Goji Juice Mythbusters: Goji Facts And Fictions

According to various stories, Li Ching-Yuen, purportedly the oldest man who ever lived, attributed his long life to the fact that he ate goji berries every day. This tale is a bit tough to quickly validate or refute, but let's take a look at the facts:

1: Li Ching-Yuen did live to be a very old man. How old he actually lived to be seems somewhat uncertain. It is known that he died May 6, 1933, but there is doubt about when he was born. Li Ching-Yuen himself claimed to have been born in 1734, but the Chinese government's census records indicate that he was born in 1677.

2: According to an interview with Li Ching-Yuen, he did eat goji berries on a daily basis. However, he also took many other Chinese herbs and did many exercises on a daily basis to improve his longevity, so it is hardly correct to claim the goji berry is primarily responsible for his long life.

Status: Partly true.

One of the claims the promoters of goji juice make is that goji can increase your energy levels. In fact, increased energy has been mentioned as a benefit of goji berries for many years in Chinese herbalist literature. But has the claim been verified by modern science?

In a recent scientific study of FreeLife's GoChi brand goji juice, energy, athletic performance, and fatigue were several benefits that were tested and researched. This double blind, placebo controlled study concluded that GoChi brand goji juice did in fact provide improved athletic performance, increased energy, and less fatigue to study participants.

Status: Confirmed.

Some people have claimed that goji berries have so much vitamin C that goji juice actually has 500 times the vitamin C that orange juice has. This claim will actually be very easy to verify.

Amount of vitamin C in 1 fluid ounce of juice:

Orange: 9 mg
Goji: 15 mg

Status: Busted.

A few promoters of goji juice have claimed that goji's amazing healing properties make it suitable to help treat cancer. Of course, if this claim is true, it would be wonderful news for the entire world. Unfortunately, this claim is simply not backed up by scientific fact.

Here are the facts:
1: There are no published scientific studies showing actual cancer fighting benefits of goji juice in the human body.
2: Since goji juice is a nutritional supplement, it is illegal to claim that it can help cure any disease - only FDA approved medications may make such claims.

Status: Busted.

Are goji berries a powerful anti-oxidant? Some claim the goji is one of the most powerful anti-oxidant known to man. However, most goji products on the market do not have published ORAC scores, so it makes it difficult to compare them to other anti-oxidants. However, a study done on Freelife brand GoChi juice showed excellent anti-oxidant results in the human body. The scientific study measured three blood markers before and after 30 days of drinking GoChi brand goji juice. The study found significant anti-oxidant benefits in all three markers.

Status: Confirmed.