Word: ginseng
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...called Jeet Kune Do, "the way of the intercepting fist." Living in L.A., he became the vanguard on all things '70s. He was a physical-fitness freak: running, lifting weights and experimenting with isometrics and electrical impulses meant to stimulate his muscles while he slept. He took vitamins, ginseng, royal jelly, steroids and even liquid steaks. A rebel, he flouted the Boxer-era tradition of not teaching kung fu to Westerners even as he hippily railed against the robotic exercises of other martial arts that prevented self-expressive violence. One of his admonitions: "Research your own experiences for the truth...
...from food. It should taste good and be reasonably good for me. But more and more these days we're encouraged to view the grocery store as a medicine chest. There are tofu and yams for hot flashes. Ginseng tea for energy. Stewed tomatoes to prevent prostate cancer. So when I heard about Benecol and Take Control, the new margarines that are supposed to lower cholesterol levels in the blood, I didn't exactly smack my lips in anticipation. Still, I figured, given how much heart disease there is in the U.S., they deserved a look...
Such rival brands are emphasizing their quality to health seekers like Shirley Palmer, 66, a Los Angeles writer who pops ginkgo and ginseng and a handful of vitamins on the say-so of friends and news reports. "I have no evidence that these things really work," Palmer says. "I take them on faith." But they keep her away from the doctor, she says, and that's good because "I don't have time to sit around waiting in doctors' offices." Like Palmer, millions of Americans are using ancient remedies to broaden the range of modern health-care choices. And these...
...Make sure what you're taking is pure. Last May the FDA verified industry reports that certain shipments of ginseng were contaminated with high levels of a fungicide. Elaine Kang-Yum, a pharmacist at the Hudson Valley Poison Control Center in Tarrytown, N.Y., who tracks herbal medicines, says some imported Chinese remedies have been doped with Valium or other prescription drugs...
...betting it will be different for companies that sell tablets and foods laced with the likes of St. John's wort and ginseng. For one thing, this is health food, not antihealth food. Since 1990 sales of natural foods and beverages and dietary supplements have grown 20% a year. This year consumers will shell out more than $18 billion for the stuff. Annual growth could slow to 15% or so as big retailers like Wal-Mart introduce private-label brands and force prices down. But that's still solid growth for a consumable product. One sign of Wall Street...