7 Fun Facts About Goji Berries

All berries have great benefits and serve as a wonderful antioxidant to add to any wellness regimen. However, all berries are not created equal.  Insert:  the goji berry!  This tiny little bright red berry is often seen in it’s dried form and raisin like.  Most commonly,  goji berries are known for creating longevity and maintaining healthy vision. With their high beta-carotene properties, more than 18 amino acids and 21 minerals this super food is truly in a category of it’s own. Here are some fun facts about goji berries that perhaps you didn’t know:

1. Goji berries grow in temperate regions in China, Mongolia and in the Tibetan Himalayas.
2. Legend says a man named Li Qing Yuen consumed goji berries daily and lived to be 252 years old!
3. A Chinese study published in the Chinese Journal of Oncology in 1994 found that 79 people with cancer responded better to treatment when goji was added to their regimen.
4. Some claim that the goji berry is a fountain of youth. The Ningxia Hui region of Northern China, where goji berries are grown and eaten on a daily basis, has 16 times as many centenarians as the rest of the country.
5. For their weight , a daily serving is only about 1 oz., goji berries have more vitamin C than oranges, more beta carotene than carrots and more iron than steak.
6. You can over do it! Goji berries are high in selenium: the right quantity helps to keep your liver healthy; too much can be toxic. For that reason, it’s good to stick to the recommended daily dose of 1 oz. or so. A little goes a long way!
7. According to several sources, goji berries’ ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value is more than 25,000! (Kale is 1,770 and Prunes 5,700 for comparison sake.)

While there is no shortage of new age super foods on the market that claim to boost fertility and sex drive, help you live a longer life and give you tons of energy, goji Berries might be slightly underrated and worth the investment!

Try this super easy, healthy salad recipe packed with all your favorite super foods, including goji berries:

1 bunch organic green kale

1/2 cup sliced organic mango

2 Tablespoons organic chia seeds

1 0z. organic goji berries

Sweet dressing, we chose Hendrickson’s Gluten Free Sweet Vinegar and Olive Oil

Jenn Bodnar

Jenn Bodnar is the owner of  Yoga Digest and has a genuine belief that yoga can benefit everyone. She is 500ERYT having attended multiple teacher trainings, facilitating yoga teacher trainings and studying and practicing yoga since 1999. Jenn is an avid fitness professional, who has taught and managed group fitness for many years. As a former competitive triathlete, gymnast and dancer Jenn loves the balance of strength, flexibility, perseverance and freedom that yoga provides. She is mom to three awesome young men and loves being active and outdoors with her family and friends. Jenn oversees LifePower Yoga studio in North Dallas, is a self proclaimed health food chef and hopes to leave a positive footprint by inspiring others to choose happiness. “Watching people grow through yoga is one of the most amazing miracles to witness.”