Ningxia Red - anti-aging and disease prevention

Wolfberry legends and records of ancient Chinese medicine reach back 5,000 years. The Ningxia wolfberry has been included in a number of Chinese herbal pharmacopoeias and is still prescribed for patients with deficiency of the liver and kidney, diabetes and vision problems.

A recent study published in June 2006 found that Ningxia polysaccharides were able to almost completely reverse the DNA and oxidative damage caused by diabetes. Researchers at the school of Public Health in Fudan University in Shanghai found that feeding animals just 10mg per day of the Wolfberry polysaccharide (the human equivalent is about 2600 mg) resulted in dramatic drops in the markers of tissue and blood damage caused by free radicals.

A study at the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene at the Ningxia Medical College had similarly found that Ningxia flavonoids prevented free radical damage to liver cells and red blood cells. In particular, the flavonoids lowered liver levels of malondialdehyde (substance that is produced when fat gets rancid/ becomes oxidized) and prevented oxidation of fats in the red blood cells and liver mitochondria. The fluidity of the mitochondrial membrane was restored to more youthful level.

Ningxia Wolfberries contains:

67 times the thiamin (vitamin B1) of brown rice

2 times the niacin (vitamin B3) of baker’s yeast

3 times the vitamin C of row oranges

5 times the calcium of row cauliflower

2 times the beta carotene or raw spinach

Ningxia Wolfberry contains significant amounts of:

Calcium

Chromium

Magnesium

Potassium

Copper, Zink and Manganese

Minerals must be properly balanced. For example, excess dietary calcium or copper can result in a zinc deficiency and poor immunity. Controversy zinc consumption in excess of 300mg per day not only suppresses immunity but also contributes to copper depletion and anemia.

Both mineral profile and mineral balance of Ningxia wolfberry is without equivalent in the plant world, with magnesium to calcium ratio at almost 1:1, zinc to copper ratios at 2:1 and potassium to magnesium at 8:1.

The high polysaccharide and fiber content of the Ningxia wolfberry can promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal system. Diets high in protective vegetable fibers such as those in the wolfberry result in higher levels of health-giving Lactobacilli cultures and reduced populations of damaging cultures like Clostridium perfringens.