Get the facts: A Goji Berry Primer

Stuff of legend

Almost every seller of Goji berry is touting their berries as the best, most potent, miracle berry, out of the over 40 varieties of Lycium on the planet. Perhaps the most obviously, reasonable claims are themselves folklore. The Goji berry was “discovered” by people who experienced strengthening and curative results from drinking certain well water. Those particular wells/ponds happened to be under a Goji tree whose ripened fruits landed in the well, and berry nutrients were then leeched into the water. How profound in a way, because this discovery was unintended, and, was based on cross-referencing subjective reports with objective observations of the wellness indicators of thousands of people over hundreds of years in Asia. Tibetan doctors have used the Goji berry as a curative and “functional food” for thousands of years.

What is a Goji berry?

The Tibetan Goji and Chinese wolfberry are members of the Solanaceae plant family, the genus of both berries is Lycium. A noted nutritionist, Paul Brelin, has written that the Goji and wolfberry are the “most nutritionally dense food on Earth.” The Tibetan Goji berry has been around for thousands of years (Dr. Earl Mindell) from which the Chinese took seeds for planting and cultivation.

Tibetan Goji is wildcrafted and is thus superior in many ways to “organic” and cultivated berries. “Certified” organic foods can be exposed to chemical agents in fields adjacent to them, and are certified to be free of chemicals at least three months before harvest. This means that chemicals can be used on organic food as long as the chemicals are allowed three months to decompose and mitigate prior to being picked/collected for marketing.

Wildcrafted foods and herbs are free of pollutants, and in the case of Tibetan Goji berries, are untouched by human synthetic agents, and only touched by the most nutrient supporting soils and environmental factors that contribute to a rich and life nourishing superfood – the Tibetan Goji berry.

Traditionally, “Goji has been used to treat inflammation, skin irritations, aches and pains, and has been used as a sedative. It has also been used in combination with other botanicals to treat poor vision, anemia, and cough” (Dr. Ralph Moss). Treasured in Tibet and China for longevity and energy, Goji berries and wolfberries became the focus of intense medical research when scientists discovered these fruits contained an abundance of health promoting constituents including: 18 amino acids, 21 trace minerals, 6 essential fatty acids, vitamins B1, B2, B6, vitamin E, and more beta-carotene than carrots (superb source of vitamin A), more vitamin C than oranges, and more antioxidant power than any other food. Additionally, these berries have been found to have extremely high levels of immune stimulating polysaccharides, and, were found to have an astonishing 13 -16% protein by weight. They are also a rich source of both selenium and germanium and have been used in a number of clinical trials involving cancer patients.

Where does Goji berry come from?

Tibetan Goji grows on extensive vines in the sheltered valleys of Tibet, India and Mongolia and in the regions of Ningxia and Xinjiang of China. The Tibetan Goji berry is considered the “mother of all Lyciums.” Tibetan Goji grows in remote unpolluted soils, rich in nutrients so that the berries burst with vitality.

“Goji is the colloquial name given by the indigenous Tibetan and Mongolian people of the region” (Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute of Tibet), thus it is incorrect to call the Chinese Lycium - wolfberry a Goji berry.

The Chinese version, Lycium wolfberry, has undergone many environmental, climatic and toxic changes since it was taken from Tibet thousands of years ago and cultivated in China. The Chinese botanical farms both private and commercial commonly use DDT and many other toxic chemicals (over thirty five commonly found on Chinese wolfberries) and have been for over sixty years. This has made Chinese Lycium considered unusable as a medicine or as a food source. The cultivators of Chinese Lycium - wolfberry, openly admit to using 'controlled' pesticides in Ningxia (the number one Chinese Lycium growing region of China).

The Tibetan Lycium plants' relocation a few thousand years ago and that of growing in a new environment of China, plus unstable toxic cultivation practices have all contributed to clearly creating huge differences between Chinese Lycium wolfberry and the ancient Tibetan Goji berry - which has a history of use going back seventeen centuries in Tibet and is definitely the original (Dr. Jigme Dorje).

“Research studies show that the Tibetan Plateau and Mongolia with its bordering mountains, represents unbroken connections from tropical to extremely cold, prehumid to extremely arid conditions. The flora accordingly is extremely rich and varied in places…in terms of biodiversity, SE Tibet, Yunnan, NW Tibet, and Xinjiang has narrow intervening belts, unique on earth, and very supportive of Goji vine and berry growth” (Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute). The berries are never touched by hand as they will oxidize and turn black if touched while fresh, thus, they are shakened onto mats, and allowed to dry for approximately 3 weeks, before cleaned and bagged for shipment.

Why is it nutritionally superior to other foods?

Some people theorize that extreme and rugged climates can be a catalyst for a plant like the Goji to survive and excel, thus producing a nutritious berry. Best selling author Dr. Earl Mindell observed that, “Tibetan Goji and Chinese wolfberries are more potent during years when plants have maximum environmental conditions for growth.” A simple, direct explanation is that most plants, even household flowers, thrive when exposed to nutrient rich soil and sunlight.

Since no chemicals are ever used in the cultivation of Tibetan Goji berries, these wildcrafted berries “exceed any organic standards set by any country in the world,” and have more nutrient energy than cultivated varieties such as the Chinese Lycium - wolfberry abundantly available from China (Dr. Jigme Dorje). The Tibetan Goji berries are said to have anti-aging potencies, possibly capable of reducing the “incidence of cancer or halting/reversing the growth of cancers. The fruit is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin A, C and E, flavanoids (antioxidant molecules), essential fatty acids, and other bioactive compounds” (Dr. Jigme Dorje).

Is all Goji berry the same (Tibetan Goji and Chinese wolfberry)?

Yes and no. There are over 40 varieties of Goji berry or wolfberry on the planet. The main genus that was found to consistently provide an abundance of nutritive value comes from the Tibetan Lycium lineage, from which wolfberry originates. The Tibetan Goji is considered by most to be “plumper and sweeter than the sometimes bitterer tasting wolfberry” (testimonial from Raw in Ten author and Chef, Bryan Au).

The confusion of some people about Tibetan Goji and Chinese wolfberry has been generated mostly by “new manufacturing companies that mistakenly refer to wolfberries as Goji berries, which is incorrect.” Goji is colloquial to Tibet and Mongolian dialects, not Chinese and refers only to the Tibetan Lycium, not the Chinese Lycium wolfberry (Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute).

What are the ORAC values of Goji berry?

The original ORAC assay (analysis) method uses several substances to analyze the antioxidant potential of a food, like Goji berry, usually comparing foods by weight (100g). Because of interference, masking of a food by the extracting (chemical) agents used to analyze antioxidant potential, a falsely low ORAC value can be derived when testing dry Goji berries using the common assay method, according to Brunswick Laboratory, the company that helped developed the ORAC assay. A preferred and possibly superior method of ORAC testing is an analysis of the water of soaked Goji berries (Scientific Certification Systems, Inc.). Since water has no known antioxidant make-up, any antioxidants found in such water, after soaking a food, will give a truer picture of the food being analyzed. Using this method, Extreme Health’s wildcrafted Tibetan Goji Berry, has a documented result of over 36,000 ORAC units per liter; and, over 13,500 ORAC units per 100g of dry berries tested.

Why is ORAC important?

An ORAC unit (oxygen radical absorbance capacity scale) is defined as a measure of the ability of antioxidants to absorb oxygen “free radicals” in the body. The ORAC assay integrates the strength and duration of antioxidant protection for a product into a single numerical value, and has been shown to highly correlate with the level and the time of protection in cells, body tissues and blood levels. There is a near perfect correlation between the ORAC value and the antioxidant and immune system protection in the body.

So ORAC is important because it is an indication of a foods ability to provide the body and blood with immune enhancing factors (antioxidants) that combat oxidizing (rusting) of the bodies cells, membranes, and tissues; in a word – anti-aging potency.

What are the ORAC values of Goji berry?

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Where does Goji berry come from?