What Is Goji Berries

Long a staple of Asian and holistic medicine, the most renowned properties of the Goji Berries is its antioxidant properties and it provide several benefits including increased energy and heightened immune function.

The weight loss properties of this natural ingredient have recently seen the fruit becoming popular stateside as well, especially among celebrities in Hollywood with the Goji Berry being featured on many television programs and in magazines.

Goji Berry Active have improved the many benefits of the Goji Berry by adding other natural ingredients to the Goji Berry Active Supplement designed to provide many other health benefits and increase its weight loss capabilities as well.

A complete all-natural supplement is the result and it is designed in pill form that can be easily taken with no powders or cumbersome ingredients to mix or measure. Just take as directed to help with immune function, weight loss and increasing energy levels.

What are they?

Other Names: Lycium barbarum, wolfberry, gou qi zi, Fructus lycii

Goji berries grow on an evergreen shrub found in subtropical and temperate regions in the Himalayas in Tibet, China and Mongolia. They are in the nightshade (Solonaceae) family.

Usually Goji berries are placed out to be dried They are shriveled red berries that look like red raisins.

Gojo berries are used by people for what purpose?

For 6,000 years, herbalists in China, India and Tibet have been using Goji berries to:

• protect the liver

• help eyesight

• improve sexual function and fertility

• strengthen the legs

• boost immune function

• improve circulation

• promote longevity

Goji berries are rich in antioxidants, particularly carotenoids such as beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. One of the key roles of zeaxanthin is to protect the retina of the eye by absorbing blue light and acting as an antioxidant. In fact, increased intake of foods containing zeathanthin may decrease the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD). For people over the age of 65, AMD is the number 1 cause of blindness and vision loss.

Goji juice has become popular as a health drink in recent years. Companies marketing goji juice often mention the unsupported claim that a man named Li Qing Yuen lived to be 252 years old after drinking goji berries everyday . Marketers also list extensive health benefits of goji juice, even though there are few published clinical trials in humans.

What research are being done on goji berries?

Goji has only been tested on humans in two published studies. A Chinese study published in 1994 in the Chinese Journal of Oncology found that 79 people with cancer responded better to treatment when goji was added to their regimen.

There have been several clinical studies that show that goji berry contains antioxidants and that goji extracts may lower cholesterol levels, reduce blood glucose and prevent the growth of cancer cells. However, even when taken as a juice or tea, it doesn’t necessary mean that goji will have the same benefits.

Although like the ones used in traditional Chinese medicine, goji berries are rather cheap, goji juice is not cheap. Considering that be as high as 50 US dollars~for a price running as high as 50 US dollars for a 32-ounce bottle of goji juice (about an 18-day supply)}, the evidence isn’t compelling enough at this time to justify the cost of goji juice.

Also, we don’t know the regular consumption of goji will cause any side effects, or whether treatments or medications will be interfered with.

What do goji berries taste like?

A mild tangy taste that is slightly sweet and sour, that is how we describe the taste of goji berries. They have a similar chewy texture and shape as raisins.

Common forms

In traditional Chinese medicine, goji berries can be made into liquid extracts, brewed into a tea, added to Chinese soup or eaten raw

Goji juice is also available, usually in 32-ounce bottles.

Goji berries have appeared in snack foods in North America. For example, Trader Joe’s, the health food store sells a goji berry trail mix.

Possible drug interactions

Anticoagulant drugs (commonly called “blood-thinners”), such as warfarin (Coumadin®) may interact with goji berries. There was one case report published in the journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy of a 61-year old woman who had an increased risk of bleeding, indicated by an elevated international normalized ratio (INR). She had been consuming 3-4 cups daily of goji berry tea. Her blood work returned to normal after she stopped drinking the goji berry tea.

For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org