Men\'s Health UK - 10.2019

The idea that exotic plants possess special powers has spawned

a billion-pound industry, and our appetite for açaí bowls and

spirulina smoothies shows no sign of abating. But is it all just

a super-sales pitch? To help you sift the spiel from the science,

we explored how one such plant – moringa – earned super status

The

Making

Of A

Superfood

Words by Alan Levinovitz / Illustrations by Delcan & Company

“Moringa oleifera. Have you

ever heard of that?” Mehmet Oz, the US television

personality better known as Dr Oz, asks his audience.

It’s 2012, and Oz and a guest are standing behind a

table laden with jars of supplements. A sign reads:

“Re-energise Your Life”. Oz explains that moringa

oleifera is a tree from the Himalayas, where it has

been used for centuries as an antidote for that most

universal of afflictions: the feeling that “you’re being

sapped... [and] you don’t have enough energy”.

He presents the guest with a cup of moringa tea. It

shimmers yellowish green in the glass cup. She sips

and grimaces. She does not look re-energised.

Seven years later, health-conscious consumers

can find moringa in every Whole Foods or Holland

& Barrett and in teas, powders and capsules. There

are moringa bars, moringa energy shots and moringa

snack puffs. Its purported benefits include lowering

blood pressure and blood sugar, fighting cancer and

even protecting against arsenic toxicity. Moringa

products tend to come emblazoned with all the

standard buzzwords – “organic”, “raw”, “vegan”,

“GMO-free” – and often advertise that they’re better

for you than kale. The taste? Well, throwing moringa

in a smoothie does a good job of masking what

would otherwise be tough to swallow. It’s a bit like

grass clippings and wet earth.

Still, the global market value of moringa products

is predicted to grow by nearly 10% over the next three

years, according to research by Technavio. The world

supplement market exceeded £100bn in 2016 and,

though moringa makes up only a small portion of

that, its growth is indicative of what it takes to stand

out in a crowded field. To understand it, you have to

look beyond flavour and at how, like goji berries and

chia seeds before it, this plant turned from obscure

foodstuff into big business. That means going all the

way back to when the marketing of moringa began.

68 MEN’S HEALTH

Eat Healthyish – SUPERFAD