Wolfberry Juice

Wolfberry juice is one of only a few ways to incorporate the wolfberry, or goji berry, into a healthy eating plan. The fresh fruits deteriorate when touched, and so they must be dried to be enjoyed in places at a distance from where they are grown, mainly in China and Tibet. The dried fruits and the juice made from fresh wolfberries have high levels of antioxidants, proteins, complex carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Wolfberries contain 18 of the 20 amino acids that are necessary to the human body, including nine that the body cannot manufacture and so must get from food.

Wolfberries and wolfberry juice contain high levels of antioxidants that are known to protect DNA from the effects of substances called free radicals in the body. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and in the development of some forms of cancer. The juice also contains fiber, and because of its carbohydrates are mostly complex carbohydrates, the juice does not produce the sugar high and crash from surging levels of blood glucose followed by surging levels of insulin that follow.

Wolfberry juice is often consumed alone, but it can also be made into nutritious meal substitute drinks made from wolfberry juice, yogurt, and soft fruits like bananas, peaches, and berries. Because of its unique nutritional profile, wolfberry juice is often recommended as a part of a comprehensive weight loss plan, and as a part of supervised juice fasts. While research in western countries on the wolfberry and wolfberry juice is still in its infancy, the berry has been in use in Chinese medicine for centuries as an all purpose health tonic, and for its reported beneficial effects on the heart, brain, and eyes. In the west, wolfberries and wolfberry juice have only caught on in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but its rise in popularity has been rapid as word of its nutritional qualities has disseminated.