Goji berries are the fruits of the Lycium plant family. They also are known as wolfberries. These plants are related to potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco. Goji fruit is available as a dried fruit, nutritional supplement or as goji berry juice. Goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years and are gaining popularity as a "superfruit" because they contain so many nutrients and antioxidants.
General Information
Goji berries are red fruits that resemble small peppers. They may come from either of two species of plants: Lycium chinense or Lycium barbarum. The plants are native to Asia. Goji berries may be dried, sometimes using sulfur as a preservative, or the fresh berries may be squeezed for their juice. You can find the dried berries, food made using goji berries as an ingredient, nutritional supplement tablets and goji berry juice. Goji berry juice usually is mixed with other fruit juices to improve its flavor.
Traditional and Modern Uses
According to Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., of the Institute for Traditional Medicine, goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine since the 17th century. Goji berries were believed to nourish the yin, improve vision and aid the treatment of diabetes. Modern uses of goji berries are numerous. For example, compounds in the berries are believed to help protect vision, boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and treat gastritis.
Healthful Compounds
Goji berries contain many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Goji berries and goji berry juice are rich in vitamin C. A 1 oz. serving of goji berry juice provides 25 percent of the daily allowance of this nutrient. Goji berries also contain beta-carotene, vitamins B-1, B-2, B-6 and vitamin E. They offer six essential fatty acids, 18 amino acids and 21 trace minerals. Goji berries are a source of healthy polysaccharides, dietary fiber and protein. Goji berries are fat free and sodium free.
Goji Berry Doses
Goji berries and goji berry juice may be used in recipes or eaten by themselves as a nutritious snack. If you want to get a specific health benefit from goji berries, it makes a difference whether you choose to get the berries as an herbal supplement, dried fruit or as goji berry juice. Many of the herbal supplements, such as goji berry pills, may cite standardized amounts of active ingredients. Dried goji berries contain all the healthful nutrients of the fruit, but goji berry juice lacks some of the chemicals found in the skin and seeds of the goji fruit.
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