Chinese Erasers
Chinese Erasers Organic Goji Berry - a True Miracle Gifted by the Nature There's much ado among dietary food supplement manufacturers about promoting organic Goji berry, a health fad that has been ge...
Chinese Erasers
Organic Goji Berry - a True Miracle Gifted by the Nature
There's much ado among dietary food supplement manufacturers about promoting organic Goji berry, a health fad that has been getting much attention in recent years among consumers ever-conscious of their well-being. What these food supplement manufacturers are apparently trying to establish is that the products they are marketing are pesticide-free. This after the US FDA seized some Goji berry shipments containing high levels of insecticide some years ago. These shipments came from China where Goji berry is more popularly known as wolfberry.
For its part, the Chinese government is trying to erase the stigma of the pesticide issue on their Goji berry exports. The Chinese government has been issuing "Green Certificates" to wolfberry farmers purportedly a standard similar to the US Department of Agriculture's "USDA Organic" certification. There's a great interest for China to keep its organic Goji berry or wolfberry farms compliant with standards acceptable in the US and other Western export markets.
Goji berry farming is a major source of income in many places in China's territory with vast plantations in such areas as Tibet, Mongolia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in north-central China and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region of western China. At Ningxia, Goji berry has been cultivated for more than 600 years and contributes over 40% of China's annual total harvest of about 35 million kg. With such a resource, China has become the world's top exporter of Goji berry which has been generating annual export revenue amounting to about $150 million.
Goji berry is a significant crop in China because of its wide usage in culinary and medicinal applications. The fruit itself can be consumed directly when dried and added to rice congee. It is also one of the ingredients in potent Chinese soups. The berries could be boiled and brewed as herbal tea, and likewise processed into package tea products. Some Chinese wines are also made from Goji berry or in combination with grapes. Beer is another beverage product that a Chinese company has found Goji berries suitable for brewing, while another enterprising venture produced instant coffee from these berries.
Goji berry is also important in traditional Chinese medicine. Tea brewed from the plant's leaves and root bark is used by Chinese herbalists to treat inflammation and certain types of skin disorders. Other Chinese medicinal applications often cited for Goji berry involve therapeutic remedies to improve circulation, sexual function and fertility, and to protect the liver as well as boost the immune system.
Dietary food manufacturers have taken note of these supposed health benefits derived from Goji berry and have used them extensively to promote their products as health food supplements and weight-loss solutions. Product promotions are often focused on the nutrient content and anti-oxidant properties, particularly those that could be found in organic Goji berry. Indeed, there are many pythochemicals and macronutrients to be found in this fruit. For the macronutrients, Goji berry can provide significant portions of a person's needed carbohydrates, dietary fiber, fat and protein. For micronutrients and pytochemicals, the berry contains 11 essential dietary minerals, 18 amino acids and six essential vitamins, all indicating why there has been a great interest in Goji berry.
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