"Miracle" juice?

There is plenty of hype, as well as plenty of studies out there on Goji – or Wolfberries as they are more commonly called. I looked into them too. Here is what I found.

WEIGHT CONTROL and MOOD

A study done in May of 2008 that was published by the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2008.0004) indicated that data that can be measured, including body weight, did not show significant differences between subjects receiving Lycium barbarum (Goji) berry juice and subjects receiving the placebo; the study concluded that while subjects did have 'increases subjective feelings of general well-being, and improved neurologic/psychologic performance and gastrointestinal functions' there were no other differences between the two groups (placebo and Wolfberry). But they did recommend more testing. It should also be noted that this study took place over a two week period only.

ANTI -AGING

According to this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17224253 wolfberry can act as an 'anti-aging' pill because of its polysaccarides which have anti-oxidant properties, and help restore the bodies auto-immune system to a higher level. So this is not a 'live forever' pill. This is a “this can help your body regenerate itself because of the good nutrients in it” pill.


OTHER BENEFITS

Other published studies have also reported possible potential medicinal benefits for the following:

*Cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases
*Vision related diseases like glaucoma
*Anti-cancer (Anti-oxidants)
*Immune busting

Wolfberries also offer a wonderful variety of nutritious and are a good source of potassium, and selenium.

CAUTION

BUT – how much actual Wolf Berry Juice is in what you bought? There are a lot of snake oil salesmen type companies out there that can put a miniscule amount of real Goji Juice into a plain juice mixture and legally sell it for ridiculous prices with the name 'Goji Juice'.

It's very hard to get real fresh Wolf Berries outside of China or wherever they are harvested. They do sell dried ones though. Maybe your money would be better spent on the actual dried berries, instead of the juice, which may or may not contain a good percentage of Goji. Still the prices are pretty high on these.

In any case it's good for you,even if you're not getting the fiber associated with the berry!

**NOTE: What is said by the post above is supported by the studies noted above. Cool.

One thing to watch out for with juices is the sugar content. Most of the "health food" drinks I have seen are ridiculously high in sugar (natural or otherwise).