Goji and Cranberries
One of the most popular uses of cranberries, to treat urinary tract infections, has been used for centuries by indigenous cultures. Today researchers have found that cranberries contain proanthocyanidins (PACs), which inhibit bacteria, including E. coli, from adhering to the urinary tract, thereby protecting it from infection.
They’re also rich in antioxidants that may play a role in preventing heart disease and cancer, and may play a role in preventing peptic ulcers by inhibiting H. pylori from adhering to the stomach.
Because cranberries are so tart, they’re not usually eaten raw but instead are baked into pies, muffins and cakes, used as a juice or cooked into the American holiday favorite, cranberry sauce.
It’s said that a handful of goji berries in the morning will make you happy for the rest of the day. Traditionally, they’re regarded as a potent food for longevity, strength and sexual virility and are grown in Tibet in protected valleys that contain million-year-old soil that’s reportedly untouched by pollutants or pesticides.
As tradition goes, the berries are never touched by human hands (this would cause them to oxidize and turn black), but instead are shaken onto mats and then dried or made into a liquid juice. There’s even a legend that says Li Qing Yuen, who “lived to the age of 252 years” (1678-1930), ate Goji berries every day.
Modern day studies have also found some benefits to goji berries; they’ve been said to have potential in fighting cancer and protecting the liver. Goji berries contain 18 amino acids, 21 trace minerals, linoleic acid, more beta carotene than carrots, vitamins B1, B2, B6, and E, selenium and germanium.
Goji berries are deep red in color and about the same size as a raisin. They taste like a cranberry combined with a cherry, and are typically eaten dried or in juice form.
This information taken from an article whose parentage is lost. Please forgive my lack of documentation. If this is your article, or you have the link to this article, please send me the information so that I may properly document this.
