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Is Goji Juice Really as Good as it is Being Promoted As?

That’s the million-dollar question being asked, and answered, in this video, which exposes the truth about the latest health craze sweeping across Canada and into the United States.

Goji juice is hyped as the cure-all remedy for 34 different ailments, including arthritis, diabetes and cancer. But the truth is both shocking and infuriating, as they uncover the lack of nutritional value of the goji juice in the lab.

Earl Mendel—the well-respected author of the Vitamin Bible—is the face of Himalayan Goji, and he’s making some pretty hefty claims about the berry. And that’s the problem. Upon probing, he admits he’s talking about the berry—not necessarily the juice!

Himalayan Goji juice is not sold in stores, but rather through a multi-level marketing plan. At about $50 per bottle, there’s lots of money being made, but there does not seem to be enough proof to back up the amazing health claims of the juice itself.


CBC News Marketplace January 24, 2007



 


Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Goji juice is hyped as the cure-all remedy for 34 different ailments, including arthritis, diabetes and cancer. But the truth is both shocking and infuriating. In the lab, goji juice proves to have little nutritional value.

Earl Mendel -- the author of the Vitamin Bible -- is the face of Himalayan Goji, and he's making some pretty hefty claims about the berry. And that's the problem. Upon probing, he admits he's talking about the berry -- not necessarily the juice!

Himalayan Goji juice is not sold in stores, but rather through a multi-level marketing plan. At about $50 per bottle, there's lots of money being made, but there does not seem to be enough proof to back up the amazing health claims of the juice itself.

Now, please understand that I have nothing against Goji berries. I fully believe that they are a powerhouse of nutrition and loaded with beneficial antioxidants and micronutrients. I even consume them myself.

However,  this appears to be a classic example of sleazy nutritional marketing that exaggerates the benefits of a good food, adulterates it and then puts it in a multi-level marketing scam that fleeces good people of their hard-earned money with very little benefit.

In general, fruit juice is not the best way to consume a fruit. It is typically better to consume the whole fruit.

Most of traditional medicine fails to recognize that the sugars in fruit juice contribute to major distortions of insulin balance. I believe that fruit juice and pasteurized milk are two of the most misunderstood foods in our culture. Most people believe they are health foods, while the polar opposite is true. They tend to be pernicious fluids that worsen most people's health.

Juicing your vegetables at home, however, is a very different matter. Juiced vegetables do not have the absurdly high sugar content of fruit juice, and vegetable juicing can be a very healthy practice.

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Article's Comment     ( 85 Comments )
 
 
 +14 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY Russ Bianchi   
  
[ Joined on 09/06 ]
[ Posted on June 04, 2007 ]
Post Reply
Yes, I saw this Canadian Broadcast Corporation piece on the Goji juice some many weeks ago...it's pure snake oil.
 
Goji juice is in a long and sorted line of fad, non efficacious, false and under dosed beverages and food product in the MLM and dietary supplement sector. 

The claims made on Goji juice are not only unsubstantiated, but worthy of Big Pharma's fraudulent and harmful marketing and branding.
 

 +6 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY DrDeb   
  
[ Joined on 06/06 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on June 19, 2007 ]
 
Hey I love this stuff. I'm a veterinarian and I've had Crohn's colitis for 10 years, and have been helped by many "alternative" health modalities. I started taking this goji 1 1/2 years ago, and felt better energy within a week. Now I have the energy to really enjoy my girls and have an active life again. It's also helped my friends and family, and many people that I've met. But... could I prove it?

You all could probably tell me about some things that could help... but could you prove it?

Of course, the Dr's can prove that Remicaid would help, as the drug companies have spent the money for double blind human clinical trials for FDA approval, just don't mind the side effects.

Didn't Dr Mercola have an unfriendly TV interview that showed that he was in it for the money? but I appreciate Dr Mercola!

 +5 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY 4thefather   
  
[ Joined on 06/07 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on June 19, 2007 ]
 
I have to honestly tell you that I am disappointed in this article and how quickly people are jumping on this saying how horrible and fake the juice is. You are entitled to believe whatever you want, but have any of you actually tried the juice? I have been drinking it for 1-1/2 months now. I have stopped all but one supplement I was taking before. I have been fighting messed up hormones and severe candida albicans (yeast) overgrowth for over 3 years. I have tried everything natural. Nothing has really helped much. Now, I can already tell the difference. I am sleeping better, have more energy, my joints hurt less and the candida is getting better. I don't expect miracles after 1-1/2 months, but I am sticking with it.  I am not asking you guys to believe me. I just wanted to share my experience.

 +4 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY Lucas_Chohany   
  
[ Joined on 10/06 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on June 19, 2007 ]
 
Mizzkatz,
Goji juice may be a helpful alkalizing  food. The blood microscopy video proves that. But have you seen the same experiments done with other vegetable juices or vegetable/fruit juice combinations? If not, then there is nothing special about them. If blueberries were a rare fruit that grew in the high peaks of the Andes then I'm sure they'd be touted as the cure all food that the Incans ate.

Sure if people eat a diet of processed, undigestible cow dung like most Americans do, then any addition of a healthy fresh food can cause a marked increase in health.

Also, don't forget the power of suggestion.

Mendel is a crackhead. He doesn't look very healthy either. Hmm, babies like it? Last time I checked babies like just about everything with sugar in it.

This reporter lady is reallllly letting her ego get into this. And why do these debunkers always dig up the educational records? I know plenty of "well-educated" people that blindly follow jackoffs like Mendel and plenty of "uneducated" people who... you get the point.

People need to think for themselves.

 +1 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY drmichael   
  
[ Joined on 06/06 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on September 15, 2007 ]
 
So..what pharmaceutical company do you work for? Freelife International is so "sorted" sic and underdosed that they offer a 90 day money back guarantee on thier Goji juice. That is the only reason I tried it, and I am sticking with it for life! 
I am a skeptic when it comes to anything that claims to "cure" anybody of anything...only the power that made the body is capable of healing the body. So it took a lot of convincing to get me on board to try Goji, the 90 day guarantee did the trick, I could take all I cared to take for 90 days and then get all my money back if I wasn't satisfied in any way!? What other supplement will do that? What about big pharma...do they give anybody's money back when their drugs not only don't do the job, they kill and maim?
After 2 weeks on the Goji, my knee pain of 27 years duration was less than 1/2 of what it had been! Two weeks of this juice did more for me than 10 years of glucosamine supplements!
I not only am commited to this juice for life, I am recommending it to all my patients...and because it is an MLM I and others are increasing our standard of living through the compensation that is available.
I like and respect Dr Mercola, but I think he missed the boat on this one...I bet if this "news" piece were about one of his products he would have looked a little deeper to see who was behind the story being done to begin with. I would be willing to bet just about any amount that major sponsors for this show are big pharma...what do you think?

            
 
Author of the Article
BY