According to the New York Post, our research team has discovered a much-overlooked “superfood”: bamboo shoots. Before you rush out to harvest the ornamental bamboo growing in your garden, there are a few things you should know. We systematically reviewed all the available evidence on bamboo as a food and its effect on human health. The research base turned out to be surprisingly thin – just 16 studies met our criteria, including four trials in people and four that used cells in a dish. The final eight focused on bamboo characteristics with potential application to nutrition. This is what they showed us. There is evidence of some positive health effects from eating bamboo. One study showed that eating bamboo shoots in cookies better controlled blood sugar levels, and that more bamboo consumption translated to further lowered levels. Other studies documented the beneficial effects of the fibre they contain. This isn’t limited to the inevitable bowel movements but also includes the delightfully termed “faecal volume”, both of which were shown to improve. Also, compared to a …