GOJI BERRIES - It’s berry season, so I know most of you are sneaking in lots more fruits and berries, and that’s okay as long as you don’t finish off a Costco 4 lb box of blueberries and a four pound carton of cherries in two days (as a patient last week fessed up to, when her Berkeley Labs returned).
Goji Berries are also called wolfberries, and come from an evergreen shrub, Lycium barbarum or Lycium Chinese; a native plant of southeastern Europe and Asia, whose family is Solanaceae, which includes all the nightshade plants, tomato, potato, eggplant, chili peppers, and tobacco!
Goji Berries are classified as a “Super Fruit” and have captured the attention of marketers who trumpet their super powers as nothing short of curative for almost anything you can dream of (Mona vie, is a classic example). However, underneath all the hype are some really interesting facts that make your consideration of Goji Berries worthwhile. They have been used in China for over 6,000 years and are reputed to protect the liver, help eyesight, improve sexual function and fertility, strengthen the legs, boost immune function, improve circulation, and promote longevity! Wow!
Goji berries have become a major cash crop in China, owing to their health benefits; because of this, buyers must be careful to only select organic Goji berries, as most Chinese crops are heavily tainted with insecticides. Because of this, I have selected; (after trying a lot) Navitas Naturals Goji Berries, (www.navitasnaturals.com) which are certified organic. Of interest, although heavily marketed as Himalayan or Tibetan in origin, they are primarily grown in north-central and western China, quite removed from Tibet.
Goji berries have the highest protein content of any fruit (that’s right, a fruit with protein) in fact 12% of Goji berries by weight are protein. That means in a 100 gm serving, there are 12 grams of protein! Not bad at all. But it’s the other stuff that gets more interesting.
Polysaccharides: these are chains of special sugar molecules that are one of the darlings of immunology, in that they either feed the friendly bacteria in our gut (remember Fructooligosaccharides from the book? FOS? Friends of Steve?) or get absorbed directly into our lymph system and directly stimulate the immune system in a positive manner. Well, Goji berries are loaded with them. One study, published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, found that aged mice showed low levels of immune function and antioxidant activity; these were all restored to normal youthful levels by including Goji berries in their diet.
Zeaxanthin: This is one of the carotenoid family of pigments (you’ve probably heard of beta-carotene). This pigment is especially important in preventing and reversing macular degeneration. Goji Berries have the highest content of Zeaxanthin of any food! 77% of all the carotenoids of Goji berries are Zeaxanthin.
Beta-sitosterols and other phytosterols: These are the darlings of cholesterol reduction. If I have asked you to take Cholest-off, this is another form. The more the merrier!
Vitamin C: Depending on the report, Goji Berries are one of the best sources of vitamin C, beating even oranges and strawberries.
So, what do you do with them? Try a small handful raw. You will find that they taste like a cross between a cranberry and a raisin. Throw them in your morning smoothies. Add them to the Gundry Nut Mix when you are out on a hike for a little extra carbohydrate; really live it up and put some of the cocoa nibs in there with them. Sprinkle them in salads. But for you lovers of Pasta, try the recipe on the next page, Goji-Broccoli FiberGourmet™ Rotini.
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