Everything About Goji Berries
Known worldwide as the goji berry or wolfberry, this fruit originates in Asia, growing mostly in Tibet and Mongolia and in the Himalayas, the world's highest mountains. The goji berry is one of the most nutrient-dense fruits on earth. A very powerful antioxidant, it has been used in Chinese medicine for 2,000 years.
100 grams of goji berry contains up to 149 mg of vitamin C — around three times the vitamin C of an orange. As one of the strongest known antioxidants, its antioxidant level per 100 g is about 30,500, followed by pomegranate at 10,450 and blueberry at 2,750.
Goji berries are a wonderful protein store, containing 19 different amino acids — including methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine — with a protein content of about 13%. They provide high levels of beta-carotene, zinc, calcium, germanium, selenium, phosphorus and 21 trace minerals. A better source of beta-carotene than carrots, goji berries are also good for eye health, containing zeaxanthin, one of the two carotenoids found in the eye's retina. They contain B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, carotenoids and betaine — which the liver uses to produce choline. Betaine supports calm, memory and muscle growth, and can help lower homocysteine levels. Thanks to beta-sitosterol, goji berries help lower cholesterol.
Goji berries are also traditionally valued for supporting vitality and longevity, and contain compounds beneficial for heart health and blood pressure.
Looking at 100 g of dried goji berries:
- Calcium: 112 mg
- Potassium: 1,132 mg
- Iron: 9 mg
- Zinc: 2 mg
- Selenium: 50 mcg
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2): 1.3 mg
- Vitamin C: up to 148 mg
- Beta-carotene: 7 mg
- Zeaxanthin: ranges from 25 mg to 200 mg
How to Use Goji Berries
Tasting like a cross between cherry and blueberry, this wonderful food is used in China in rice dishes, soups and teas, and eaten fresh in some regions. Goji berries are usually exported dried or as goji juice — goji juice has become widely enjoyed in Europe and America in recent years, and is thought to have the same health effects as the fruit. In some countries the fresh fruit and juice are hard to find, so you can enjoy a handful of dried goji berries a day.
Merve Tığlı, Dietitian