Goji Berries, a great anti-oxidant and loaded with vitamins.

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Going for the goji: Unusual berry boasts antioxidants, vitamins galore By: MIKA ONO BENEDYK - For the North County Times Goji berries are popping up in natural food stores everywhere -- not only dried in tidy packages with pictures of the Himalayas, but also in goji berry trail mixes, energy bars, juice packages, spreads, and even in powdered form mixed with cocoa to add to your smoothies."We began introducing goji berries in our stores a year to 18 months ago in response to customer requests," said Andy Huth, grocery buyer for the four Jimbo'sÖNaturally! stores in North County. "They just took off. Anything with goji berries tends to be a hot item."

Goji (pronounced GO-gee) berries, also known by a variety of other names, including wolfberries, lycium fruit, and matrimony vine fruit, have come to the forefront in large part because of their remarkable nutritional profile -- boasting anti-oxidants and vitamins galore.

"Like a lot of things these days, goji berries straddle the line between food and supplement," noted Huth. "They are classified as a food, but you don't consume them because you are hungry so much as because you want their desirable properties." An 8-ounce bag of Wild Oats dried goji berries goes for $9.99.Goji berries are easy on the palate, though, offering a tart and sweet taste. In the dried form, the size and texture of goji berries are not unlike those of a raisin, although sometimes a little crisper.Dried goji berries are convenient to use. They can be sprinkled on cereal in the morning or added to baked goods like any other dried fruit. And they also can be consumed in the array of products made with goji berries that currently populate natural food store aisles.Henry's produces a goji berry and cranberry chutney, along with energy bars with the berries. GNC sells goji berry juice and several juice mixes featuring goji berries as an ingredient.With the exception of Whole Foods, the trend hasn't yet made the leap to the large national supermarket chains, though. At last check, you won't find goji berries in Vons stores, nor even in the new Ralph's Fresh Fare in 4S Ranch.Gift from the EastWhile goji berries are just now being embraced by the American health food scene, they have a longstanding reputation for their healthful properties in other parts of the world.Dr. Yuan Wang, a traditional Chinese medical practitioner at The Source clinic on Pomerado Road in Poway and member of the faculty at San Diego's Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, is more than a little familiar with goji berries, called gou qi zi in Chinese (kukoshi in Japanese; kugija in Korean)."Gou qi zi is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine," said Wang, "especially for the eyes."Traditional Chinese medicine, which uses acupuncture and herbs as its two main tools, is a 3,000-year-old healing art based on generations of scholarship and clinical observation. Goji berries are featured in modern texts, such as "Materia Medica," third edition, by Dan Bensky et al. (Eastland Press, Seattle), as well as ancient ones.Wang likes to add goji berries to soups and notes they can be brewed into a tea. She prescribes them to patients who, in Chinese medical terms, need to nourish the blood, enrich the yin (one of two life forces), strengthen the kidney and liver, and moisten the lungs."My patients are always asking me 'What should I eat?'" Wang says. "The answer can often include gou qi zi."Many of the dried goji berries you'll find in health food stores are farmed in Asia, especially north-central and western China (probably not Tibet, despite marketing claims, as the landscape is inhospitable to commercial cultivation). The delicate fruit require careful harvesting come the late summer, and berries are often shaken from the vine into trays to avoid spoiling.The plant -- a member of the Solanacea family, which also gives us hot peppers, eggplant, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes -- also grows as hedgerows in Great Britain, and can be raised in many parts of North America. One nursery in Utah, Timpanogos Nursery, specializes in selling the seeds and plants to the U.S. market, advising customers they grow well in well-drained soil of moderate quality and produce the best berries in full sun.Bounty of benefitsGoji berries offer a cornucopia of nutrition. In addition to calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, selenium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and vitamin C, the fruit contains phytochemicals, particularly beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. The health benefits of diverse phytochemicals, which are naturally occurring compounds found in plants, are now increasingly recognized in the West.According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, a diet high in zeaxanthin (and lutein) may slow, or even reverse, the progression of age-related macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that is the leading cause of blindness for those aged 55 and older in the United States, affecting more than 10 million Americans.Other foods containing zeaxanthin include corn, spinach, collards, lettuce, oranges and tangerines. Kale, turnip greens, and broccoli also contain lutein.Scientific studies of goji berries have been suggestive of other health benefits, such as increased immunity, but none have yet provided conclusive evidence. Funding for large-scale, well-controlled human trials is hard to come by, though, so as in many areas, consumers will have to continue to make decisions in a world of less than perfect information.Wang adds that while Chinese medical tradition supports the beneficial properties of goji berries, this same tradition also emphasizes the need for balance."No one food is going to provide everything to everybody," she said.GO-GO SMOOTHIE1/3 cup orange juice3 or 4 ice cubesHandful of dried goji berries1 banana (or half a dozen strawberries or 1?4 cantaloupe, if you prefer)Put the ingredients together in a blender, whirl together, then serve. Serves 1.This recipe is from www.gojiberriesblog.com:CRANBERRY GOJI RELISH Loaded with vitamins, minerals, flavinoids and anti-oxidants, this energizing relish is delicious by itself, as a colorful side dish for holidays, or a beautiful garnish with fruits and lettuces. A great winter or summer food.1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries2 tablespoons red onion, chopped4-6 dates1-2 stalks celery, chopped1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger1 orange, peeled, sectioned1 Tablespoon lime juice1 teaspoon orange zest1/4 cup Tibetan Goji berries, soaked1/4 cup black seedless raisins, soakedBlend ingredients except berries and raisins to a coarse texture in a food processor with the "S" blade. Stir in raisins and berries by hand and serve immediately or refrigerate overnight to blend flavors. Keeps up to 1 week. Store in glass bowl or jar.-- Mika Ono Benedyk of San Diego is a freelance writer who is writing a book on functional foods in the Chinese tradition.

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