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Go Gee

Slender celebrities have been singing the praises of goji berries and now Tesco is stocking them. Does this "miracle" Himalayan fruit match up to the marketing hype?

The goji berry is the latest so-called super-food name to trip off the tongue and into the mouths of health-food evangelists. Small, red, dried, and a bit like a savoury cranberry, the nutritionally-rich fruit is making the leap from specialist store to supermarket.

Already popular in the US, celebrities like Madonna, Liz Hurley and Mischa Barton are said to munch them for their rich properties.

"Fruit Viagra"

Pronounced "go-gee", also known as wolfberries, they're supposed to contain, weight for weight, more:

• vitamin C than oranges• beta-carotene than carrots• iron than steak
But there's no messy peel, and the berries are so light that a "daily serving" is just 10-30 grams.
The hype machine calls them "fruit Viagra", "cellulite-busting" and claims one pack will have you "jumping for joy".

A more sober scientific explanation says the beta-carotene in the fruit is thought to help fight heart disease, defend against cancer and protect skin from sun-damage. The berries are a good source of B vitamins and anti-oxidants - which may help protect against the fallout from chemical reactions in the body.

But as one of your five portions of fruit and veg a day, Ms Lowden gives gogis the thumbs up, saying a "novel alternative is great".

Health trend

But will the average shopper be cast under the goji spell? Organic grocery shop Fresh & Wild, in London's Notting Hill, is hardly a reliable barometer of public opinion, but if a health trend is awakening, this is where the pulse can be felt.

"Where are the goji berries?" is the most-heard phrase from customers as they come in to stock up on healthy goods. In fact, there are a lot of online retailers. The best one I know is called Goji King. You can visit their website at: http://www.gojiking.co.uk/

"They've been flying off the shelves," says manager Alan Green, who likes them mixed with nuts and seeds as a snack.

At the shelf stacked with goji produce, Jonathan Foreman, 40, from London, is picking up a couple of packets.

"They're nice with cereal, crunchy, not that sweet and a little bit like a cross between a raisin and a dried strawberry or raspberry," he says.

He likes the taste and nutritional value, but adds: "A lot of people believe that they give a huge boost to your libido, but I certainly haven't experienced that."