Is it true that goji berries help you lose weight?

There is an opinion that eating goji berries helps to get rid of excess weight. We decided to check how effective such a remedy is.

They write about the miraculous properties of these berries portals O nutrition, healthy lifestyle and folk medicine, as well as entertaining resources. In online stores and pharmacies you can find products designed for weight loss. goodscontaining this ingredient. Social network users (Instagram*, Facebook*, "VKontakte"), blogging platforms And forums discuss how effective this dietary supplement is. 

Goji is a shrubby plant native to the Mediterranean region and parts of Asia. In Russian used The name is “wolfberry,” however, in articles about dietary supplements with these berries, it is the name “goji” that is popular. The fruits of the plant are widely are used in folk medicine for the treatment of a wide range of diseases - from diabetes to glaucoma, however, there is insufficient evidence that goji is at all effective: there are still quite a few studies, and the methods and sampling of those that have been carried out do not allow the conclusions to be considered reliable. 

Goji berries can really be called a healthy product that will not be superfluous to the diet: 100 g of this product in dried form contain half the recommended daily value for good digestive health fiber, almost 20% of the consumption norm calcium, close to 100% normal gland for men and a third of it for women, more than half of the norm vitamin C, record number vitamin A, antioxidants and other beneficial substances. As for the energy value, in 100 g of dried berries contained 349 kcal, 14 g protein, 77 g carbohydrates and about 0.4 g fat. However, the same dried dates And dried apricots are lower in calories, so they seem to be a better choice for a diet.

Metabolism, the acceleration of which is promised by sellers of some dietary supplements, including those containing goji berries, is the process of converting calories obtained from food into energy to ensure one’s own life. All other things being equal, it really plays an important role in the regulation of body weight: the faster and more actively the body burns calories, the less likely it is that the food eaten will remain with the person in the form of excess weight. Experts say that, indeed, there are several ways to speed up this process: workout and inclusion of certain substances in the diet, such as protein, fiber, caffeine. However, mostly speed metabolism depends on genetics, and it can be adjusted with nutrition (diet, quantity and frequency of meals) slightly. That is why the notorious cheat meal, which is very popular among people following a variety of weight loss diets, is practically ineffective. That is, even if you follow all the recommendations for nutrition and physical activity, your metabolism will not accelerate sufficiently to have any significant effect on your weight. However, a balanced diet rich in fiber and protein promotes normalization of weight in itself, regardless of metabolic rate. From this point of view, it really wouldn’t hurt to include goji berries in your diet.

Despite the fact that there are still quite a few high-quality studies of the effect of goji berries on human health, they are still being conducted, and some are specifically devoted to their effectiveness for weight loss. Thus, in 2017, Brazilian scientists conducted study: They recruited 50 volunteers with metabolic syndrome and divided them into two groups: half took 14 g of goji berries for 45 days, the other did not. In addition, all participants were asked to eat a healthy diet. As a result, the group that added goji berries to their diet experienced a significant decrease in waist circumference and an improvement in lipid profile compared to the control group. In 2020, Turkish scientists conducted a similar experiment: 24 boxing athletes were divided into four groups. The first group trained for 75 minutes. three times a week, the second ate 30 g of goji berries daily, the third combined goji berries in their diet with training, the fourth - the control - did not train and did not include goji berries in their diet. After six weeks, the group that combined goji with exercise showed the best weight loss results. However, the group that took goji berries without training did not show significant improvement in performance. However, the sample in both the first and second studies was quite limited, and the rest of the diet, although it should have consisted of healthy foods, was not controlled by the researchers in any way. In both cases, goji berries in the diet gave a positive result, but in combination with other measures aimed at losing weight. 

In 2022, Chinese scientists conducted a systematic review studies on the effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide contained in goji berries on glucose and lipid metabolism. The review initially included more than 300 papers, but most were excluded due to duplication or lack of significant results. The final review included only six scientific articles - the studies they described showed that Lycium barbarum polysaccharide indeed has a positive effect on lipid metabolism, disturbances of which, in turn, can lead to metabolic syndrome, or obesity. 

At the same time, you shouldn’t overdo it with goji consumption either: as mentioned above, they contain a high amount vitamin A (the content in 100 g of dried product significantly exceeds the daily norm). This is a fat-soluble vitamin; its excess is not excreted by the body, but accumulates. Its systematic excessive use can lead to acute or chronic intoxication. 

Thus, goji berries are a source of many vitamins and nutrients, and adding them to your diet can be beneficial. However, they are unable to significantly affect metabolism, since the metabolic rate is mainly determined genetically, and it can be artificially accelerated only slightly. Judging by the existing - so far very limited - research, they can lead to weight loss, but only in combination: you shouldn’t expect any miraculous weight-loss properties from them without engaging in physical activity and without adjusting the rest of your diet, despite the claims of marketers. 

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Cover photo: pixabay.com

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