Goji berries -- pronounced "go-gee" -- are a recent hot commodity in the increasingly trendy high-end health food industry. These delicate red berries, traditionally grown in the Himalayan valleys of China, Mongolia and Tibet, as well as in the Xingjiang and Ningxia provinces of China, have been featured on Oprah, and celebrities like Madonna, Mischa Barton and Elizabeth Hurley are swearing by them. Numerous goji berry products have appeared on the market, promising youth, good health, cancer-fighting abilities and an increased sex drive.
A Google search for "goji berry" yields 378,000 results, many of them for various products containing goji berries or goji berry "extract" (juice). So are goji berries a miracle "superfood," just another product of the hype machine or something in between? Let's find out.
Goji berries, also called wolfberries, have been grown in the Himalayan valley for hundreds of years. Traditional Chinese folk medicine uses them to cure a variety of ailments. Goji berries have also long been used in various Asian dishes as an ingredient or a garnish. Goji berry bushes grow to be one to three meters high . Because the berries are very delicate when on the plant, they cannot be picked by hand. Instead they are gently shaken from the vine. Frequently they are set out in the sun to dry, whereupon they become slightly chewy. Besides eating the berries, you can also drink the goji berry juice. It is especially popular in the regions where the berries are grown, and can be combined with tea to make a tonic.
Comments