Re: Goji Juice

[Guest guest]

Here's some info.

Dianne Kiyomoto, RD

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From Naturaldatabase.com

There is insufficient reliable info available about

the effectiveness.

-might have hypoglycemic effects

-might have antihypertensive effects

There is some evidence that lycium can inhibit CYP2C9

There is some evidence that lycium can increase the

effects of warfarin & possibly increase the risk of

bleeding.

Might increase leukocyte & lymphocyte counts in some

patients

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Goji: Health Elixir or Pricey Juice?

Small Red Berry from Tibet Is Attracting a Lot of

Attention

By BRITTANY OAT

July 14, 2006 — - It has been almost 500 yrs since

Spanish explorer Ponce de León went in search of

the mythical Fountain of Youth.

Although Ponce de León never found what he was looking

for, the human quest for longevity continued.

Now nutritionist Earl Mindell, author of the

bestselling book " The New Vitamin Bible, " believes he

has discovered an anti-aging secret in the juice of a

tiny, red berry called goji.

" I have never seen anything like this, " Mindell said.

Despite the fact that goji has only been tested on

humans in one published study, a simple Internet

search reveals hundreds of websites selling goji

juice, dried goji berries & even goji plants.

Goji is now available in products on your supermarket

shelves & has recently become the subject of some

experimental ca txs. But does it work?

'We Are A Sick Nation'

Mindell said he learned about the medicinal properties

of goji, also known as Lycium Barbarum, from an Asian

healer he met on a visit to the Himalayan Mountains in

1996.

For > 6,000 yrs, herbalists in China, Tibet & India

have used goji because they believe it helps them

regulate their blood pressure, prevent ca, balance

blood sugar levels & protect their body from premature

aging, he said.

" In that part of the world it is not unusual for

people to live to be 100 yrs old, " Mindell said.

In Bapan Village, a remote town in Bama County of the

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, 7

of its 515 residents are centenarians, according to

China's 2000 census -- that's 1.4% of the population.

As comparison, only about two-hundredths of a percent

of Americans become centenarians, according to Census

figures.

" We're not dying of old age in this country, we're

dying of degenerative diseases, " Mindell said. " Wake

up America: We are a sick nation. "

Costs $50 a Bottle

In an effort to help Americans " look & feel 20 yts

younger, " Mindell said he teamed up with nutrition

supplement company Freelife International to produce

his own Himalayan Goji Juice.

And even though the company makes no medical claims

about it's goji juice, chief operating officer

Reilly said tens of thousands of people purchase the

company's juice on a monthly basis.

" These are repeat customers, " Reilly said. " And they

take it because they like it, they like the benefits

they get from it. "

Freelife's juice is so popular that it is has become

their lead product -- even at $50/bottle. According to

the company's April 2006 CEO Update, sales quadrupled

between the first quarter of 2005 & the first quarter

of 2006.

In an effort to bring the goji berry to mainstream

America, Celestial Seasonings, the tea company, has

added the fruit to their Pomegranate Green Tea, which

sells in most major grocery stores, said Joe Beauprez,

senior director of marketing.

" I can tell you the stores are really excited about

getting ahead of a trend like this, " Beauprez said.

" And this is definitely a trend, not a fad. It's a

trend that's on its way up. "

Doctor: It's No Health Elixir

But until there is more scientific research on goji,

Dr. L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research

Center at Yale University School of Medicine & an ABC

News Medical Contributor, said he wouldn't spend his

money on the supplement.

" If you're drinking this as a health elixir I would

say it's a huge leap of faith, " Katz said.

Several Chinese studies indicate the goji berry is a

rich source of antioxidants & that components of the

berry have the ability to stop the growth of ca cells,

reduce blood glucose & cholesterol levels & enhance

the effects of radiation on lab animals. But only 1 of

the published studies tested the effects of goji on

human beings, & that's a concern for Dr.

Blumberg, director of the Antioxidants Research Lab at

Tufts Univ.

" In a test tube you don't have to go through the gut, "

he said.

A 1994 study in the Chinese Journal of Oncology found

that 79 ca pts responded better to their ca txs when

goji was added to their regimen.

Dr. Victor Marcial-Vega, an oncologist from Hato Rey,

Puerto Rico, said that he agrees with those findings,

& has been using goji to ease the side effects chemotx

& radiation is his own ca pts.

In his 2005 study, which has not been published, 80%

of his pts who took goji while undergoing ca tx

maintained a healthy blood count, & 87% experienced

changes that indicated their immune systems may have

improved, he said.

" The results are so dramatic that the doctors will

never go back to saying never use antioxidants with

chemotx, " he said.

But, according to Blumberg, car pts do need to be

aware that an antioxidant like goji juice can

interfere with their tx.

" It's a subject of enormous controversy, " Blumberg

said. " It depends on which drug or which set of drugs

your taking, and which antioxidant you're talking

about. "

'I Don't Know If It's Good'

The success of studies abroad & the controversy at

home peaked the interest of Dr. H. Leon Bradlow, of

the Strang Cancer Research Laboratory in New York, who

recently began his own research on the goji berry.

" Natural products have their worth, " Bradlow said.

" Half of the medications out there originate from

natural products. "

Bradlow said his tests, which have NOT been published,

showed that the juice extracted from the berry

prevented the growth of breast ca cells. He hopes to

go forward with his study & test goji juice on lab

mice with ca.

But until the juice is tested extensively on humans

with ca, he said he has no proof that Goji is worth

consuming.

" I haven't the plainest idea, " he said. " I don't know

if it's good, bad or indifferent.”

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2189422 & page=1

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I would appreciate comments from anyone familiar

with this product. Thank you,

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[Guest guest]

It's a magic juice which cures every disease known to man, costs a fortune and

is sold through a pyramid scheme headed by one of the worlds most notorious

quacks.

Need to know anything else?

Mazarin wrote:

I would appreciate comments from anyone familiar with this product.

Thank

you,

Mazarin, M.S., R.D.

[Guest guest]

Thank you, confirming exactly what I thought.

Mazarin, MS, RD, CNS

_____

From: rd-usa [mailto:rd-usa ] On Behalf Of

Stuart

Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 10:34 PM

To: rd-usa

Subject: Re: Goji Juice

It's a magic juice which cures every disease known to man, costs a fortune

and is sold through a pyramid scheme headed by one of the worlds most

notorious quacks.

Need to know anything else?

Mazarin <nm.eatriteverizon (DOT) <mailto:nm.eatrite%40verizon.net> net>

wrote:

I would appreciate comments from anyone familiar with this product. Thank

you,

Mazarin, M.S., R.D.