The Chinese Wonder Fruit

Goji Berry: Lycium Barbarum

What am I?
Creative Nature Goji berries are wild crafted from the hills in the Ningxia Region of China. Collected from high altitude where the berries have to work harder, making them sweeter to the taste and more nutritionally dense.

Our berries are then 'Solar Air Dried' (not machine dried like some) this ensures a gentle drying process allowing the berries to maintain their nutritional qualities.

Also known as Wolfberries, Lycium berries and Gou Ji Zi berries, Goji Berries have been used in Traditional Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese medicine for centuries to nourish yin and improve the functioning of the 'water element'. They are a delicious, gentle and soothing tonic fruit that is loaded with available vitality.

What’s in me?
• High in antioxidants, Ningxia Goji Berries have an ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) of approximately 30 300, standard Goji Berries measure approximately 22 200 (Blueberries have a value of approximately 2 400)
• Goji berries have the highest content of carotenoids, including Beta Carotene (a precuror to Vitamin A), among all known foods on earth.
• They contain up to 500 times more vitamin C than oranges.
• The fruits also have significant amounts of vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and vitamin E.
• They are rich in amino acids
• They contain trace minerals such as zinc, iron, copper, calcium, germanium, selenium and phosphorous.

What can I be used for?
• A handful a day is said to provide the energy to overcome difficult obstacles in healing, promote cheerfulness and brighten the spirit.
• They are high in antioxidants which have anti-aging properties.

“The goji berry is also legendary for helping to spark the passions. In fact, an old Chinese proverb cautions men who are travelling far from their wives and families:
“He who travels one thousand kilometres from home should not eat goji!”

How much of me should you take?
Therapeutic dosage is around 10 – 30 grams per day which is roughly the equivalent of one to two handfuls per day. They can be eaten as they are, sprinkled into muesli or breakfast cereals or blended into smoothies. If you soak the berries in juice overnight they will blend more easily into smoothies.

Contraindications
None known, although they can loosen the bowels when taken in very large quantities. So munch with care!