In one of my first ever blogs, I wrote about so-called "superfruit" juices and how they were super-hyped.
A study was recently published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showing Goji juice to improve energy levels, athletic performance, sleep quality, mental acuity, calmness, and feelings of contentment.
So does that mean there's something to the hype?
Not really.
Dr. Paul Gross, the self-proclaimed "berry doctor", came out with some heavy criticism of this study. And he's right. This study is full of problems, including:
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The study was conducted by Freelife employees
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The subjects in the study were Freelife employees
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There was no control for the diets or personal habits of the subjects
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There was no validation of the questionnaires
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There was no "positive control" in this study. This means that there was no "standard" juice to compare the Goji juice to. It's quite possible that any juice may have had a positive effect.
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There were no improvements in objective measures of health, only subjective self-rated measures
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The study only lasted for 14 days
The fact is, there is no plausible mechanism behind how Goji juice could have all of these miraculous effects. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Currently, there is not a shred of scientific evidence that these "superfruit" juices have any benefit beyond normal whole fruit. There's nothing magical about these fruits. The only thing magical about them is the inflated cost (a bottle of Goji juice can run you $44!!!!!).