It was over a decade ago that I first encountered Goji Berries. At the time I was friends with the owner of this lovely jazz club in Taipei. I would often go there on Fridays and at some point in the evening Gary would join me. Accompanying him was always a large warm glass filled with Chinese herbs. He said his staff often teased him but that this was the key to his health. I knew nothing of herbs at the time and was given a brief tutorial about the most abundant herb in the glass the goji berry.

It would be years later before I fully understood all that this little herb had to offer; and by then it had become the new darling amongst health aficionados. Outlandish claims propagated by aggressive marketers had inflated the cost and misled people into thinking they had found the cure to all disease. The reality, as near always, was one much simpler. It is a food and herb filled with vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients. It is rich in antioxidants and its long use in Chinese medicine as improving visual acuity has been attributed to the antioxidant zeaxanthin, which protects from hypopigmentation and soft drusen accumulation in the macula. It, like all healthy foods and herbs, is a wonderful addition to the diet. It can be added to smoothies, used as a topping, as a sweet addition to stir fries or as Gary did simply tossed in a glass of hot water and drunk.

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