Can goji berries not only increase sperm but also lower blood sugar? Eat dry or soak in water? What's the point?
Soaking goji berries in a thermos is a well-known hot topic and also a self deprecating "health preserving method" for young people. It seems that for a moment, goji berries have become a representative of "health preserving food"
Soaking goji berries in a thermos is a well-known hot topic and also a self deprecating "health preserving method" for young people. It seems that for a moment, goji berries have become a representative of "health preserving food". Regardless of gender, age, and age, without drinking a glass of goji berry water, one cannot maintain health and wellness.
In fact, as a health food, goji berries have not just entered the public's attention, and many middle-aged and elderly people have long been accustomed to daily drinks.Mr. Wang, 58 years old this year, enjoys drinking goji berry tea very much, especially after hearing that goji berries can lower blood sugar, he drinks a few cups every day.
In Mr. Wang's words, he is already fat and belongs to the high-risk group of diabetes. Eating more medlar is good, but not bad.So, do goji berries really have so many functions? What's the point of eating goji berries?
1 Soaking goji berries in a thermos has the effect of "boosting sperm"?
Mr. Wang's habit of "soaking goji berries in a thermos" is well-known to friends. Originally, people thought goji berries did have health benefits, but they didn't say much about it. But recently,A friend of Mr. Wang's, Lao Chen, heard that goji berries have the effect of "increasing sperm" and joked at Mr. Wang, saying, "Are you so fond of drinking goji tea for the sake of" increasing sperm "
It's common for friends to joke, and Mr. Wang doesn't take it seriously. However, after learning about this effect unexpectedly, Mr. Wang became curious. Does goji berries really have this effect? For this reason, Mr. Wang specifically consulted a doctor.
After listening to Mr. Wang's doubts, the doctor told him that goji berries are indeed a health food, but when it comes to their "sperm enhancing" effect, there is actually a bit of controversy.
At the beginning, people believed that goji berries had the effect of "increasing sperm", possibly because in traditional Chinese medicine, goji berries were believed to "benefit kidney qi". However, this statement is still somewhat 'ethereal', therefore, some researchers have conducted relevant research.
Modern scientific research suggests that,The beneficial ingredient in goji berries for the human body is called goji berry polysaccharides. It is a dark brown powder that is easily hygroscopic and can be extracted from goji berries to make drugs.
According to a study by the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Jinan University on the effects of lycium barbarum polysaccharides on the male reproductive system, lycium barbarum does indeed have a protective effect on the male reproductive system. This study suggests that,Lycium barbarum polysaccharides can resist oxidation, eliminate free radicals, and restore oxidative stress damage to testicular cells caused by cadmium and radiationAt the same time, it can alsoIt can inhibit the apoptosis of spermatid and mediate the balance of sex hormones.
Through the combined effects of these aspects,Lycium barbarum polysaccharides can indeed protect the male reproductive system, repair sperm parameters, sexual function, and spermatogonial stem cells That is to say, researchers believe that goji berries do have a "sperm enhancing" effect.
In 2015, Yale University School of Medicine also conducted a similar study, which showed that oral goji berry extract can improve the quality of male semen.
However, the doctor told Mr. Wang that although these studies have proven the effects of goji berry polysaccharides, the clinical effects of goji berry polysaccharides are actually still in an exploratory state, and most studies are only in the experimental stage, and the research is not very comprehensive,Further confirmation is needed to determine the extent to which goji berries can enhance sperm production
and,It remains to be confirmed how much lycium barbarum polysaccharides can be consumed and how effective it can be in our daily lives by simply eating lycium barbarum. Therefore, it is uncertain whether eating lycium barbarum can effectively "increase sperm".
So, the doctor said that Mr. Wang should not have too much "expectation" for this effect. If there is, it is best, and if there is no, let it be. On the other hand, whether eating goji berries can lower blood sugar is also being explored.
2 Is there a basis for goji berries to lower blood sugar?
Mr. Wang is already quite old and has a relatively obese physique. He usually likes to eat and doesn't exercise, which actually means he is a high-risk group for "three highs". For him, "increasing sperm" is second, and lowering blood sugar is the main purpose of eating goji berries.
So, can eating goji berries actually lower blood sugar? The doctor told Mr. Wang that goji berry polysaccharides do have a hypoglycemic effect.
Numerous studies have shown that,Lycium barbarum polysaccharides can improve the morphology and function of pancreatic islet cells, repair damaged pancreatic islet cells, and promote the regeneration of pancreatic islet cells, thereby reducing blood sugar levels
An observation experiment on diabetes mice induced by alloxan showed that before alloxan was injected into mice, administration of lycium barbarum polysaccharide could reduce the blood sugar concentration of mice from 21.3mmol/L to 10.2mmol/L after 72 hours of injection, indicating that lycium barbarum polysaccharide could prevent the rise of blood sugar.
The doctor told Mr. Wang that in fact, goji berry polysaccharides also protect the pancreatic islets through functions such as antioxidant and free radical scavenging - Cells enable the islets of the pancreas to "work" better and achieve the effect of lowering blood sugar. From this perspective, the principle of "enhancing sperm" with goji berry polysaccharides is actually quite similar.
Another study showed that the purified lycium barbarum polysaccharides had a better hypoglycemic effect than crude lycium barbarum polysaccharides, and crude lycium barbarum polysaccharides had a better hypoglycemic effect than lycium barbarum juice. This experiment also showed that,The hypoglycemic efficiency of purified goji berry polysaccharides can reach 100%.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Wang thought to himself, since the hypoglycemic effect of goji berry polysaccharides is better than that of goji berry juice, is the effect of drinking "goji berry tea" far inferior to that of goji berry juice? Does this mean that drinking goji berry tea does not actually have any health benefits, or is the health benefits very "weak"?
The doctor stated that although experimental studies have confirmed the multiple effects of goji berry polysaccharides, there are currently some difficulties in the extraction and purification of goji berry polysaccharides. At present, we still haven't found a green, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and efficient method for purifying goji berry polysaccharides, and there are naturally relatively few drugs and health foods mainly composed of goji berry polysaccharides.
And if we want to rely on eating goji berries to intake goji berry polysaccharides, it is actually quite difficult.
Because eating goji berries directly, we have very little intake of goji berry polysaccharides, and we must eat enough to achieve the goal of increasing sperm count or lowering blood sugar. But lycium barbarum itself is a kind of food with high sugar content. If you eat too much, your blood sugar may rise before it falls. Especially for diabetics, you should be careful to eat lycium barbarum so as not to cause blood sugar fluctuations and affect the condition.
So, in that case, do we still want to eat goji berries? If eaten, how should goji berries be eaten? The doctor also gave his own advice on this.
3 Is it better to soak in water or eat it dry? What are the rules for eating goji berries?
Although eating goji berries alone may not have the effect of increasing sperm or lowering blood sugar, eating goji berries appropriately in daily life can still have certain health benefits such as nourishing the liver, brightening the eyes, tonifying the kidneys, and tonifying the essence, which is still beneficial for our physical health. However, the method of eating goji berries must be correct.
As a common food, goji berries have many ways to eat. For example, Mr. Wang likes to soak them in water, but some people prefer to eat them directly. Some people also add a little goji berries when cooking or stewing. So, which way to eat goji berries to the greatest extent can "preserve" their health benefits?
The doctor told Mr. Wang that from the perspective of dietary methods,Eating goji berries directly is actually a more beneficial way to unleash their health benefits.
Although goji berries are delicious to soak in water and make soup, they are difficult to fully release due to various factors such as temperature and soaking (boiling) time, resulting in less absorption by the human body.Eating goji berries directly can maximize the absorption of goji berry polysaccharides in goji berries and have a certain degree of health benefits.
If he really doesn't feel comfortable eating dry chewed goji berries, he can continue to soak them in water, but as long as he eats the softened goji berries together, it can also have good health effects.
Meanwhile, the doctor also told Mr. Wang that,If you plan to add some goji berries to the soup or stir fry, you should also add some goji berries in the closing stageTo avoid the loss of nutrients in goji berries due to factors such as high temperature, it is also important to remember to eat goji berries in order to achieve better results.
Goji berries can also be eaten together in oatmeal, salad, or yogurt. These eating methods can preserve the maximum nutritional content of goji berries while improving their taste, allowing us to eat goji berries more "happily".
At the same time, the doctor also stated that there are many other considerations when eating goji berries. For example, like many things, eating goji berries is also too much to eat. Eating too little may not have a health effect, while eating too much can also affect physical health due to excessive nourishment.
Generally speaking,Healthy adults only need to eat 20 grams of goji berries every day to have a health effectIf you remember the role of adjuvant therapy, eating 30 grams of goji berries every day is enough, so there is no need to be greedy. Some people also believe that if goji berries are chewed directly, the quantity can be halved. Although this has not been supported by research, if only the health benefits are remembered, it can indeed serve as a reference.
For example, the doctor told Mr. Wang that adding a tablet of vitamin C when soaking goji berries in hot water can prevent rapid oxidation and nutrient loss of goji berries, making goji tea more effective.
For example, during illness - including colds, fever, diarrhea, or inflammation in the body - it is best not to consume goji berries to avoid exacerbating the condition or causing a fever that makes people feel more uncomfortable.
In short, the doctor told Mr. Wang that goji berries are indeed a good food, and as long as the amount and consumption method are controlled, he can consume them for a long time. But at the same time, it should also be noted that in the end, goji berries are just a type of food. Although they can have certain health benefits, they cannot replace drugs. If you feel unwell, you must seek medical attention in a timely manner and follow medical advice to take medication. Do not blindly "trust" goji berries.
Mr. Wang nodded repeatedly as he listened, stating that besides eating goji berries, he would also strengthen exercise and maintain a good lifestyle habit, as good health is the most important thing.
reference material:
1 Companion, Issue 2, 2021, 60-60, "How to Eat Goji berries for the Most Effective Nutrition"
2 Tsinghua University, "Family Medicine: Happy Health", Issue 6, 2015, 43-43, "It's Best to Chew Goji berries"
3 Yan Ling, Bian Lu, et al., "Asia Pacific Traditional Medicine", Issue 5, 2020, 190-194, "Progress in Experimental Research on the Protective Effects and Mechanisms of Lycium barbarum Polysaccharides on Male Reproductive System
4 Dou Youye and Wang Wei, "Chinese Pharmacologist", Issue 1, 2004, 13-15, "Research progress on immune function and hypoglycemic effect of goji berries"
5 Tang Huali, Sun Guiju, Chen Chen, "Food and Machinery", Issue 6, 2013, 244-247252, "Chemical analysis and hypoglycemic effects of lycium barbarum polysaccharides"
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