You may have noticed a relatively new health supplement on the market called goji. It is also known as wolfberry, happy berry, matrimony vine and boxthorn. Its Latin name is Lycium barbarum fruit. In its basic form, goji is sold either as a dried fruit or a liquid in the form of juice and even soft drinks. What is goji? It’s a tiny red berry that grows in Asia and the Himalayas. It was discovered thousands of years ago and is recorded in the Chinese Materia Medica as a medium herb that

• Increasing resistance to microorganisms by boosting the immune system
• Helping protect against macular degeneration, cataracts and dry eyes (goji contains the world’s richest source of carotenoids, even more than lutein!)
• Increasing energy by improving blood circulation, which warms the body
• Reducing the symptoms of diabetes and hypertension
• Protecting the liver and providing nutrition to the kidneys

Did you know that in some remote places in this world, a life expectancy of more than 100 years is not uncommon?

Research has shown that many of the world's longest living people consume regular daily helpings of a tiny red fruit that may just be the world's most powerful anti-aging food—the goji berry.

Through the ages, legends abound about this miraculous fruit. There are even festivals held to celebrate its goodness.

The First Healers:

It is said that the Himalayans were the first natural healers, and that they shared their wisdom with the ancient herbalists of China, Tibet, and India. One of their most prized secrets was the fruit of the native goji vine, which had been flourishing in the Himalayan valleys since the beginning of time. Those who came there to learn took the goji home with them and planted it in their own valleys, thus spreading the legend of this most marvelous and healthful fruit.

Since its discovery in the Himalayas, those who know of the remarkable goji berry are awed by its unmatched health-promoting powers.

Why Himalayan Goji Berries?

Just as there are many varieties of grapes for wine making, there are many varieties of goji—as many as 41 species growing in Tibet alone!

Goji berries contain 18 kinds of amino acids (six times higher than bee pollen) and contain all 8 essential amino acids (such as isoleucine and tryptophan).

Goji berries contain up to 21 trace minerals (the main ones being zinc, iron, copper, calcium, germanium, selenium, and phosphorus).

Goji berries are the richest source of carotenoids, including beta-carotene (more beta carotene than carrots), of all known foods or plants on earth! They contain 500 times the amount of vitamin C, by weight, than oranges making them second only to camu camu berries as the richest vitamin C source on earth. Goji berries also contain vitamins B1, B2, B6, and vitamin E.

Mature fruits contain about 11 mg of iron per 100 grams, beta-sisterol (an anti-inflammatory agent), linoleic acid (a fatty acid), sesquiterpenoids (cyperone, solavetivone), tetraterpenoids (zeaxanthin, physalin), and betaine (0.1%).

Goji berries contain polysaccharides which fortify the immune system. A polysaccharide found in this fruit has been found to be a powerful secretagogue (a substance that stimulates the secretion of rejuvenative human growth hormone by the pituitary gland).

Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency food of the highest order. In several study groups with elderly people the berry was given once a day for 3 weeks, many beneficial results were experienced and 67% of the patients T cell transformation functions tripled and the activity of the patients white cell interleukin-2 doubled. In addition, the results showed that all the patients spirit and optimism increased significantly, appetite improved in 95% of the patients, 95% of the patients slept better, and 35% of the patients partially recovered their sexual function.

These Goji berries grow in protected valleys in million year old soil in wild and cultivated areas. The plants grow like bushes with vines that reach over 15 feet. The berries are never touched by hand as they will oxidize and turn black if touched while fresh. They are shaken onto mats, then dried in the shade.

The Goji berry is a deep-red, dried fruit about the same size as a raisin. The Goji berry tastes somewhat like a cross between a cranberry and a cherry.