April '08 Food and Recipes

Goji Berries, the Super Food
By Milosh Rodic

Dear Yogis, enter the “Goji Zone”!

"Goji berries!" Have you been hearing these words in Savasana lately? I have, thanks to "Ogden", the latest manifestation of Patanjali to come to us through short movies on YouTube, of all places. Enter "Yoga Bitch" and have a laugh. People think Ogden is a bore because he's always dressed in yoga garb, blissed out, and advising people to overcome their troubles by dropping into an asana (even if it is in a grocery store), or to rise above their sour moods by having their goji berries every morning.

Super Foods


Goji berries are appearing more and more in the kitchens of yogis since David Wolfe put the pop-health culture spotlight on this ancient, Eastern Super Food in 2003. So, what is a “Super Food”[1]? This buzzword popularized at about the same time is a substance that you put in your body that nourishes you more than average food. A common characteristic of Super Foods is higher mineral content (many diseases are associated with mineral deficiency). Super Foods such as chia, cacao, hemp seeds, mesquite, and maca embody these above average mineral qualities. Some Super Foods are adaptogens like maca. Others are potentiators like MSM. Other Super Foods contain precious omega 3 fatty acids that your body can‘t produce on its own (but that’s another story).

Goji berries:
-500 times more vitamin C than oranges by weight
-One of the world’s most anti-oxidant rich fruits/foods (anti-oxidants combat free-radicals in the body which precipitate dis-ease)
-Contain more beta-carotene than carrots
-Only fruit to contain all eight essential amino acids (meaning that this fruit contains the full range of proteins needed by the human body; the only fruit that we know of on earth to be like this).

A goji berry a day…
-Extends life, protecting your body from premature aging (through its powerful antioxidant action)
-Increases your energy and strength, especially when fighting disease
-Makes you feel and look younger by stimulating the secretion of hGH (human growth hormone), the "youth hormone"
-Maintains healthy blood pressure
-Enhances sexual function and treats sexual dysfunction
-Relieves insomnia and improves quality of sleep
-Supports healthy liver function
-Strengthens your muscles and bones
-Improves your memory and recall ability
-Supports normal kidney function
-Alleviates stress and anxiety
-Promotes cheerfulness and brightens your spirit
-Restores and repairs DNA
-Rejuvenates the blood
-Treats weakened digestion
-Treats cancer: prevention and inhibition of tumor growth

The Story of Li Qing Yuen
The most outstanding case of longevity in modern history

Li Qing Yuen died in 1930 at the age of 252. He married 14 times and lived to see 11 generations of descendants, who numbered nearly 200!

Li Qing grew up in the mountains of southwest China. When he was 11, three traveling herbalists chanced to visit his village, and he began to follow them on their journeys as they accepted him as an apprentice. But it was only at the age of 50 that Master Li, on a hike met a man who, in spite of his venerable old age, could out-walk Li Qing Yuen. This impressed master Li very much because he believed that brisk walking was both a way to health and longevity and a sign of inner health. Li Qing Yuen inquired as to the old sage's secret. He was told that if he consumed a 'soup' of Lycium (goji berries: Lycium Barbarum) every day, he would soon attain a new standard of health. Li Qing Yuen did just that and continued to consume the soup daily.

Final note

Athletes should be consuming up to 150mg of goji berries a day. An animal study showed that goji’s LBP polysaccharides induced a remarkable increase in exercise tolerance and stamina, and helped to eliminate fatigue. Goji LBP enhances glycogen storage (glycogen is the body’s primary energy fuel). Goji LBP also helps in post-workout recovery. It may limit sore muscles by increasing activity of the lactic acid removing enzyme lactate dehydrogenase. It also accelerates clearance of blood urea nitrogen, a toxin produced during exercise. Best of all, gojis are versatile. Soak them in tea; toss them in a salad, yogurt, cereal, trail mix....

Supervitality drink

Ingredients:

Pure water
Goji berries
Cacao nibs or raw cacao powder
Golden berries
Maca
Rice bran solubles (aka tocotrienols)
Persi-nana chia 4-5 tbsp chia or salba seeds
(Soaked in 2 C pure water) 1-2 bananas 1-2 persimmons 1 tsp maca 1 tsp cinnamon Handful of goji berries Handful of pumpkin seeds Directions:

Blend the bananas and persimmons. Pour out the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the chia seeds, maca, cinnamon, gojis and pumpkin seeds. Leave the chia to soak for at least 10 minutes before consuming.

You can find goji berries at your local health food store or online in the Toronto region from Nujima.com, upayanaturals.com, and rawfood.com.

All references were taken from: Dr. Earl Mindell, R.Ph., M.H., Ph.D. and Rick Handel "Goji: the Himalayan Health Secret Momentum Medium Health Series" 2003, Dallas, Texas.

Be sure to check out Milosh's blog, "Milosh Thinks" (http://miloshthinks.blogspot.com), for more ideas on living raw. He'll be back in future issues with more raw food tips that can help you improve your practice through nutrition.



[1] An apple, no less exciting and necessary, might be called a “regular food” in comparison. A hot dog is "other than" Super Food. This phrase, "other than", used in place of "not" is a term from about the early 2000's coined by New York Raw Food Guru, David Jubb. Try using it when eating your goji berries; it helps you let go of a dualistic mindset. You can Check-out Dr. Jubb on YouTube as well. He's a trip and has a lot of interesting things to say.

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