health guides

Retail sales of herbal dietary supplements in the US shot up 7.9% in 2013, reaching $6 billion for the first time, according to a report on the retail herbal supplement market by the American Botanical Council and published in the journal, HerbalGram. In natural and health foods stores (excluding Whole Foods Market), the top-selling botanicals were turmeric and turmeric extract (curcumin), which saw a whopping 26% increase in sales. Other herbal favourites among consumers at natural and health food retailers included wheat and barley grass, aloe vera, linseed, and spirulina. Shoppers at mainstream stores, such as mass-market retailers, had different tastes when it came to herbs: their top choices were horehound (often found in throat drops), yohimbe (used in athletic performance and sexual enhancement products), cranberry (primarily used to ease urinary tract infection symptoms), black cohosh (used for managing menopausal symptoms), and senna (used as a laxative). The growth of the herbal market in 2013 is consistent with strong retail sales for herbs over the past decade, indicating widespread demand by consumers for plant-based approaches to their health.

Source: American Botanical Council