Macular degeneration is a major cause of gradual, painless, central vision loss in the elderly. The average age at onset of visual loss is about 75 years. After the age of 50 years, the incidence steadily increases; over one-third of people in their ninth decade of life are affected. Researchers have implied that certain conditions may contribute to the disorder. Some of these are arteriosclerosis, oxidative damage, photic damage, inflammation, diet, vitamin and rare element deficiencies, and genetics.

Goji berries, also known as wolfberries, grow on an evergreen shrub found in temperate and subtropical regions in China and Mongolia. Goji berries marketed as from Tibet such as "Tibetan Goji berries" or "Himalayan Goji berries" are a misnomer.  The Himalayas nor Tibet are in subtropical regions (See Map).  They are in the nightshade (Solonaceae) family. Goji berries are usually found dried. They are shriveled red berries that look like red raisins. Goji berries have been used for 6,000 years by herbalists in China, Tibet and India to (1).  Goji is also used in Juice, Powder and Oils.

• protect the liver
• help eyesight
• improve sexual function and fertility
• strengthen the legs
• boost immune function
• improve circulation
• promote longevity

Goji berries are rich in antioxidants, particularly carotenoids such as beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. One of zeaxanthin’s key roles is to protect the retina of the eye by absorbing blue light and acting as an antioxidant. In fact, increased intake of foods containing zeathanthin may decrease the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in people over the age of 65.

Although it is purported that goji berry is beneficial to vision due to its high concentration of the antioxidant, zeaxanthin, no previous, high quality studies have found this result. Researchers decided to conduct a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in healthy elderly subjects to determine the effects of goji berry on macular characteristics and plasma zeaxanthin and antioxidant capacity levels. The study included a total of 150 elderly adults between the ages of 65 and 70 years who were randomized to receive either 13.7 grams per day of a milk-based goji berry formulation or placebo for 90 days. The participants underwent ophthalmic examinations to assess pigmentation and soft drusen count in the macula (accumulations in the eye that are associated with macular degeneration) and a blood draw to measure plasma zeaxanthin level and total antioxidant capacity. The results revealed that those in the placebo group were found to have hypopigmentation and soft drusen accumulation in the macula, whereas those in the goji berry group remained stable. It was also found that both plasma zeaxanthin level and antioxidant capacity increased significantly in the goji berry group by 26% and 57%, respectively, but did not change in the placebo group. No participants reported any adverse reactions to the goji berry formulation. These findings suggest that goji berry supplementation increases plasma zeaxanthin and antioxidant levels as well as protects from hypopigmentation and soft drusen accumulation in the macula of elderly subjects. (2)

1.  Goji berries are mentioned in Tibet Medicine texted, but they are not cultivated in any marketable quantity in those regions.  The climate is not conducive to grow Goji Lycium barbarum L. the climate of Tibet and the Himalayas is simply to dry!

2.  Bucheli P, Vidal K, Shen L, et al. Goji berry effects on macular characteristics and plasma antioxidant levels. Optom Vis Sci. 2011;88(2):257-62.

Goji Overview and The Tibetan-Himalayan Myth!

Goji berry product overview from California Academy of Health® CAOH® – discussing organic Goji Juice (Goji Fusion® and Absolute Goji®), Goji Berries and Goji Berry Powder. Also discussed is the Tibetan Goji and Himalayan Goji myth!

California Academy of Health proudly offers four extremely high quality açai products, our Goji Fusion™ juice and Absolute Goji Juice™, Absolute Goji Powder™ and our sun dried Goji Berries. All of these products are 100% certified organic and ethically harvested. In fact they are independently verified organic. We even have goji juice in our Mangosteen Elixir™ and our Liquid Power Multi-V™.

California Academy of Health, Inc.
800-643-7188
www.caoh.com
www.caoh.org/gojiproducts.html

Full product catolog for California Academy of Health (CAOH).

Dr. Marcus Ettinger,

I am being contacted by an attorney who works for a law firm, that is bringing a class action lawsuit against the biggest crooks besides our politicians. MLM Freelife finally has been exposed. My wife and I love your Goji Fusion. She gets energy and I the same and calms our hunger. I read on the lawsuits that your name came up, the CEO of freelife was stuttering about “Raw” , and Dr. Earl Mindell, (not a doctor at all) he bought his bogus degree, even the girl who made 2.4 million, Dr. Sandy who finally admitted that their juice was heated and it was not raw juice, and it was not 100% goji, she should go to jail, and they should attach all of her assets. Thank God this criminals have been exposed… S.G. Hermitage, PA

Dr. Marcus Ettinger,

I am being contacted by an attorney who works for a law firm, that is bringing a class action lawsuit against the biggest crooks besides our politicians. MLM Freelife finally has been exposed. My wife and I love your Goji Fusion. She gets energy and I the same and calms our hunger. I read on the lawsuits that your name came up, the CEO of Freelife was stuttering about “Raw”, and Dr. Earl Mindell, (not a doctor at all) he bought his bogus degree, even the girl who made 2.4 million, Dr. Sandy who finally admitted that their juice was heated and it was not raw juice, and it was not 100% goji, she should go to jail, and they should attach all of her assets. Thank God these criminals have been exposed…

S. Gruber

Hi,

I have recently purchased several bags of Goji berries in several shipments.  I am noticing that the berries are sticky (stuck together) Is this normal – and why?  The reason I ask is that I read from another goji seller that this means added sugar.

Thanks

Steve Ciervo

Steve,

The other goji berry seller is just trying to win a new customer by bashing a competitor, or has no idea the reality of the situation. Goji berries will stick together. When I get them fresh from the docks, they are stuck together, after a few days in the bag they stick together. That’s just the way they are. Do raisins stick together, yes they do. The berries are also tested for added sweeteners when they enter the country. The FDA does not allow it. I hope this clears things up.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc

Response Back: Thanks Marcus.  I must say your berries are the best I’ve tasted, hence the abnormal amount of bags ordered in the past 4 months.

Hi Heather,

Just a note to say your goji juice (Goji Fusion) is amazing. It is about as fresh as it can get. Makes the stuff we can get up here taste like tar.

Thanks

Drinking goji berry juice (like Goji Fusion or Absolute Goji) for 14 days improves well-being, mental performance, and gastrointestinal function compared with placebo in a recent study.* Goji berry (Lycium barbarum) has been used in Asia since ancient times for its benefits against aging and for vision, kidney, and liver function.

Thirty-five healthy adults were randomly assigned to take a standardized preparation of 120 mL/day goji berry juice (17 subjects), equivalent to 150 grams of fresh fruit, or matching placebo drink (18 subjects). Before and after supplementation, subjects rated various symptoms of fatigue, memory, mental acuity, sleep, and physical health.

After two weeks, the supplemented group expressed significantly better energy level, sleep quality, mental focus, mental acuity, calmness, happiness, and overall health, as well as better gastrointestinal function, compared with baseline. They indicated lower levels of fatigue and stress. In the placebo group, the only significant improvements were reduced heartburn and greater happiness.  –Laura J. Ninger, ELS

*Amagase H, Nance DM. A randomized, doubled-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study of the general effects of a standardized Lycium barbarum (goji) juice, J Altern Complement Med. 2008 May;14 (4):403-12.

December 2008 LIFE EXTENSION

Dear CAOH,

How do the polysaccharides found in fresh goji berries survive “flash” pasteurization?  Are they still present in your juice?  In what form is the juice shipped to the US?

Thank you,

Dan Allis

Answer: Dan,

Flash pasteurization is well below the temp. threshold to destroy PS’s, enzymes or other valuable phytochemicals present in the goji juice (Goji Fusion). Sterile processing, which FreeLife (and many others) use, utilizes a very high temp, that in my professional opinion, can and does destroy all vital, biological components.

The goji is shipped as is, after flash pasteurization, to us in the U.S.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

I must be bored, because I decided to surf some competitor sites to see what they are up to and BOY did I find some funky stuff. I am not a critical person by nature but I decided to have some fun with this. All of this comes for just one, high Google ranked site.

“I am not knocking goji berries, I love goji berries and my family and I eat them every day. I am just having a little fun at the expense of this website.

First off, “Our Goji berries come from Northern Asia in the Tibetan and Mongolian Himalayas.” 

I don’t have a PhD in geography but even a sixth grader knows that the Himalayan mountain range never has and never will extend into Mongolia, and I personally know that goji, even in the smallest quantities are not coming from either Tibet, Mongolia, Tibetan Plateau or the Himalayas. Anyone claiming as much is either uninformed or just out-right lying. I would love to have any company advertising such claims to show me a picture with GPS coordinates as proof.

More gibberish. “Goji berries will grow in almost any climate, but are most prevalent in the Himalayas.”

I forgot, some of the worlds most celebrated botanical gardens are in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau (which is at a lower elevation then the actual Himalayan mountain range) .

Fact: The Tibetan Plateau, comprising most of Tibet north and east of the Himalayas, lies at more than 3000 m (10,000 ft) in altitude, with poor soil and arid climate conditions unfavorable for fruit crops. Defined by the geography of Tibet, particularly in the western Himalayas, cold nighttime temperatures averaging -4°C year round  with six months of continual frost would inhibit plant bud development and prevent fruit formation. Existing in Tibet are minimal subsistence agriculture and impoverished crop management and transportation facilities unsupportive of commercial berry production. Although limited fertile regions suitable for food crops exist in the valleys of Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, and the Brahmaputra River, there are no objective economic, scientific, or government reports on the commercial production of Lycium berry species from these Tibetan regions. (from Wikipedia, also verified via references)

More? “We are the best source for Himalayan Goji Berries because we directly import the authentic Lycium Barbarum, the original and most nutritious known strain of the 41 Asian varieties.”

There is that Himalayan goji berry again. This time it’s the most nutritious of 41 strains. Again, I am not a PhD ethnobotanist but I have done enough goji research over the last 3-4 years to know that there are less than a handful of edible Lycium varieties world-wide; Lycium chinensis and Lycium barbarum being the most famous  and well known. They have the best strain of the ’41 Asian varieties’. They better get some anti-virals, it sound like the flu to me.

Again, more non-sense: “500 times more Vitamin C than oranges.”

I want some of this action to help me if I get some of the above. So, if a 6 ounce orange has 50 mg’s of Vitamin C, than 6 ounces of Himalayan Goji berries would have 2.5 grams of Vitamin C. Now I see where their coming from, they have the special strain, Himalayan variety, that’s it. Joking aside, the berries have between 29 mg per 100 grams to as high as 148 mg per 100 grams. Goji is a very good vitamin C source and I do recommend them daily in my practice.

I am starting to feel bad about picking on this site but it’s like slowing when there’s an accident of the side of the road, you just can’t help yourself.

Another doozy! (Any typo or misspelling here comes from their site): “HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE:
Goji berries are known to have a unique polysaccharide that stimulates the pituitary gland in the anterior of the brain to produce more Human Growth Hormone, the master hormone in our bodies. HGH is know to slow down, and even reverse some of the effects of aging. For centuries, people in Asia that have customarily eaten Goji berries have been documented to live longer and healthier lives with little or no incidence of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple scirosis, or a host of other “dread” diseases that are afflicting many of the Industrialized Nations of the world.”

We better let every professional sports player in on this one. Just think steroids will be a thing of the past. All you need to do now is eat a hand-full of goji berries and watch time being shaved off your ¼ mile sprint or amaze your friend with your new found muscles and ripped abs, just from eating goji berries.

The best part about the above referenced paragraph, is that if I eat goji berries I won’t get the ‘dread’ disease – multiple scirosis. That sounds like a nasty one!

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.