same region, which totally makes a difference.
Our wolfberris is (Lycium Barbarum L). Young Living has
a contract from China that makes Young Living the only company
in the United States that gets Lycium Barbarum L wolfberry
from the Yellow River region. So no other company has the same
species as we do.
As with other plants, the Chinese wolfberry has a number of
species or varieties. The most potent comes from an area
near the Yellow River in the NingXia Province of central China.
Of all the varieties, NingXia wolfberries have by far the highest
levels of immune-stimulating polysccharides.
Lycium barbarum L is grown only in a small area of northern
China near the Yellow River: the Ningxia Hui Autonomous region and the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Elevation 300 to 1000 feet above
sea level with many farms surrounding the Yellow River. The climate
is a semi-arid climate featuring hot summers (up to 92F) and cold winters
(down to -5 below.)
The Yellow River flood plains where the Ningxia wolfberry crop is concentrated
derives its water from the Himalayan Mountains. As the water flows through the
mountains snowpack and lower Himalayan foothills, it becomes charged with
an unprecedented assortment of minerals and organic nutrients. By the time
it reaches the Ningxia province of Northern China it is a mineral-rich, superfertile
siltwater, the likes of which is found nowhere else on earth.
The Ningxia region is called "China's herbal medicine valley" and wolfberries
originating from the local farms are often accompanied by a "Green Certificate"--
the equivalent of the USDA'S organic certification. And the proof of the
wolfberry's lack of heavy chemical treatments was verified when the whole dried
wolfberry powder passed the FDA pesticide screen when we first imported large-
scale quantites in 1996, Young Living States.
Lycium chineses Miller, a closely related but neverthless distinct species
of wolfberry , is slightly inferior to the Ningxia wolfberry in both nutrient
content and bioactive properties. It is grown in Ningxia, Gansu, Hebei,
Nei Moggol, Qinghai, Shanxi, and other location in Northern China.
In 2001 and 2002 we compared antioxidant values of the a Ningxia wolfberry with
the other Chinese wolfberries. While they both ranked well above any known
nutrient, the Lycium chinese has a significantly lower ORAC score (202 umTE/g)
than did the Lycium barbarum (303 umTE/g).
The Ningxia wolfberry, Lycium barbarum L. is a member of the solanaceae
family (nightshade). This botanical group includes a variety of other plants
and foods including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers,(Capsicum species), eggplant,
paprika and tobacco.
There are over 80 different Lycium species worldwide. In the U.S., a distant
species of Lycium known as "matrimony vine" is sprinked throughtout the
Midwest.
Only 10 Lycium species exist in China. These include 7 species, 3 varieties, and
35 medicinal and healing properties is Lycium barbarum L. and Lycium Chinese Miller.
The rest are considered inferior or second-rate.
Only three species of Lycium berry are listed in World Economic Plants, the most authoritative
source for herbs and plants traded in world commerce:
* Lycium barbartum L. (syn: Lycium halimifoliu Mill, or Lyciu vulgare)
* Lycium chinese Miller
* Lycium ferocissimum Miers.
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The Myth of the "Tibetan" Wolfberry:
Some marketers claim wolfberries originated in Tibet and have been even concocted
artifical botanical names that combine unrelatd plant species. In fact, no wolfberries
are commercially grown in or near Tibet. In actual visits throughout the Himalayan
foothills of Pakinstan and China, we conducted dozens of interviews, concerning
the native diets and commonly grown botanical species and no one had ever heard
of a "Tibetan" wolfberry. The only wolfberries available came from in or around
Zhongning County in Northern China. Moreover, Tibetan materia medicas make no
mention of lycium berries.
Wolfberries are native to slightly arid temperate regions and cannot grow over 5,500
feet in elevation. This is because a high altitude would create an early frost that
stifles the buds needed to reproduce. Averaging over 12,000 feet in elevation from
sea level, Tibet is not conducive to wolfberry cultivation on any scale. It may be
possible that some distant but releated Lycium species have adapted to the high
altitude, but these scarce specimens would be very different from the commercially-
cultivated Ningxia species and would not be feasible to harvest.
Other false claims recount dubious invented stories of Tibetan festivals celebrating
the wolfberry. The only two-week festival in the world that celebrates wolfberries
is in China not Tibet. Morever, the word "Goji" is not Tibetan but Chinese. Other
spurious reports allege that the wolfberry is connected to Dalai Lama.
References
1. Cockerill, Ian, Grate Fall of China, 1/11/98, Sportsweek, Sunday Age
2. Sport, The Age, 12/05/97
3. Hitchcock, Cl. 1932 a monographic study of the genus Lycium of the Wester Hemisphere
Ann Missouri Bot. Gard. 19: 179-374
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Ningxia wolfberry has long been regarded as a national treasure by the native Chinese
and for that reason has been used by Olympic coaches as their "secret weapon" to achieve
gold-medal results.
Olympic Athletes" Secret Weapon
* Chinese wolfberry has been declared a "national treasure" by the China State Scientific
and Technological Commission.
* Ma Junre, coach of many world record holding distance runner's uses wolfberries to help
runners achieve greatness.
* Wu Jicai, coach of Olympic swimmers, uses wolfberris as his "secret weapon".
Only the barbarum and chinese species of the Wolfberry have thus far been studied for their
therapeutic effects.
Our juice is made out of the whole Ningxia Wolfberry because the whole fruit contains polysaccharides
which boost the immune system and builds the T-Cells. The polyphenols, ellagic acid, flavonoids, vitamins,
and minerals, strengthens and supports the immune system, increases cardiovascular wellness, cleanses and
supports the liver and promotes overall energy and well being.
Other juices are made out of just the juice not the whole fruit and they are not from the Yellow River
Region, so they will not have the same therapeutic action as the Lycium barbarum L wolfberry.
When Young Living started using the wolfberry every other company jumped on the band wagon
saying they had wolfberry in their juice, One company went as far as stealing Young Living's S-ORAC
score saying theirs was better then YL's because they used YL's score and then placed their score they
received on their juice, on YL's juice. It wasn't until someone saw this and questioned Brunswick Labs
why this company was stating these facts. I guess that company really got into trouble. Brunswick Laboratory
is an independent Lab where all foods are tested for its antioxdant level.
For more details on the NingXia Wolfberry: order the Book of the Discovery of the ULTIMATE SUPERFOOD
by Gary Young ND, Ronald Lawerence MD, PhD, and Marc Schreuder.
This book will answer any questions that you may have.
To order The book called Discovery of the ULTIMATE SUPERFOOD!!!!.
Call YL Wisdom 1-800-336-6308 or order on line
#1DUS1 -- single copy $18.95 -- 3 pack $54.00 -- 10 Pk $150.00 prices may have changed
The ORAC score on ours and others was given to us by the Brunswick Labs. I hope this helps to answer any
questions that you have.
