the Chinese Emperor.

What is Swiftlet Nest?

Swiftlet Nest (in Chinese: 燕窩) has been know & used by Chinese communities for centuries as a health food. It is actually the salivary glue of Swiftlet Nests (Collocaliini) taken from their nests. Swiftlet Nests are distributed mainly in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and North Australia. With it high market value, Swiftlet Nest has been promoted by marketers as highly nutrition food, which is good for skin, anti-aging, lowering risk of disease, and longer life span. Traditionally, it is double boiled with rock sugar. Many celebrities and riches claimed to eat Swiftlet Nest everyday.

What is the Nutrition Value of Swiftlet Nest?

According to scientific research, Swiftlet Nest contains mainly carbohydrates, amino acids and mineral salts, glycoproteins, sialic acid, galactosamine, glucosamine, galactose, fucose, etc. Sialic acid has advantages in infants. While some amino acid found can facilitate body's repairing and immunity.

Is Swiftlet Nest Good or Bad for Cancer Patients?

Scientific evidence was given by Ng et al. (1986) in Hong Kong, suggested that Swiftlet Nest might possess immunoenhancing effect by aiding cell division of immune cells. In 1987, other scientific evidence was published by Kong et al, demonstrated an epidermal growth factor (EGF) that stimulated the DNA synthesis in 3T3 fibroblast in a dose dependent manner in vitro. EGF is a 6,000 Da polypeptide hormone produced by glands of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the salivary and Brunner's glands. It appears to play a crucial role in major normal cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and development. It may offer a rationale for the medicinal use of Swiftlet Nest in ageing resistance. Since the receptor for EGF is highly expressed in a number of solid tumors, including breast, head-and-neck, non-small-cell lung, renal, ovarian and colon cancer, people are worried about a possibility to induce tumor progression and to resist chemotherapy/radiation treatment in tumor cells; in consequence, suggest that cancer patients should avoid Swiftlet Nest. However, there is no evidence supporting this suggestion. Scientific evidence for its efficacy is still limited.