Berries are one of the foods experts advise people should eat to become healthier and be well protected from several illnesses, bacteria, and viruses. But this doesn't just include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, red currants, blackberries, blackcurrants, and white currants alone. Know there is still another one that is also packed with nutrients and also as healthy as the rest of the group. Meet Goji berries.
Goji berries, despite being uncommon, is still a good berry to include in your daily consumption with your favorite oats, greens, and nuts. Used by our Chinese brethren for over 2,000 years as a good herb for medication, this berry is starting to gain attention from the market due to a lot of its promised benefits, which can boost one's health.
BEST FOR YOUR EYES
"These antioxidants help to combat the damage done to the macula by UV light exposure and other oxidative stress", explains Lauren Cornell, MS, RD, a Los Angeles-based nutritionist. Thanks to the nutritional value this fruit has, as reported by The Healthy. Goji berries have a sufficient supply of beta-carotene, vitamin A and also an antioxidant and carotenoid alcohol known as zeaxanthin.
Aside from keeping your eyes refreshed every day, one of the studies posted in the journal Drug Design, Development, and Therapy, also revealed another way this berry can help your eyes big time. According to the study, eating this berry can also help and protect your eyes' retina from acquiring glaucoma.
BEST FOR YOUR DIGESTIVE TRACT
Another best thing about this fruit is, despite its small size, goji berries are power packed with fiber. "Goji berries are high in fiber, a nutrient that 95 percent of Americans don't get enough of", exclaimed Mascha Davis, MPH, RD, an expert and also one of those Los Angeles-based nutritionists.
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate crucial for the body's good digestion processes. It acts like a sweeper that can remove unnecessary things in your tummy. Also, according to an article posted by Harvard, fiber is a good help in regulating one's blood sugar and hunger too.
BEST FOR YOUR BLOOD
Aside from being a good source of beta carotene, vitamin A, antioxidants, and fiber, goji berries are also a good source of iron. Approximately, three tablespoon of these dried berries can already provide about 3 mg of iron.
Iron is so important with the production of red blood cells as it works hand and hand with hemoglobin, which is the substance found in the blood responsible for carrying out oxygen throughout the body. Without having enough iron, it is almost impossible for your blood to function well in the body and could even cause iron deficiency anemia.
