the nest..

South East Asia Swallow Bird, or Swift (Collocalia Family), is a very unique bird. It has short bill, wide mouth, very small and weak feet, and long, crescent-shaped wings. It is about the same size as a sparrow, but its wingspan is wider than that of a pigeon. Based on these specifications, it has a very strong ability and endurance to fly. In fact, it is the fastest flier known, capable of a 40-hour non-stop flight. It never perches or rests except when it sleeps, builds its nests, or feeds its chicks. Its diet is insects, caught in flight. The monogamous parents lay 2 eggs, incubated by both parents for 21 to 29 days. The chicks remain inside the nest for 43 days, before they are fully independent from their parents. The longevity of the bird is varies from 10 to 20 years.

But the most exciting part about this Swallow bird is its nest. The nest looks like a cupped hand, a hollow quarter-ball shape, with a 3-5" diameter. One side is stuck to a wall (a cave wall in wild nests, or a man-made wooden base in cultivated/house nests), and the other side of the nest is a place for it to perch. Found within the hollow nest are either their eggs or their chicks. But it is their nest material that sets them apart from all other birds in the world. Right after they are mated, they regurgitate long, thin gelatinous strands from their salivary glands under their tongues. These strands play an important role in making their nests.

According to many classical Chinese books about health food, swallow nest was imported into China from the Southeast Asian region since the T'ang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907). Even Joseph Needham stated similarly in Book 3, Volume 4 of his famous 'Science and Civilization in China'. Chinese records on swallow nest consist mainly of several categories of historical documentations, including official history, notes of scholars, travel records, books on dining, books on health food and books on medical herbs. In all these categories of documents, the earliest trustworthy record of swallow nest can only be found in those written or compiled during the Ming Dynasty.

Reviewing these documents reveals that the spread of swallow nest into Southern China and became well known by physicians, connoisseur, encyclopedic scholars, and traders began in early 17th Century. During that time, many entries about Swallow nest were recorded in the notes of scholars, books on medical herbs and books on dining. What remains unexplained is why such Swallow nest remained little known for about two hundred years after they had been brought back by Zheng He before there were frequent mentions of them in documents written in the few decades around the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. It seems possible that a large promotion campaign about swallow nest had been launched during that period; and swallow nest was consequently turned into a well-known and well-accepted precious health food.

From those documents, it can be seen that there had been a progressive familiarity of the swallow nest through time. Finally, the records of around year 1587 show that large amount of swallow nest was imported into China and that import duty was levied on them. In 1618, it was recorded that the amount imported had increased so much that a reduction of import duty was granted by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, swallow nest was well accepted as precious food by residents of Guangdong and Fujian Provinces. From then on, records about swallow nest became more and more detail and covered even their places of origin.

Hundreds of years after swallow nest had been accepted as a kind of precious food in China, they were further accepted by the Chinese to have medical and health enhancing effect. Descriptions of such effects were first found in the works of two famous practitioners of Chinese medicine in the Qing Dynasty. It can therefore be seen that the medical and health-enhancing effects of swallow nest was formally confirmed and accepted by Chinese medical practitioners only after about a century's of observation and validation. From then on, more detailed and comprehensive description of these effects can be found in some of the subsequent works on Chinese medicine. Principally, swallow nest has been considered as a substance that slows down the aging process, a rejuvenating agent. Swallow nest also acts as a demulcent to the lungs and have been used in relieving phlegm and coughs.

Based on modern researches, the protein contained in swallow nest is distinct in that it is mainly biologically active protein, which has revitalizing effects to human body. The researches reveal that Swallow nest contains small amount of epidermal growth factor. Water extraction of Swallow nest can also directly stimulate cell growth/regeneration and enhance the effectiveness of mitogen (the initiator in cell division). Also, this active protein in the nest makes it a very useful tonic for people with weak digestion system (e.g. elderly people), and for some that need a very rapid cell regeneration and development (e.g.: pregnant women, growing children). One of the most recent published researches confirms that the high content of water-soluble glyco-protein in swallow nest promotes cell division within the immune system.

All these statements above have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.