What are the benefits of eating goji berries?
Dec 09, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Sun Lianqing
Introduction
Generally speaking, as a common dual-purpose food and medicinal ingredient, goji berries offer several health benefits, including nourishing the liver and kidneys, protecting vision, enhancing immunity, providing antioxidant and anti-aging effects, and assisting in regulating blood lipid levels. It is important to note that goji berries contain relatively high levels of sugar, so individuals with elevated blood glucose should limit their intake. Additionally, those with a hot or overheated body constitution should avoid excessive consumption to prevent discomfort such as heatiness.
Generally speaking, as a common dual-purpose food and medicinal ingredient, goji berries offer several health benefits, including nourishing the liver and kidneys, protecting vision, enhancing immunity, providing antioxidant and anti-aging effects, and assisting in regulating blood lipid levels. A detailed analysis is as follows:
1. Nourishes the liver and kidneys: Goji berries are sweet in taste and neutral in nature, acting primarily on the liver and kidney meridians. Their core function is to tonify the liver and kidneys, making them suitable for conditions caused by yin deficiency of the liver and kidneys, such as soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees, dizziness, tinnitus, and premature graying of hair. By nourishing the yin of the liver and kidneys, they help restore normal liver and kidney functions, and are especially suitable for people experiencing chronic fatigue or frequent late-night activities.
2. Protects vision: Goji berries are rich in lutein, zeaxanthin, and vitamin A, all of which provide protective effects on the retina. They can help relieve eye fatigue, dryness, and other issues, making them beneficial for office workers, students, and others who use their eyes extensively, supporting improved visual health.
3. Enhances immunity: Goji berries contain abundant polysaccharides known as Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs), which can stimulate the activity of immune cells and enhance the body's resistance to disease. Combined with nutrients such as vitamin C, they help the body resist pathogen invasion and maintain immune system stability.
4. Antioxidant and anti-aging effects: Components such as goji polysaccharides, vitamin C, and vitamin E in goji berries act as antioxidants that neutralize excess free radicals in the body, reducing cellular damage and thereby delaying cell aging and improving skin condition.
5. Assists in regulating blood lipids: Goji polysaccharides also play a supportive role in lipid regulation by helping to reduce levels of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood, minimizing lipid deposition on blood vessel walls, thus contributing to cardiovascular health.
It should be noted that goji berries have a relatively high sugar content; individuals with elevated blood glucose levels should therefore limit their intake. Additionally, those with a constitution prone to internal heat should avoid excessive consumption to prevent symptoms such as "heatiness." Only through appropriate and moderate consumption can the health-promoting benefits of goji berries be fully realized.
