Table of contents:
- What are goji berries?
- Health benefits of goji berries
- 1. Boosts the immune system
- 2. Helps you lose weight
- 3. Helps control blood sugar
- 4. Prevent the growth of cancer cells
- 5. Antiaging effect
You must have heard of goji berries lately. Often times, this fruit is used for beauty. However, more than that it turns out that goji berries benefit your overall health. Want to know what are the health benefits of goji berries? Check out the following explanation.
What are goji berries?
This one fruit has actually been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2000 years. Goji berries have a sweet taste. Usually this fruit is eaten directly or made as juice or herbal tea. Alternatively, goji berries can also be extracted, made into powder and tablets.
Goji berries contain many nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, iron, selenium, potassium, zinc and copper. In addition, it turns out that goji berries are also high in specific antioxidants, which are called Lycium barbarum polysaccharides. These antioxidants can protect the body from cell damage due to free radicals, thereby improving your overall health.
Health benefits of goji berries
Due to their high nutritional and antioxidant content, it's no wonder that goji berries can provide you with many health benefits. Some of the health benefits of goji berries are:
1. Boosts the immune system
Yes, goji berries can help boost immunity so that the body is better able to fight disease. Goji berries have been found to increase lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that are responsible for protecting the body from bacteria and viruses. A study on 60 healthy adults showed that consuming 100 ml of goji berry juice daily for 30 days improved immune function.
2. Helps you lose weight
Goji berries can help you lose weight in many ways. The high fiber content in goji berries can make you feel fuller longer so you will eat less. The fiber in goji berries can also help in controlling blood sugar levels and appetite.
In addition, goji berries also have a low glycemic index, so the release of sugar into the bloodstream occurs more slowly after you eat goji berries. It also makes you more able to control satiety and appetite. Goji berries are also able to help lose weight by increasing the body's metabolic rate, so that the body is able to burn more calories.
3. Helps control blood sugar
Goji berries can help lower blood sugar levels, reduce insulin resistance, increase sugar tolerance, and repair cells that help produce insulin. This effect of goji berries on blood sugar is attributed to the presence of high antioxidant content in goji berries. Research shows that goji berry juice can increase insulin sensitivity by increasing glucose uptake into cells and increasing insulin secretion by the pancreas.
4. Prevent the growth of cancer cells
The high antioxidant content in goji berries can also help you prevent cancer cell growth. Research suggests that the tumor-inhibiting effect of goji berries is likely due to the goji berries' ability to increase antioxidant levels and decrease levels of inflammatory cytokines in the blood.
5. Antiaging effect
Goji berries are also believed to inhibit aging. Not surprisingly, many cosmetic products have goji berries added to them. The antioxidant content contained in goji berries (especially zeaxanthin) can prevent damage to collagen cells in the skin due to free radicals, so they can help you delay the aging process. The antioxidant content in goji berries can also protect the health of your eyes.
