Are there benefits to drinking a Ningxia wolberry juice over eating the
dried NingXia wolfberries?
Are there benefits to drinking a combo juice over drinking straight wolfberry juice?
Since the nutritional statistics dried Ningxia wolfberries are so outstanding,
why bother with a juice? And isn't the power of the Ningxia wolfberry "diluted"
by the other ingredients in NingXia Red?
These are great questions asked from the perspective of being able to see through
the hype of most so-called "health" drinks. Typically these companies
wax eloquent on the research behind a specific important ingredient...the research
showing the health benefits of the noni or mangosteen fruit, the goji berry or
pomegranate, or even various forms of seaweed. But those studies are very poor
indications of the benefits of the actual drink where the highlighted ingredient
has been processed and "cooked" until no goodness is left. Then it
is typically bottled with other highly processed "junk" juices
like pear, apple and white grape whose primary purpose is to improve the taste
of the concoction for the sake of marketability. These sweetener juices, besides
being worthless from a health standpoint, have high-glycemic values which spike
blood sugar levels, wreaking havoc for those with diabetes and hypoglycemia.
So back to the original question...Why not forego the NingXia Red juice and simply
eat the dried Ningxia wolfberries?
I treasure the value of eating the dried Ningxia wolfberries...that’s one
of the reasons they are offered on this site. I sprinkle them on my salads instead
of sweetened cranberries, I use them like raisins in cooking and I blend them up
in my homemade salad dressing. Occasionally I nibble on them when nothing else
seems to hit the spot. I’m not much of a tea drinker, but I’ve heard
of others who steep them in water to make wolfberry tea.
But NingXia Red brings things to a whole new level. Research
done before the juice was formulated indicated that much of the goodness of the
wolfberries passes through the body undigested. Many people simply don’t
have enough stomach acid to get the proper benefit from the wolfberry. There is
far better assimilation with the juice.
So why not a straight wolfberry juice? Since the wolfberry is so powerful, why
combine it with "lesser" fruits? Good question. This was also on the
minds of those at Young Living who were experimenting with formulations. Short
answer: SYNERGY.
One of the most interesting nutrient combinations we studied for our wolfberry
juice blends was a combination of foods high in ellagic acid with those also
high in quercetin.
According to University of Florida researchers, when quercetin is combined
with ellagic acid, a far stronger anti-cancer effect is achieved than with
either alone. In other words, quercetin potentiated the ability of ellagic
acid to block cancer growth, in this case showing better activity against
MOLT-4 leukemia cells. It is not clear why these two nutrients are more effective
together, but the results are noteworthy.
The scientists concluded, "The interaction of ellagic acid and quercetin
demonstrated an enhanced anticarcinogenic potential of polyphenol combinations,
which was not based solely on the additive effect of individual compounds,
but rather on synergistic biochemical interactions. 3
So in the creation of our wolfberry juice blends we combined foods high
in ellagic acid, such as pomegranate and wolfberry with those high in quercetin
such as the blueberry to enhance the DNA protecting properties of the mixture.
In addition to nutrient composition synergies, we discovered these juices
also had synergistic antioxidant properties when combined. We found that
the antioxidant activity (as measured by ORAC) of certain juice combinations
exceeded the sum of their parts. In other words, when wolfberry juice was
combined with pomegranate juice, the ORAC values were synergistic rather
than merely additive. Instead of 2+2=4, the juice blends had equations like
2+2=7. The results were so unusual that a patent was applied for on this
discovery. We also found the NingXia Red blend to be extraordinarily active
in absorbing free radicals as measured by the S-ORAC test.
We found that the strongest antioxidant synergies were combinations of wolfberry
juice with either pomegranate juice, blueberry juice, or raspberry juice.
Even more dramatic synergies were obtained with different proportions of
the four juices combined together.
We’re still talking about abstract research. WHAT ABOUT THE JUICE?! Have
there been any tests that show that the juice--NingXia Red--has REAL benefits?
We’re just getting started and research is ongoing. But early tests are
VERY EXCITING!
See ORAC results for the actual juice.
See S-ORAC results for the actual juice.
See a published pre-clinical
study on the apparent immune-boosting benefits of
Berry Young Juice, the forerunner to NingXia Red. Berry Young Juice used only the
juice of the wolfberry. NingXia Red now uses the WHOLE wolfberry and the results
are expected to be even more dramatic.
Consult your health care professional
about any serious disease or injury. Do not attempt to self-diagnose or prescribe
any natural substances such as essential oils for serious health conditions that
require professional attention.
