How to use goji berries, we will tell below. But before that, I would like to bring to your attention another, no less important information about the mentioned ingredient. After all, not all people know what kind of product it is, where it grows and what its benefits are.
Goji berry is a barberry?
This question is often asked by those who absolutely do not understand plants, trees and their fruits. It is also worth noting that it is they who are subject to deception by the sellers of this product. Indeed, in the pursuit of revenue, careless entrepreneurs give out the usual fruits of an unpretentious barberry for useful and expensive goji berries.
So what information do you need to have in order to purchase the right product? We will talk about this below.
What is goji?
Before talking about how to use goji berries, you should give general information about the plant on which these fruits grow. As you know, such a shrub is called derezacommon or dereza of the Berbers (from the Latin Lýcium bárbarum). This species is a woody plant of the Solanaceae family. As for the name goji itself, it comes from the Chinese name gǒuqǐ. Surprisingly, most people believe that such berries are poisonous. However, it is not. After all, the fruits of common wolfberry (from the Latin Lycium barbarum) and Chinese (Lycium chinense) are completely harmless. Moreover, they are considered very useful and are often used in traditional medicine.
Thus, if you want to purchase this product for medicinal purposes, then you should only buy the fruits of the two shrubs presented, and everything else can be safely considered a fake.
Where to buy goji berries?
The fruits of common or Chinese wolfberry can be purchased in the markets, and in specialized stores, and even in tea shops. However, their price is quite high. After all, such a berry is grown in China, Tibet and even in the Himalayas. But if you see this product at a lower price, then you should not immediately doubt its quality, since today common and Chinese dereza are cultivated everywhere, including in our country.
Appearance
You already know where to buy goji berries. Now I would like to bring to your attention a description of woody plants and their fruits. Such berries grow on a shrub that reaches a height of 3.5 meters. Its branches are covered with very sharp and thin spines, as well as simple, entire, elliptical leaves. Before fruiting, this plant is coveredbell-shaped flowers of lilac or violet-pink.
Tibetan goji berries, as well as Chinese and others, appear at different times in different regions, namely from July to October or from May to September. The fruits are small coral-red berries (can be yellow, orange, purple and even black) ranging in size from 1 to 3 centimeters.
Useful properties
Goji berry, the benefits of which are undeniable, is actively used in alternative medicine. Teas, tinctures, compotes, fruit drinks, etc. are made from it. So why are such fruits attractive to modern healers? To answer this question, one should consider the chemical composition of ripe berries.
So, the following substances were found in the fruits of dereza:
- ascorbic acid - 0.5%;
- betaine – 0.1%;
- vitamin A, as well as B1 and B2;
- nicotinic acid;
- GABA amino acid;
- tetraterpenes fizalin and zeaxanthin;
- steroids β-sitosterol and solasodine;
- polysaccharides;
- scopoletin, p-coumaric acid, proteins and many other elements.
Thanks to this composition, goji berries (the method of application will be presented in detail below) work wonders, namely: rejuvenate and purify the blood, help get rid of back pain and the effects of stress, provide a quick recovery after SARS and acute respiratory infections.
It is also worth noting that Tibetan dereza is quite often used for diabetes (with caution),visual impairment and anemia. The fruits of this shrub contain substances that help fight various viruses, strengthen the lungs, kidneys, nervous system and remove toxins from the body.
The right choice and reception
To make treatment with non-traditional methods not harm you, but benefit you, you should definitely know how to use goji berries. To begin with, you should buy them in the right place, since instead of real wolfberry fruits, you may be sold another, cheaper product. In this regard, it is necessary to ask the seller where exactly this product was brought from and whether there is a certificate for it. Such a careful choice is due to the fact that today a lot of berries began to arrive in our country from Spain. However, some experts argue that the fruits grown there do not have such healing properties as, for example, the Tibetan product. That is why experienced consumers recommend buying these he althy berries only in Tibetan shops.
How to use goji berries? It is advisable to start taking herbal medicine based on such fruits with minimal doses. After all, each drug, including natural, has its own contraindications and side effects. To understand whether it suits you or not, you should eat a few berries and wait a couple of days. If during this time you do not show any allergic reactions, then you can safely use them for treatment.
Correct collection and recommended dose
Before using goji berries for weight loss or general he althbody, experts recommend drying them, although they are allowed to eat fresh. To do this, the fruits should be carefully collected from the bush, and then sorted out and, without rinsing in water, spread evenly on clean paper. It is desirable to dry such he althy berries in the shade. It is also worth noting that in no case should an oven be used for this purpose. Indeed, under the influence of heat treatment, all vitamins, polysaccharides and other useful substances will leave the product.
He althy people of middle and young age are allowed to eat about 15-50 grams of dry berries per day. As for the elderly, it is recommended that they reduce the named dose exactly by half. This is due to the fact that a large number of dry berries at one time can easily cause pressure surges.
Before brewing goji berries or consuming them as a whole, they should be rinsed well under running cold water. By the way, often such fruits are pre-soaked in water for an hour, and then eaten as a dried fruit or added to various cocktails, salads, desserts, yogurts, breakfast cereals, pastries, etc.
How to make wolfberry tea?
Goji berry tea is quite often used as an antiviral and invigorating drink. Due to the fact that the most accessible form of these fruits, which can be purchased in special shops, are dried products, their most popular use is in brewing. However, it should be borne in mind that during such a procedure, this product loses some of its useful properties. For this reason, it is undesirableboil with boiling water. After all, this is the only way you can save all the vitamins and other elements, and with regular use, get enough minerals, vegetable protein, polysaccharides, etc.
So, before brewing goji berries (contraindications for such tea will be described below), wash well in cold water, and then take a full large spoonful of dried fruits, put in a deep bowl and pour 250 ml of not very hot water (the temperature should be about 85 degrees). In this state, it is desirable to keep the product under a loose lid for a quarter of an hour.
So how to drink hot water goji berries? The finished drink should be cooled at room temperature, and then consumed in an amount of 1-1.5 liters per day. It is worth noting that this tea has a refreshing effect, as well as a sour taste, which is quite reminiscent of green apple compote.
If you urgently need to lose a couple of kilograms, then this drink should be consumed instead of water for several days. By the way, dry goji berries for weight loss are as effective as tea. This is due to the fact that they contain a large amount of nutrients and vitamins, which are essential for the body during strict and rigid diets. Of course, few people believe that by drinking tea from such fruits or the berries themselves, you can lose weight. However, the fact remains. Indeed, due to the nutritional value of this product, you begin to eat less fatty and other high-calorie foods, which cannot but affectyour figure.
If you do not strive for ideal forms, then you can add granulated sugar or put a couple of spoons of honey into such a drink.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that in alternative medicine, additional ingredients are often added to such tea in the form of mint, ginger, blackcurrant leaves, lemon, etc. It is worth noting that the taste of goji is quite well combined with all named components.
As for contraindications, this tea is undesirable for pregnant and lactating women, as well as during high blood pressure, especially for people over 65.
Making a he althy tincture together
Goji berry, which has a wide range of uses, is ideal for making alcohol tinctures. To make such a medicine on your own, you need to wash the dried wolfberries well, and then grind them using a meat grinder or a regular blender with knife attachments. Next, the gruel from the berries must be placed in a glass jar or bottle and immediately pour forty-degree vodka. Moreover, the level of alcohol should be slightly higher than the level of the crushed mass and completely cover it.
After both components are in the container, they should be thoroughly mixed, loosely closed with a lid and put in a dark place for exactly a week. After seven days, the fermented mass must be filtered and then placed in a refrigerator, where the tincture must be stored untiluse.
Take a folk remedy based on goji berries, preferably 1 large spoonful twice a day before lunch and dinner. The course of treatment with such a tincture should last no more than a month. If necessary, it can be repeated after a couple of weeks. It is advisable to use this tool during the season of colds, when you need to strengthen your immunity. Because this homemade tincture contains alcohol, it is highly discouraged for young children, pregnant women, and mothers who are breastfeeding.
Dereza fruits as a nutritional component
As mentioned above, you can use such berries as a whole, without brewing, drying and not insisting on vodka. To do this, the fruits should be collected, and then washed thoroughly in warm water. If you use a dried product, then it can be eaten without prior soaking. However, in this form, it is too hard and not very tasty. That is why dry and clean fruits are recommended to be put in a container, poured with plenty of water and kept in this state for several hours. By the way, the decoction obtained in this way is undesirable to pour out. It should be drunk in half a glass after each meal. It should be noted that this liquid contains a huge amount of nutrients and he althy substances.
Eat goji berries every day, but only if you meet the above dose of 15-50 g. These fruits are ideal for a low-calorie snack between breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, dry berries soaked in water are actively used in the preparation of various dishes. They are added to dairy drinks (kefir, yogurt, katyk, curdled milk, etc.), as well as side dishes, goulash, cereals, soups, and even sweet homemade cakes. At the same time, these berries can be laid out in liquid dishes and not soaked. As for the dough, it’s still worth keeping them in water, otherwise hard inclusions will make homemade cake or pie not as tasty as we would like.
Other uses
The fruits of the dereza shrub are very often used as a seasoning for sweet and savory dishes. It is worth noting that they give the dinner the same sweet and sour taste as if you added regular barberry. However, the benefits of this dish will be much greater. After all, the presented berries contain a huge amount of vitamins and nutrients.
To make this seasoning yourself, you should take dried goji berries (you are unlikely to find negative reviews about this product), wash them thoroughly and put them on paper towels. After the fruits dry again, they need to be placed in a tight plastic bag, and then placed on a cutting board and kneaded with a rolling pin until fine crumbs form.
If you have previously used this spice in the kitchen, then you probably know exactly how it should be used. For the uninitiated, we will tell you about this procedure in more detail.
During the preparation of various dishes, seasoning from dried wolfberriesshould be added almost at the very end, after turning off the stove. After all, everyone knows that under the influence of high temperatures, the useful components of this product are completely destroyed, and all that remains of it is only a taste and a pleasant aroma. Similarly, it is necessary to add such a spice to homemade cakes. This requires choosing instant recipes so that cookies, muffins or other goodies are fully usable after a quarter of an hour after turning on the oven, slow cooker or microwave.
Of course, it is he althier and tastier to eat such berries fresh. But, unfortunately, in our country it is quite problematic to do this, since it is almost impossible to acquire these fruits, just picked from the bush. However, do not be upset, because even in dried form this product can become a valuable component of your diet, especially if you use it correctly and regularly. So, if you want to fully appreciate the properties and taste of such an ingredient, do not be afraid to experiment and use unusual culinary recipes, bringing your fantasies to life. Indeed, in any case, the fruits of dereza will only benefit you.
Why should this product not be consumed?
So many he althy foods can negatively affect the human body. So why in some cases you can not eat goji berries? Their harm may be hidden in the fact that such fruits contain too many acids and vitamins. It is for this reason that a man who used excessivelythis product, after a short period of time, may become covered with urticaria. However, it is worth noting that such an allergy can occur not only from goji fruits, but also from other fruits and berries, which are also strong allergens.
In addition to rashes on the skin, excessive consumption of this product can lead to increased gas formation and even diarrhea. This is especially true for those people who have a very weak intestine. In addition, a side effect of goji berries is possible in the form of a change in the effectiveness of certain medications that were taken in parallel with the product. There is no particular evidence for this, but many experts argue that such fruits can both enhance and reduce the effect of drugs, in particular if they are used to lower blood pressure or to eliminate pain in the heart muscle. In this regard, you are advised to consult with your doctor in advance about whether alternative treatment can be used in conjunction with traditional therapy.
Contraindications for the use of the product
Goji berries (contraindications will be discussed below) are a healing product that is often used to treat and prevent various diseases. But, like any drug, these fruits also have their side effects. We talked about them in detail a little higher. In the same section, we will present to your attention detailed information about the contraindications of this product. Despite the fact that there are not as many of them as in traditional medicalfunds, you should still be aware of them.
So, due to certain properties, such berries are strictly forbidden to be consumed in any form by the following groups of people:
- children under three;
- people prone to allergic reactions, especially to yellow, red and orange fruits, berries and vegetables (e.g. mangoes, apricots, apples, tomatoes, peaches, strawberries, cherries, citrus fruits, etc.);
- people with frequent diarrhea;
- people with cancer.
As for the last contraindication, this point is considered controversial. Indeed, on the one hand, such fruits contain antioxidants that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. On the other hand, the use of this product can significantly reduce the effectiveness of medical treatment. This is due to the fact that during therapy, a person is prescribed serious drugs that suppress the immune system. In turn, useful and nutritious wolfberry fruits will increase immunity more and more. In this regard, this ingredient is recommended to be used by patients with oncology with extreme caution and only after consulting a doctor.
There is another contraindication for the use of goji berries. It applies to pregnant women and nursing mothers. In the first case, such fruits can not only saturate the body of the future woman in labor with nutrients and vitamins, but also prevent the absorption of other elements that are no less important for the baby. In the case of nursing mothers, this contraindicationdue to the fact that the presented berries are a strong allergen, and this can adversely affect the he alth and even the life of a newborn baby.
By the way, if you do not want to purchase such fruits in the store, then you can grow them yourself. For this, goji berry seeds are sold, which, although capricious, still grow well in the southern regions of our country.
