The Goji berry, which is used today to make a wide variety of products from Goji berry juice that you can drink to skin cremes and other inedible health products. Also, there are Goji products that are edible such as health food shakes, nutrition bars and trail mix, and then there are different forms of the dried Goji berry, which you can simply eat as a snack like raisens or get as a chocolate covered treat. The Goji berry is one of the most sought after alternative health products on the market, and it has enormous health benefits.
Goji berries can do a great deal for those who want to lose weight. They can aid in preserving lean muscle mass which results in burning food that you eat as energy rather than storing it as fat and burning more calories overall, and while this helps all food that you eat be burned, Goji can also help to keep you feeling full longer by causing the food that you eat to be burned into energy more slowly, because Goji berries have an extremely low glycemic index rating, which means that they take longer to burn and keep you from needing more food longer.
Goji berries also have been linked by some to amazing prevention and treatment of some diseases including those having to do with vision, as well as helping to treat and prevent some cancers, and helping those with cancer need less radiation therapy and recover faster. While Goji berries are not regulated by the FDA or marketed by pharmaceutical companies it is quite popular among many people who have had some of these diseases, and these people have reported some incredible results. Goji berries mainly come from three different geographic regions, and differ a little bit in each region.
Tibetan Goji
Goji berries that are grown in the region of Tibet are different than other Goji berries. To some, Goji berries are known as Tibetan berries, as well as bearing the more common name of Wolfberry, but the Goji has been used for health purposes in this region for a very long time. Bhutan and Mongolia have a history of using Goji as well as a large part of China, as Tibet was a larger geographic area, and Chinese healers have a history of using Goji berries for a variety of purposes that goes back a very long time as well.
Tibet and China still hold the collection areas of the Goji berries in the same locations, even though the borders have changed over the years, and in Tibet, the Goji was used in food because it could be added as hot or cold and because it made people have more energy and feel better after eating foods with Gjoi in it. However, it was also used as a traditional medication with a huge host of benefits. It was used by the Tibetans to treat a wide variety of illnesses and Tibetan medical concoctions.
Goji is actually the name of the specific Tibetan variety of the Lycium plant that grows only in the botanical regions of Tibet and Mongolia. Doctors in Tibet used it for centuries, especially the nomads of the past, but around the mid 90′s the name Goji was used by marketers to promote another variety of Lycium, which is very similar to the Tibetan berry, but it not the same thing. The product marketed was the Chinese Wolfberry, but because of this error, many of the Lycium products on the market are known as Goji berries.
The Tibetan Lycium variety of Goji is different from other relatives of Lycium berries like the Chinese Wolfberry in that the nutritional makeup differs as well as the quality and quantity of some of the minerals contained in the berry. The region is completely different as well, and the conditions that the Goji is grown in differ from those of the Wolfberry. Many people that have tried the varies related types of the Goji or Wolfberry consider Tibetan Lycium to be superior to other types of the plant grown in other regions, but others prefer the Chinese Wolfberry or another Goji berry.
Australian Goji
The Goji berry that is in Australia is the Wolfberry and was originally indigenous to China, but is now being grown in Australia. Not only are there large growing areas that you can find commercially viable Goij berries, but there are also people Growing GoJi berries for their own personal use. Those who believe in the healing properties of the Wolfberry can buy them from stores in Australia, and they are available in a large variety of both edible products like Goji juice, and inedible health related products.
One type of Australian Goji berries is the Lycium Chnense, which his the vine variety of the Goji plant. That means that it acts more like a vine than it does a bush, and if you are growing it yourself, then you might want to read up on the specifics of taking care of a vine, because they do have slightly different needs. This variety of Goji will send branches up the wall or fence, or any other surface that will support the plant, up to a height of around 6 meters. It will then start to expand vertically, and will then come to fruition right at the very beginning of Winter, as well as some fruit in early spring. However, when it is not producing berries, it does create leaves that are great for cooking or making tea.
The vine variety of Goji seems to work best in pots, as long as there is enough room for the plant to grow. They are deciduous, but they only drop most of their leaves in Summer, and not all of them. This variety of Goji is that one that is often referred to in texts of traditional Chinese medicine, where they used the root bark to create teas and other substances that would help with breathing problems and treat vision problems experienced by those under their care.
Australia is also home to Lycium Barbarum, which is the shrub variety of the Goji plant, and while they may not reach the same height as the vine variety of the Goji, but they do grow to two and a half meters high and two and a half meters long, which can mean a lot of available fruit. You can place this variety of Goji anywhere there is some sunlight, but ensure that the soil can drain. This Goji plan requires trimming each year, and will drop its leaves. The shrub variety flowers during the Springtime and sometimes in Summer as well.
Himalayan Goji
Deciding which region you want to get your Goji berries from, or which area you would prefer that the juices, skin care products and dried Goji berries come from is a matter or personal taste, but the fact is that Himlayan Goji fruit is very popular among those who consumer Goji berries for health reasons. There are several different reasons that people give for choosing Himalayan Goji berries over Goji from other regions, such as the Wolfberries grown in China, or Tibetan Goji berries. But the bottom line is, it is truly up to you, because they all have virtually the same health benefits and nutrients that the others do.
One of the differences that people cite when it comes to choosing Goji berries from the Himalayas is taste. Although Wolfberries from China and Himalayan Goji berries have almost exactly the same nutritional content and health benefits, many people report that the berries that come from China are smaller, and have a much more bitter taste than the larger, plump berries that come from the Himalayas, which many say are very sweet tasting. Like other Goji berries, the Himalayan Goji has a host of anti aging and disease prevention benefits, and can promote a healthy liver, and other organs and aid in weight loss.
Goji plants grow almost anywhere in the Himalayas in virtually all kinds of soil. From light sand to medium dirt and clay, Goji plants are resilient and persistant, and can bear fruit no matter where it is growing. Even if the soil it is planted in is poor, the Goji fruit will adapt, and the fact is, that many areas in the Himalayas where the Goji grows is inhospitable, causing the plant to fight for its life. There are even Goji plants in the Himalayas that have survived drought and still was able to grow and bear fruit, making Goji one of the toughest little plants in the region.
Goji berries from the Himalayas are simply better than Goji grown in other regions on the planet, according to those that use berries from that area. They taste better and are packed with nutrients, and come in several different products. A company called Freelife, successfully sells Himalayan Goji juice, which is made from the berries that are gown in that region, and there are other products available as well.