Goji berries are one of the most nutritionally dense foods on earth and house a staggering concentration of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, phytochemicals and essential fatty acids. Originating in Tibet and greatly favoured in traditional medicine, these scarlet berries have a mild sweet flavour mid that of a cherry and a cranberry. Aside their many noted health benefits (from boosting immunity, lowering cholesterol, and enhancing vision to fighting cancer cells, relieving depression and aiding weight loss) goji berries are touted anti-aging marvels and are one Hollywood’s hottest new foods. One look at their awesome constitution and it’s easy to see why.
Goji berries contain a remarkable amount of vitamin C, 500 times more than oranges by weight, making them the second richest source on the planet after the camu camu berry. They are also the most abundant source of carotenoids on earth, containing more beta-carotene than carrots making them a superb source of vitamin A.
In addition, this mighty fruit contains B vitamins (B1, B2 and B6), vitamin E and 21 minerals and trace minerals including zinc, iron, phosphorus, calcium, copper, germanium and selenium. They also house a wide range of amino acids (18) which include all the 8 essentials as well as efficacious polysaccharides that excel at strengthening the immune system. One such polysaccharide stimulates the secretion of the rejuvenating human growth hormone by the pituitary gland.
The most well documented case of longevity is that of Li Qing Yuen, who lived to the age of 252. Born in 1678, he is said to have given a lecture at the age of 200 at the University of Beijing, and had married 14 times with 11 generations of posterity before his death in 1930. Li Qing Yuen reportedly consumed goji berries daily.
A study cited in Dr. Mindell’s book ‘Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret’, observed that 67 per cent of elderly people that were given a daily dose of the berries for 3 weeks experienced dramatic immune system enhancement (T cell transformation functions tripled and the activity of interleukin-2 doubled). Further more, the spirit and optimism of all significantly increased, appetite improved in 95 per cent of the patients, 95 per cent slept better, and 35 per cent partially recovered their sexual function.
Goji berries are one of the highest antioxidant foods on the planet, with an ORAC score (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity - a measurement used by the US Department of Agriculture for total antioxidant capacity) of 18,500, way above other fruits and veggies (blueberries, for example, having 2,200 ORAC units). Antioxidants are known for their anti-aging and disease-fighting properties by subjugating the attack of hazardous free radicals in the body.
Superoxide is one such free radical implicated in the onset and progression of aging and disease, and is neutralized by the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). As we age our bodies production of this important antioxidant declines, yet goji berries have been shown to greatly increase it's presence in the body.
Dr. Richard Cutler, a biophysicist at the National Institute of Aging has shown that the life span of many mammalian species, including man were found to be directly proportional to the amount or SOD contained in the cells. The animals with the longest life spans were found to have the highest levels of SOD. SOD acts as a cellular anti-oxidant, protecting against radiation and chemical free-radicals from pollution, as well as acting as an anti-inflammatory agent and preventing cellular damage following heart attacks.
The polysaccharides in this fruit are powerful immune-boosting agents which also contribute to the anti-aging virtues of this auspicious berry.
http://www.a1articles.com/article_42931_23.html
Boosting energy and general well being
Fortifying and maintaining a healthy immune system
Defending and fighting against many cancers
Fighting heart disease (thanks to all the betacarotene!)
Lowering cholesterol
Maintaining healthy blood pressure and blood sugar levels
Reducing blood glucose levels
Improving eyesight, blurred vision and hearing
Strengthening and supporting healthy liver and kidney function
Strengthening bones and tendons
Maintaining a healthy nervous system
Protecting skin from sun damage (the betacarotene again!)
Preventing morning sickness (used in the first trimester)
Improving cellulite (referred to as a cellulite assasin by Dr Howard Murad, a top dermatologist)
Assisting in weight loss
Promoting happiness (it’s said a handful in the morning will make you happy all day!)
Boosts sex drive / libido
Enhancing fertility
Full of anti-aging properties (known as the fruit of longevity)
Hey F-Yes i have tried them, it was in a blend called super food mix,i went to a new age open day and they made balls of the super food with different seeds, berrys etc in it stuck together with natural honey-i thaught it was quite nice not somthing i would eat every day, but i have since seen somthing simular in tesco.
I didnt know there were so many health benefits to it though!!
goji (or gouqi) berries are very common as a chinese herb. you can find them in dried form in every chinese supermarket. they are often used to put in (chinese) soup or as a medicine with other chinese herbs. i also read that some people put them in muffins. i like the taste of it, it's very sweet.
my mother has eaten gouqi for several months as a medicine with other herbs. she didn't know it had anti-age properties until i told her. that was after a few people commented that she looked younger than before.
Hi
tarepanda23, your mother looked younger than she had BEFORE, am I understanding you right? You are saying that eating these berries may have reversed the appearance of aging? Holy cow, where do I find some of these berries!?
My ego could really use some. I feel the stress in my life the past 5 yrs or so has really done a number on me. I am goin to have to write them down and look them up next chance I get.
yes my mother asked me if she looked younger because a few people told her so and i said that her face did look more youthful. then i said that eating gouqi berries will make people look younger. she replied that she had been eating a big handful every day for 4 months because a chinese doctor had precribed it to her for not sleeping well (with some other herbs)
i knew of the anti aging because i did some research last summer. some ppl told me that i looked older than my sis (she's 5 years older!!) so i thaught maybe some common chinese herbs could help me to give me nice skin. but i haven't tried it to eat it every day though.
btw. u can also drink it as a tea
on a second thought...i don't know what they really mean with 'anti-aging'. do they mean a more youthful appearance or something concerning your cells aging? it could be that my mom's appearance is linked with goji but i'm not sure.it was just very coincedent.
Hi faery, I was reading about Goji berries a couple of months ago and I fully intend to incorporate them into my regular diet. I'm very interested in anything with high antioxidant content. I have a fair complexion and I've suffered some pretty severe sun burns in my childhood and teens. Another rich source of antioxidants is pomegranates. I've read that the phytoestrogen content in them is pretty high as well. Thanks for posting!
Sissy (no login)
Re: Goji Berries...............
January 23 2007, 3:19 AM
I have heard good things of both of these, also in juice form. Both I want to try. I took Noni juice for a couple of months last year, but it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Now, I am hearing great things about mangosteen fruit. Supposed to be the highest antioxidant fruit in the world, with unbelievable healing and rejuvenating powers. Anyone heard of it?
I recently found out about Goji too! I ordered some goji juice and dried goji berries to eat as snack. Both my husband and I and trying it for health reasons. I'm taking it to look and feel younger, treat monopause symptoms, prevent allergies, improve immune system, healthy gums, the list goes on and on...
Besides, the B vitamins, amino acids, C, selenium, EFA, growth hormones etc. are all good for NBE. So it could be considered a boobie food too. I got the Goji juice from iherb.com and the dried berries from vitacost.com
I drink 2oz of goji juice a day and eat a handful of dried berries a day. Seems to help clear up my congestion from allergies right after I eat the dried berries. Seems to be helping my husband too. It's only been a week and a half drinking goji juice and 3 days eating the dried berries. Have you try it?
Thank you so much everyone for all your good info. Thank you wonderbride for letting us know about vitacost. I am going to try and get some from there. Sounds like it will be better than a standard multi vitamin.
And Moon, your little sad face in your post just breaks my heart. I am so sorry you have a hard time getting things where you live. Can you get anything from the vitacost place?
One of the benefits of goji berries is that it helps you lose weight also. Read somewhere on the forum that you were trying to lose some weight. Good luck. ;)
I learned that it's important to get authentic ones from Tibet - Lycium Eleganus is the latin name, not to be confused with Lycium Barbarum (Chinese Wolfberry).
@ Ginger and Lassysam - thanks for asking, but I'm not in UK, I'm in southren Europe, I can't order anything from internet either, cause I don't have credit card, except one place - vortex health & beauty. It sucks a bit, but thankfully I get most of everything I need from them. I did have a hell of a search to get cayenne (unbelievable, I know! :P), but anyway I always managed to find some way so far.
wonderbride, thanks a bunch for the note that the Goji Berries help with weight loss!
Yes, I am trying to lose weight - Sigh!
I better get some of those berries ordered because I could really use some rejuvinating benefits right now. Winter is really getting to me!
Going to make myself a note before I forget!
OMG, these look like a miracle fruit. I heard of the juice before, but never really looked up the berries. I was going to buy the cleavedge unit this weekend, but I might just put the boobs on hold and buy some berries first. They are kinda pricey, but I'm willing to spend money on feeling better these days. Maybe I will feel so good I will get motivated to start exercising.
Wonderbride, did you notice any energetic effect from the berries??
I'm not Wonderbride, but I ate Goji berries two days ago for the first time and wow did I feel good! Normally I get terrible digestive upset from dried fruit and sugar rushes, but not with the Goji I ate (from this company: http://www.navitasnaturals.com/). I ate about 1 oz (28 g) of Goji w/o taking a digestive enzyme and I was fine. I later took a digestive enzyme and ate several ounces of Goji and I didn't have any digestive upset at all! Normally a digestive enzyme wouldn't help me much with dried fruit. I would get gas and IBS big time.
I ate 8 oz (1/2 lb) of Goji throughout the day and felt good! I had a Goji day, I guess! More than most people would eat, but that was quite a test. :) I did get a bit gassy toward the end, but it was minor!
I only started eating goji berries since last Friday, almost a week. I didn't have lack of energy before so I don't know if I notice it giving me more energy. One of the many benefits of goji berries is that it is suppose to increase your energy and strength. I did go out to do hours of yard work a couple of days ago without feeling tired. My husband said he feels like he's got more energy. I'm glad I found out about goji and I'm going to just keep eating a handful or two a day. I drop some goji berries in my green tea in the morning and they taste good plumped up too. You can make tea out of it too. I don't mind eating them dry either. They're actually not super sweet like raisins. Some have a little bitterness to it but not bad. It's hard to describe the taste. But you kind of get used to it and it kind of grows on ya. Take care and get healthy.
Yes, I get them from Holland and Barrat (or Jullian Graves) they are about £4 for 75g.
i think they taste like tea and i don't really like them straight from the packet. I add them to smoothies and also add 10 berries to my daily water bottle then drink the water throughout the day (I got that idea from a website) - the berries are much nicer when they have been in the water a while cos they go soft!!!!
I found Goji Berries at my local grocery store in the organic section. They are a little dry so I may try putting them in water as well...sounds like a good idea!!
I'm chinese so i have eaten the wolfberry all my life in soup etc. I was confused about the difference between 'goji berries from tibet' and 'chinese wolfberry' so i did some research. wikipedia says that goji berries and chinese wolfberry are the same.they say it's a myth that they come from tibet. i copied and pasted it here. sorry for the long post. good boobie luck everyone!
Wolfberry is the common name for the fruit of Lycium barbarum (Chinese: 宁夏枸杞; pinyin: Níngxià gǒuqǐ) or L. chinense (Chinese: 枸杞; pinyin: gǒuqǐ), two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae (which also includes the potato, tomato, eggplant, deadly nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco). Although its original habitat is obscure (probably southeastern Europe to southwest Asia), wolfberry species are now grown around the world, including in China.[1]
It is also known as Chinese Wolfberry, Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree,[2] or Matrimony Vine[3]. The name Tibetan Goji berry is in common use in the health food market for berries from this plant.
Since the early 21st century, the names "Himalayan Goji berry" and "Tibetan Goji berry" have become common in the global health food market, applied to berries claimed to have been grown or collected in the Himalaya region [11] (or sometimes "the Tibetan and Mongolian Himalayas," [12] a misnomer because the Himalayas do not extend into Mongolia, which lies approximately 1000 miles to the northeast)[13]. Although none of the companies marketing such berries specifies the exact location in the Himalayas or Tibet where their berries are grown, Earl Mindell's website states that his "Himalayan" Goji products do not actually come from the Himalayas, but instead from Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and the Tian Shan Mountains of western Xinjiang, China.[14]
Although Lycium species do grow in some regions of Tibet, commercial export production of wolfberries in the Tibetan Himayalas - home to the world's tallest mountains - must be a myth fabricated for a marketing advantage, as the Himalayan mountain range is a region inhospitable to commercial cultivation of plant foods of any kind. Low temperatures are prevalent year round in the Himalayan valleys throughout southern and western Tibet where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation beyond sparse, low bushes.Although several wolfberry marketers state that their "Tibetan goji" is a specific species, given variously as Lycium eleganus, Lycium eleganus barbarum, or Lycium eleagnus, no such species exists. Elaeagnus (Silverberry or Oleaster) is a genus of about 50-70 species of flowering plants in the Elaeagnaceae family. The vast majority of Elaeagnus species are native to temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, including Elaeagnus umbellata, which grows near the Himalayas and bears an orange-red berry possibly confused with Lycium barbarum.
Some Internet authors claim Lycium eleagnus barbarum is the original Lycium barbarum or an improved cultivar of it. However, Lycium and Elaeagnus are sufficiently disparate genera that successful cross-breeding is unlikely. Further, there is no evidence in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants of a Lycium species of Elaeagnus or vice versa
Wolfberries contain many nutrients[16][17] including
* 11 essential and 22 trace dietary minerals
* 18 amino acids
* 6 essential vitamins
* 8 polysaccharides and 6 monosaccharides
* 5 unsaturated fatty acids, including the essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid
* beta-sitosterol and other phytosterols
* 5 carotenoids, including beta-carotene and zeaxanthin (below), lutein, lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin, a xanthophyll
* numerous phenolic pigments (phenols) associated with antioxidant properties
Specific examples given below are for 100 grams of the dried berry.[16][17]
1. Calcium. Wolfberries contain 112 mg per 100 gram serving, providing about 8-10% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI).
2. Potassium. Wolfberries contain 1,132 mg per 100 grams dried fruit, giving about 24% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for potassium.
3. Iron. Wolfberries have 9 mg iron per 100 grams (100% DRI).
4. Zinc. 2 mg per 100 grams dried fruit (18% DRI).
5. Selenium. 100 grams of dried wolfberries contain 50 micrograms (91% DRI)
6. Riboflavin (vitamin B2). At 1.3 mg, 100 grams of dried wolfberries provide 100% of DRI.
7. Vitamin C. Vitamin C content in dried wolfberries has a wide range (from different sources) from 29 mg per 100 grams to as high as 148 mg per 100 grams. The lower value is 32% of the DRI.
Wolfberries also contain numerous phytochemicals[16][17] for which there are no established DRI values. Examples:
1. Beta carotene: 7 mg per 100 grams dried fruit.
2. Zeaxanthin. Reported values for zeaxanthin content in dried wolfberries vary considerably, from 25 mg per 100 grams [17] to 200 mg per 100 grams [18]. The higher values would make wolfberry one of the richest edible plant sources known for zeaxanthin content.[19] Up to 77% of total carotenoids present in wolfberry exist as zeaxanthin.[20]
3. Polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are a major constituent of wolfberries, representing up to 31% of pulp weight.
I'm going to start eating Goji berries no matter what... but the only thign I'm concerned about is how you said they assist in weight loss. How does this affect someone trying to gain weight?
Got my Goji berries today at Vitamin World, not to bad tasting. I'm going to eat 1/4-1/2 cup a day to start to get rejuvenated, then taper down to 1/4 cup once they start working (hopefully).
I'm eating the goji berries and drinking the juice for health reasons. I don't need to lose weight but I don't want to gain weight either. I'm sure eating just a handful or two a day won't make that much of a difference if you still eat a lot to try and gain weight. Eat more nuts, bananas, complex carbs and increase your portions. Drink more juices for extra calories. Water is good to drink too but it doesn't have any calories for weight gain. Getting enough protein is important for BE. When you are trying to gain weight you must eat more than your body can burn off. So eat well girl and eat more. Good luck.
I eat Goji berries ! hehe suprised to come across them on this board. I get mine from i think whole foods supermarket..or Gelsons. my mom always tries to give them to me. I had no idea how healthy and helpful they are!
I got some chocolate covered gojis (was needing a sugar fix at the time) but they are not so good :-{
I got some dried ones from Holland & Barratt........Very dry and they stuck to my teeth making them all yaggy :-{
Then I got a huge bag of Superfood from Julian Graves. It contains various nuts and seeds as well as gojis and other berries. Except the berries have been pre-soaked in apple juice making them plump and juicy and very tasty. Have been snacking on handfuls all week and will get more at the weekend.
Hopefully I will look 16 again by summer time ;-P~
I've been eating them daily. For one, they seemed to have cleaned me out, they are loaded with fiber, so that may be why, even thought I eat alot of whole grains and normally don't have any issues there. Also, they have alot of protein in them. My bag says per 1/4 cup, 9g fiber and 4g protein, but I have seen other labels that vary. I don't understand that if they are just organic dried goji's, how they can vary in nutrition facts but every brand has different grams of fiber and protein.
I do feel better, and have lost a few pounds also, not sure if they are the reason, but I'm going to continue eating them. I can't remember who started this thread, but I'm glad that I discovered the berries!
Congratulations on losing a few more pounds! Glad to hear that the goji berries are working for you. I've been drinking 2 ozs of goji juice and a handful or two of goji berries a day. I've been feeling & looking pretty healthy so I'll keep taking it. I've always looked younger than my age before I started taking goji but this morning hubby said I look like I'm about 23 years old(I'm 41). Isn't he a sweety?
Good for you! I hope to have the same results as you -- be healthy and beautiful. And yes he is a sweety, in fact after I lose my weight and gain my breast, my next quest will be to find one just like him!
Wanting to find this in pill or capsule form,, but goji is fairly new here(Canada) as far as I have found yet,, not alot of sources to buy from,, and usually just the juice. Anybody have better luck than me???
Here is a link to a video regarding Goji on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSHx8py4Mw&mode=related&search=
I have no way of knowing whether or not these berries have anything to do with this or not, but for the first time in 20 years, I had a cold that did not turn into a full blown month long ordeal. It came very mild and went away 3 days later. I would like to think that my immune system is getting stronger, and I can only attribute it to the berries. Been very busy and stressed lately, not getting exercise and normally my resisance would be low at this point. Maybe it was just a mild strain that I caught also, but is there even such a thing as a mild cold anymore? Love these berries!
