Goji Juice

[Starzia]

I gotta say, it may be high in antioxidants but it also comes with ALOT of hype and claims to 'cure' all sort of problems.
From what I understand its also very expensive. Tomatoes and blueberries are very high in antioxidants too!

Very true, unfortunately they ARE ridiculously expensive and there IS a lot of hype around them as there always is when there is a 'new' superfood- crazy as the Peruvians have been eating them for centuries and they have always been highly valued in chinese medicine- but as is often the case there's no smoke without fire, they really do have a vast array of nutrients in them... if we could grow them ourselvesit would be the best thing! (though we'd have to move to the Himalayas to do that!)

[melbel]

There is a big difference between goji berries and goji juice. The same goes for any of the new age fad products like goji, acai, et etc.... the juice is far different to the whole fruit....

It is all to do with the processing. I have a very good dvd here that explains exactly how much anti oxidant value is left in the juice after processing and for many products it is very little. There is an international standard for measuring the antioxidant value of a product and if you are really keen on the healthy stuff you should look for it on the product. It is called an ORAC score and if the product doesnt have it don't buy it is my advice.

For example, most commercial brands of goji juice when measured scientifically acutally have less antioxidant value than eating a whole apple a day.
Definitely eat the fresh berries, they are awesome.....just be aware that a lot of dodgy companies are getting on the health food bandwagon and really the juices are just overpriced crap. Not all companies are like this but a lot are.

My advice, eat the whole fruits, juicing anything loses approx 80% of its nutritional value straight up and if you do want juice, read the labels so you know exactly how it has been processed (cold pressed freeze dried stuff that has mainatined most of the fruit is what you are looking for in general).

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

My goji juice cost 20 dollars from coles, for a 20 serve bottle (1 serve = 30ml) and is cold-pressed. To be honest I wondered about that as well (how much of the nutrition is maintained) but I was told that in terms of nutrients, juice (when done properly) is better than dried fruit. You can't buy the goji fresh (I don't think) in Aus.

[Heaven]

I've bought fresh goji berries from a health food shop here so you can find them if you want! I think they were pretty expensive though.

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

my goji juice actually was 30 dollars for 16 serves lol.

[satya]

My mum takes the berries. She's had inflamatory breast cancer twice and read somewhere that they can help with cancer. I don't know if they've done her any good or if it was the conventional treatment that helped her but she's doing very well right now.

[dragonphoenix]

OK folks, here's the truth about Goji...

Yes it is a wonderfully healthy fruit - after all, what fruit isn't?! But too much of a good thing......

The health claims about Goji Berries (aka Gou Qi Zi in Mandarin, Wolfberry in the common parlance, due to its botanical name, Lycium) are based upon their use in Chinese Herbal/Dietary Medicine.

But here's the catch - we only use them in combination with other herbs. Herbal remedies in CM are poly-pharmaceutical, meaning that there are always combinations of herbs prescribed in what is generally referred to as a "formula" (not to be confused with the synthetic chemical breast-feeding alternative of the same name). So the incredible health benefits used as the marketing hype/spin are based upon their use in CM, which generally only work synergistically with other herbs in the formula. So what you find is that one of its specific health benefits comes out when combined with some other herbs, while other functions will occur when prescribed with a different combination of herbs.

having said that, the berries are good for you - but like I said, only in moderation.

And seriously, the best place to get them from is Chinese Grocers. I am constantly amazed at how much people are paying for them in Health Food stores and the like. Also, there is huge variation among different strains of the trees as to the medicinal/health properties of the berry (not to mention the conditions they are grown in). Brian May over at RMIT is doing some amazing research into strains of Goji that are high in active ingredients, for commercial cropping use here in Australia (to provide quality, organic, herbs for the local CM market).

generally speaking, a handful of dried Gou Qi Zi (kinda like when you eat sultanas or raisins) is good for your digestive system and for the eyes. But again I have to qualify - everything in moderation. 3-4 times weekly, best added into your porridge in the morning.

Hope this helps.....