It wasn't called "goji" in ancient China, but references to the berry date back to 200 A.D., and it has been cultivated in China since 1400. The incredibly nutrient-rich berries have been called "goji" since about 2004. The name comes from the Mandarin word for wolfberry--gouqi--and was apparently adopted for marketing the juice in English-speaking countries.
Definition
"Goji" is the popular name for wolfberry, or Lycium barbarum. The plant is native to China, where the perennial vines produce tender red berries. The berries can be eaten raw, cooked or juiced, but they are often sun-dried to facilitate storage. Some sources say the berries taste similar to raisins, while others describe their taste as a sweet combination of tomato and cranberry.
Traditional Medicine
In traditional Chinese medicine, the berry is used as a general "Yin tonic" to help vision and digestive problems, increase energy, lower blood pressure and improve men's sexual function.
Advantages
The goji berry is an incredibly rich source of nutrients. It takes about 100 to 120 grams of berries to equal one cup of juice, so the following nutrient values are for a 100 g serving of berries. One serving provides 10 percent of the recommended daily value (DV) of fiber, 20 percent of iron, 25 percent of vitamin C and 50 percent of vitamin A. It also supplies 20 percent DV of zinc and 100 percent of riboflavin, potassium and copper. Other important nutrients include protein, zeaxanthin and lutein (critical for eye health), beta-carotene and lycopene (powerful antioxidants), magnesium and selenium.
Goji is an exceptional antioxidant. The USDA gives foods an ORAC score (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) to indicate their antioxidant value. Two berries rated higher than goji berries, but the scores are hard to evaluate because even though they're all 100 g, the acai berries are freeze-dried, the macqui berries are reported as juice, and the goji score is for berries. Acai berries have a score of 102,700, macqui juice is 40,000 and goji berries rate 25,300. For comparison, orange juice is 726 and tomato juice is 486.
Disadvantages
Traditional Chinese herbalists caution that the juice should not be used to treat severe colds or flu; otherwise, there are no reported side effects. The primary disadvantage to goji juice is that many of the health claims have not been proven by clinical trials. A search of the U.S. National Library of Medicine's database in January 2010 resulted in published studies showing promise for Lycium barbarum's use for helping many conditions, including cancer, but the research was conducted on cells in the lab, rats or mice, or included subjective reports of "general well-being" from a manufacturer of the juice.
Considerations
The FDA has issued several warnings to websites marketing goji juice with unsubstantiated claims that it can cure or prevent disease. Some companies producing goji juice claim that their product is superior because it comes from the "more potent" Tibetan berry called Lycium eleganus. In a detailed report about goji for the Natural and Nutritional Products Industry Center, Dr. Paul Gross states that this is a hoax, because the plant species Lycium eleganus does not exist.
Member Comments