Health Benefits of Bird Nest Soup

Swiftlets’ nests (Mandarin: Yan Wo) have been a prized delicacy among the Chinese for hundreds of years. Made primarily of hardened swiftlets’ saliva, the nests are one of the five elite, highly prized foods in Chinese culture, with the others being fish maw, ginseng, abalone and sharks’ fin. Once reserved for the emperors, swiftlets’ nests are now available for mass consumption, with the market in Hong Kong alone worth more than three billion Hong Kong Dollars annually (about USD 400 million).

Introduction:

Swiftlets, from the genus Aerodramus, are small, insectivorous birds. While their habitat spans from the tropical areas of the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, only nests from four species of swiftlets in South East Asia are edible. The most common nests are from the white- and black-nest swiftlets, while red blood nests are believed to be the most nutritious. The birds’ traditional habitat is in limestone caves, with the males taking 35 days to build the nests. However, with the price of unprocessed nests steadily rising to its current price of up to USD 2,700 per kilogram, enterprising individuals are increasingly enticing the birds to nest in man-made environments, typically in customized buildings, to facilitate harvesting.

Health Benefits of Bird Nest Soup

What is it that makes the Bird Nest Soups so desirable among the Chinese?

Consisting of carbohydrates, proteins and small quantities of mineral salts, the Bird Nest Soups are double boiled with rock sugar to make a sweet soup with gelatinous strands of nest. In traditional Chinese medical lore, the Bird Nest Soup is believed to enhance health, promote longevity and boost the immune system. Others believe that the soup aids digestion and may be a natural Viagra.
Studies have shown that Bird Nest Soup can boost the immune system by promoting cell division of immune cells. Additionally, Bird Nest Soup extract is proven to promote epidermal growth factor activity, which in turn helps the proliferation, differentiation and development of cells. This is hypothesized to slow down the aging process by promoting cell renewal. Scientists in Japan also claim that the nests help to combat flu.
The carbohydrate in the nests is found to contain sialic acid and glucosamine. Some believe that an external source of sialic acid may enhance brain functions in infants. However, scientists have failed to reach a consensus on the issue. Glucosamine, on the other hand, is believed to help patients with osteoarthritis and others suffering from joint pain.
The Chinese are great believers in the medicinal properties of this delicacy. Although many of the health benefits of swiftlets’ nests remain unproven, the industry continues to thrive, with the market experiencing double digit growth in recent years.

How to Prepare The Bird Nest Soup

To bring out the best out of the Bird Nest Soup, we should carefully treat and prepare the Bird Nest Soup during preparation prior to cooking. This process is important to make sure we do not accidentally dispose all the benefits contained in the Bird Nest Soup.

How to Prepare The Bird Nest Soup

The process of preparing the general Bird Nest Soup is the same whether you want to cook it for soup, dessert, cake or any dishes: soak and rinse the dried Bird Nest Soup with clean water for several hours; clean it using tweezers; change the water and soak it for another hour until the Bird Nest Soup is soft and expanding from its original shape.
After going through these steps, generally the Bird Nest Soup is cleaned from any unwanted grime and ready to cook with any other ingredients, to serve the best delicacy for your loved ones. However, our Bird Nest Soup products are all clean and dry at its finest grade.

Bird Nest Soup for Healing Power

Soup in Chinese tradition is used to heal, improve stamina, and usually served not only for sick person but also for the whole family. In Chinese cuisine, soup is widely cooked with various ingredients, which one of those is Bird Nest Soup.
Bird Nest Soup has been consumed for possibly in 1200 years in China. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, edible Bird Nest Soup has a high nutritional and medicinal value as anti-cancer, anti-aging, and a long list of health benefits, including for healing power. Although it is among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans, Bird Nest Soup still has high demand due these benefits mentioned.
Although some sources mentioned that there is no scientific explanation yet regarding the benefits claimed, but a recent medical research by Hong Kong Chinese University reported that the cell division enzyme and hormone of Bird Nest Soup can promote reproduction and regeneration of human cells. In addition, it helps to promote the immune system and enhance body metabolism.
Hence, 1-2 hours prior to sleep is the best time to consume Bird Nest Soup, because it is the time when cell division takes place several times faster than the other time of the day. According to the registered nutrition therapists recommendations, regular consumption of Bird Nest Soup may gives better results in two serving methods:
(1) 1 to 2 bowls per week
(2) 1 to 2 tablespoons per day
However, unlike the other Traditional Chinese Medicine – as said before – edible Bird Nest Soup is uniquely be consumed and enjoyed as food. In Hong Kong, a bowl of Bird Nest Soup’s Soup would cost USD $ 30 to USD $ 100. Boiled with rock sugar, then it becomes the delicacy called Bird Nest Soup’s Soup.