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If you’re looking for a healthy, non-junk-food happy meal, you might want to incorporate the goji berry into your diet. This bright red berry  commonly found in China and Mongolia is used as a health food and as part of many Asian medicinal practices. It also has a reputation for making people feel more content, which is why it got the name “goji berry.” In Chinese, that roughly translates to “the happy berry.”

Also known as the wolfberry or gougi berry, the goji berry was mentioned in the earliest known medical text. In fact, documented use of the berry extends as far back as 1,900 years ago when prominent traveling healers used it as part of a regimen for their patients, believing it had the ability to keep the body nourished and healthy. These early healers would roam the country diagnosing health problems and attempting to keep their patients properly nourished. Unlike health care providers today, the healers would only be paid as long as their patients were healthy. If a person became ill, they would cease to pay the healer until he had brought them back to wellness.

And undocumented use of the goji berry extends back even longer than the 1,900 years of recorded medical history. Chinese legends tell of the first emperor of China who was reputed to have eaten the fruit daily because he believed it kept him well and free from sickness.

The goji berry has become central to many cultures throughout Asia, especially in China, and has a reputation as a healthy food with powerful natural abilities in the human body. Asians believe it can purge the body of illness, and doctors attest that they have seen regular consumption of the berry improve the health of their patients and cure various forms of sickness. As a result, the Chinese have even adopted the goji berry into many of their social events, including a special celebration meant to honor the fruit. And the goji berry has become popular in western cultures, too, where it is used as a health food. Likened to green tea, the goji berry has especially been favored by Hollywood celebrities, many of whom believe it may help them look younger longer.

Scientific Studies

Until recently the berry’s benefits were untested. Chinese medical authorities regularly used the berry and claimed to have scientific proof of its effects on the human body, but none of them were deemed accurate enough by western medical authorities.

Early in 2008, however, new studies were conducted using an approved scientific format to document the effect of a goji product in the body. The product was GoChi Juice, a health drink made from the goji berry. Clinical trials were conducted on people of all ages using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled format. Subjects were studied and their progress measured at 14 and 30 days of using the product after consuming 4 oz. of the product daily. After 14 days of use, those who drank the juice experienced:

• Sharper mental acuity
• Better quality sleep
• Easier ability to wake up
• Feeling healthier and more content
• Improved regularity
• Improved athletic performance
• Increased energy
• Reduced stress
• Increased ability to focus

After 30 days, those who drank the goji juice were also shown to have improved immune system functioning and natural antioxidant production. The placebo group showed no significant improvements in either function. These results were so ground-breaking, after being peer reviewed, the study was featured in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine.

Currently, China is the only country that farms the berry commercially. Though it’s is sold in many forms, the berry is most commonly marketed as a juice. Dried berries are also available. While the berries are much less expensive, they don’t contain all the nutrients found in the juice.

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You cook healthy recipes, take a multi-vitamin, eat enough vegetables to stock a small produce stand (or so it seems) and drink plenty of water. You also make sure you get enough sleep, and you rarely skip a day at the gym. Still, you have low energy and are frequently sick. What’s the problem?

It might be your enzyme levels.

Enzymes help the body with a number of specific tasks — digesting food, stimulating the brain, providing cellular energy, and repairing all tissues, organs, and cells. Our bodies get these valuable enzymes by naturally producing them and by receiving them through food. As we age, however, it becomes increasingly difficult for our bodies to manufacture all the enzymes necessary for proper functioning.  Additionally, enzymes are destroyed by certain cooking processes and chemical additives in food, as well as when we expose our bodies to pollution and environmental toxins. And when our enzyme levels run low, our risk of illness increases.

Home Off the Range

Almost all food today is cooked and processed. When food is cooked, however, many of the vital enzymes are destroyed by heat, as they are by the chemicals in processed foods. This places a burden on our digestive systems because when enzymes aren’t received through the food we eat, our bodies are responsible for manufacturing the enzymes necessary for digestion. And as the body directs all its attention to digesting food, other organ systems are compromised — vital enzymes that could be used for keeping our bodies healthy are diverted to the digestive system. The result? Illness and chronic disease.

One logical solution to this problem is to eat more raw foods. Food enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 118 F, whether the food is baked, broiled, steamed or microwaved. When we eat a diet that consists mainly of cooked and processed foods (as many of us do), we’re setting ourselves up for health problems.

Foods in their natural uncooked state contain all the enzymes necessary for their own digestion, and that, in turn, makes it easier for us to assimilate the nutrients. The more raw foods we eat, the more enzymes we get; and the more enzymes we get, the healthier we are.

A Simple Solution

Of course, what’s good in theory isn’t always practical — or palatable. Some of us can’t imagine eating a raw potato or an uncooked ear of corn; some of us just like cooked vegetables. But the choice doesn’t have to be to either eat “rabbit food” or compromise our health. Besides which, while most fruits and vegetables have enough enzymes to digest themselves, they don’t contain the necessary extra enzymes for helping to replenish the body’s enzymes supplies that are depleted by eating cooked food. Unless we eat a totally raw diet, we need help, and enzyme supplements are a simple solution to the cooked food vs. raw food dilemma. Enzyme supplements not only assist the digestive process, they ensure our bodies have enough enzymes to enhance our immune systems, help prevent and reverse disease processes, and give us energy and vitality.  And we can still bake those potatoes.

You might also be interested in these healthy recipes:

• Asparagus Recipes
• Blueberry Recipes with Antioxidant Power
• Broccoli Recipes
• Garlic Recipes with Antiviral Power
• Pasta Recipes to Boost Your Immune System
• Recipes to Control Blood Sugar
• Recipes to Help Your Vision
• Recipes to Keep Anemia at Bay

Chances are you spend a lot of energy juggling career, family, household chores, social engagements, community involvement and any number of other day-to-day concerns. With so much to much to do, it wouldn’t be surprising if you were exhausted before the end of the day.

You might be tempted to have coffee or soda to give you a caffeine lift, but there are consequences that come with that kind of energy: caffeine can affect brain function, hormone balance and sleep patterns. And don’t go for the “sugar high” of a candy bar or cookies. Sweets raise your blood sugar level, which does provide a short burst of energy, but after about 20 minutes your glucose level will rapidly drop and you’ll be more tired than you were in the first place.

Instead of those questionable methods, try using natural rejuvenators instead. The following suggestions are safe and effective ways to give yourself an energy boost:

Breathe
Getting oxygen into your bloodstream is a great energy-booster that can make you feel more calm at the same time. Breathe in slowly until your chest is expanded to its full capacity; then exhale slowly. The more often you do this, the better you’ll feel.

Try peppermint
The aroma of peppermint may help release tension and alleviate fatigue. Sniff peppermint oil or drink a cup of caffeine-free peppermint tea.

Drink water
Dehydration drains your energy. Studies show that if your body has as little as 1/2 cup less water than it needs, your brain and your body start to lag. Try to drink eight glasses every day — more if it’s hot or you’re exercising — to make sure you are always well-hydrated.

Eat a starchy snack
A complex carbohydrate snack (e.g., a whole wheat bagel or toast, a banana) provides a sustainable source of energy. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and so the release of glucose into your bloodstream is gradual (rather than the quick burst that comes from a candy bar), which helps fight energy dips.

Give yourself acupressure
Sometimes considered as “acupuncture without needles,” acupressure uses gentle finger pressure in specific areas. Give yourself an energy boost by rubbing your ear lobes between your thumb and forefinger, or by pulling your second toe (the one adjacent to your big toe) and then vigorously rubbing it.

Get moving
Taking a brisk walk, performing stretching exercises or jogging in place is a good way to increase the oxygen content in your blood, which helps to rejuvenate you.

Take a bath
Fill the tub with warm water and add sea salts or essential oils. The scent of orange, rosemary or lavender extract is especially rejuvenating.

Use nutritional supplements
Certain supplements can improve your energy:

• Bee pollen helps increase physical strength, stamina and energy. Ginkgo biloba improves blood and nutrient flow to the brain for enhanced alertness and mental clarity.
• Co-Q10 provides an energy boost by increasing metabolic efficiency.
• Ashwaganda, also known as Indian ginseng, improves energy and calms the response to stress.
• Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) and Reishi mushrooms restore and enhance energy.

Take a shower
Stand under a warm shower for a couple minutes and then alternate the water temperature between warm and cool. This stimulates your circulation and is a refreshing pick-me-up. (Note: This technique is not advisable for anyone with high blood pressure or a heart disorder.)

Take a nap
Don’t overlook the obvious: A 20-minute snooze will revitalize both mind and body. Elevate your feet with pillows so they are higher than your heart. That way, extra blood will get to your brain and you won’t feel groggy when you wake up.

Photo by Sanja Gjenero