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Food
As Medicine: Spotlight on Chinese Wolfberry Fruit
I
had just settled in to my seat at a local Beijing restaurant this
past Christmas when the young male “tea attendant” approached
with a copper colored tea pitcher sporting a spout that must have
been at least 3 feet long. I didn’t recall seeing these “tea
attendants” on my previous visits to China but they have become a
familiar site at restaurants all over the country. The popular and
tasty herb at the core of this presentation is gou qi zi in Chinese
or wolfberry in English. The tea made from the wolfberry has a very
delicate slightly fruity taste. The berries are a distinctive red
colored raisin like fruit. They are often eaten just like raisins
but have a milder more pleasant taste when fresh.
The
Chinese Wolfberry is now making a strong impression in herb markets
around the world, and for very good reasons well documented and
understood by Chinese for thousands of years. On a nutritional and
medicinal level this attractive little berry packs a storehouse of
nutrition and potential
health benefits outperforming many popular foods and natural food
stars such as spirulina, bee pollen, and even carrots. Wolfberries
pack more beta-carotene than carrots, contain 19 amino acids, 21
trace minerals, and 31% polysaccharides.
Taken
as food in the form of tea, mixed into any recipe calling for a mild
fruit taste, or just eaten straight as a low calorie health snack,
wolfberry has earned a respectable place on the table. But add to
these attributes the medicinal characteristics and potential of
wolfberry and a truly unique food/medicine stands out. In Chinese
medicine wolfberry fruit nourishes the kidneys and liver, rebuilds
and supports the bodies vital energy, and improves vision. Research
in China has shown a positive role in the wolfberry for diabetes,
high blood pressure, lung conditions, eyesight problems, and a
number of other conditions. In a review article waiting to be
published on Wolfberry by Dr. Zhang and Dr. Nolting, the authors
elaborate on a number of research studies exploring various
medicinal claims surrounding wolfberry. In the area of aging
“wolfberry fruit may be a potent anti-oxidant, which may help slow
aspects of the aging process”. Liver cancer, immune system
support, and vision improvement are other areas where significant
studies have concluded that wolfberry plays an important medicinal
role.
So
can you find a bag of wolfberry fruit at your local Safeway ?
Doubtful, as we are just now seeing affordable supplements of the
product appearing in mostly specialty nutrition and health food
stores. Asian stores and herb and grocery stores are
always good places to look for the berries but be sure the berries
have that fresh red plump look as often the berries are rancid from
improper storage. The best quality wolfberries are grown in the
northwest area of China and exported fresh and properly stored.
Remember
to consult a well trained practitioner in Chinese medicine for the
appropriate use and dosages of wolberry for specific health
conditions. Always seek out an individual diagnosis, in person, when
considering the proper medicinal application of herbs such as
wolfberry. As a food for general health and nutritional support
wolfberry is safe and versatile. Even so since it is not a native
food in America always make sure it is fresh and use caution when
there is a history of serious food allergies.
The
following recipe for fresh wolfberries is taken from the Zhang and
Nolting article and is offered here for your general food use and
enjoyment:
Chinese 8
Treasure Tea
Mix
together in a large tea pot the following ingredients:
5
wolfberry fruits, several raisins, walnuts, dates, langan fruit,
jujube fruit, hawthorn, and 1 tablespoon of dried green tea leaf.
(the langan, jujube, and hawthorn may be omitted to make “5
treasure tea” if difficult to find). Boil and simmer to desired
strength to make a very nutritious tasty tea.
A Hangover
Friend Tea (great for any over indulgence)
Mix
together 3 tablespoons of wolfberry and 3 tablespoons of
chrysanthemum in a standard teapot, boil and simmer to taste. Sip as
needed and “melt the guilt away”.
Dr.
Nolting, 05/1999.
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