What is Lycium Barbarum? Where to buy and how to grow Lycium Barbarum (goji berries or dereza vulgaris)?

Recently, a new product appeared on the grocery market of our country - goji berries. These "miracle-berries" since ancient times are known in China and in Tibet. There they are used as a medicine and used to prepare dishes of national cuisine.

On the Russian market back in January 2014, these berries were of little interest or needed. But after the transfer "Live Healthily" with Elena Malysheva, where she told about their amazing properties, the excitement began. The reason is the statement that with the help of goji you can lose weight by 20 kg per month. But this is just a tricky marketing move to promote the goods on the market.

Lycium barbarum - what is it?

Goji is one of the valuable medicinal plants. Other names of the bush are the common tree (Latin Lycium Barbarum) or Chinese (Latin Lycium chinense). Refers to the Nightshade family. The bush reaches three meters in height. The stems are curly and soft, but all are literally strewn with spines. Blossoms with small purple-pink bells. Fruits - small oblong berries of purple-red color, soft, with sour-sweet taste.

It grows in almost all regions where temperate and subtropical climate. Wild bushes can be found on roadsides, wastelands and dry slopes. Used for hedges. Cultivated in the northern and central regions of China and used in traditional medicine of the East.

Goji and barberry are one and the same?

Sometimes goji is confused with barberry or dogwood. But this is a great error. They belong to different plant families. And even with similarity in the appearance of fruits, they have significant differences in structure, taste and composition.

Barberry have one large bone, sour taste and darken after drying. The goji taste sweet and sour, inside many small seeds, and after drying they remain the same red. According to the content of vitamins and trace elements, barberry is much inferior to the berries of the tree.

Beneficial features

Now the information about the miraculous properties that are attributed to the novelty of sales - goji berries is spreading everywhere.

Chemical composition (per 100 grams of fresh product):

• Ascorbic acid - about 2500 mg;
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 10.23 mg;
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 20.33 mg;
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) - 3 mg;
• Vitamin A (beta-carotene) - 3.96 mg;
• Iron - 3,4 mg;
• Calcium - 155 mg;
• Phosphorus - 67 mg.

And the product contains about 20 other trace elements, as well as organic acids, amino acids, polysaccharides, essential oils. Due to the high concentration of vitamins and a set of minerals of deregus, the common Lycium barbarum successfully fights against fungal diseases, inflammation and bacteria. Increases the working capacity, endurance of a person, reducing the impact on the body of physical exertion. Strengthens immunity, affects oxygen exchange and blood flow, proper protein metabolism. Strengthens eyesight, regulates blood sugar, reduces blood pressure, increases sexual activity, strengthens memory.

Means for weight loss - the truth or a myth?

Lycium barbarum - a miracle cure for weight loss or another myth of the media? The unique chemical composition of goji berries is respected by dieticians, but there are no active components with high fat-burning indicators.

Being natural antioxidants, the berries of Lycium barbarum Prevent the formation of free radicals. They contribute to the development of the body's natural growth hormone, which is necessary for burning fat, normalize metabolism, raise and strengthen the general tone.

A glass of drink, drunk before a visit to the gym, will play its positive role in losing weight, will help to make better use of sports. But the berries themselves will never help to lose weight, they only support the body with diets and exercise. Women note: goji helps to cope with cellulite. Men they will help in improving potency.

Goji berries or dereza are common - a unique product containing a large number of useful substances. They can be used to support the body, prevent a large number of diseases and improve overall health. But consider them as a panacea for all diseases is not worth it. And lose weight with the help of Tibetan berries will be easier, doing sports and adhering to a diet.

How to cook and eat berries?

They can be consumed in dried or soaked form, added to desserts, eat together with cottage cheese and yoghurt. The daily norm of an adult is 7-8 grams, which corresponds to the number of berries from 36 to 48 pcs. For children older than 3 years, the norm is 1/3 of the recommended for adults.

A glass of berries, if you drink it for half an hour before meals, contributes to a faster breakdown of food, reduces the feeling of hunger, and the feeling of satiety lasts much longer. No wisdom is needed to make a drink. A tablespoon of berries are poured with 400 ml of hot but non-boiling water and insisted in a thermos or in another container with a lid for half an hour.

Opinion of specialists

Berries Lycium barbarum, according to many nutritionists, are a wonderful pantry for health. They help to cleanse the body of toxins and cholesterol, normalize blood circulation, improve metabolism. The berries were tested at the Institute of Healthy Nutrition in Russia. And they were approved as auxiliary supplements to food during the diet.

If you comply with all the rules of reception described above, then in addition to benefits, you will get nothing, and there will be no side effects. Weight loss with goji is more natural, no extreme methods are needed in pursuit of harmony.

Grow or buy?

It's easy to grow dereza at home or on site, planting seeds from berries. To extract the seeds, the dried berries soak for several hours in warm water. To germinate the seeds are sown on the surface of the substrate, you can close them for a couple of millimeters. Cover the top with a plastic wrap and put it on a bright spot. With humidified soil and a temperature of about 25 ^° C, after a few days, sprouts will appear. When 4-6 leaves grow, the seedlings dive. The dazzle starts in the second year, and the fruit begins to bear fruit - a year or two later. It should be borne in mind that the bush of the tree grows rapidly, so it should be planted where there is a lot of free space. The plant looks great as a hedge.

It is much easier to buy dried berries. They can be purchased in departments with gastronomy, in markets, through Internet sites. And also you can buy Lycium barbarum in a pharmacy. When buying prepacked berries, you should pay attention to what preservative was used for their safety. If the package is E220, then it is better not to buy such goods.

Thus, the berries of the common tree are a useful product of health and strengthening the body. Now they can not be bought. It's easy to grow them at home or in the garden.