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Are Goji Berries Berries Really the Healthiest Food on the Planet?Q You recently covered acai berriesand mangosteen. What about goji ber-ries—are there any concrete health ben-efits?

A Yes, goji berries have joined theranks of other exotic "superfruits" likeacai and mangosteen. Goji is beinghawked all over the Internet (for about$30 per 18-ounce bag), because of its"miraculous health benefits." Some gojicompanies have called their product the"healthiest food on the planet." Allegedbenefits for goji include immune, vi-sion, memory and sleep enhancement;and stress reduction, anti-aging, cancerprotection and anti-inflammation. Butis there scientific proof to back theseclaims?

Ancient Asian medicine. While goji(also known as wolfberry) is enjoyingtremendous recognition in the West inrecent years, it's a new name given to

Lycium barbarum and L. chínense, twoclose species with a very long traditionas medicinal plants in East Asia. Manygoji products are marketed to come fromTibet or the Himalayas, but most are cul-tivated in China. Tangy, pink goji berriesare commonly dried and may be eatenout of hand or mixed in cereals, salads,smoothies or yogurts. Goji is also avail-able in juice and supplement form.

Goj! nutrition. There's no doubt thatgoji berries, like many fruits, are rich innutrients and antioxidants. Scientists areparticularly interested in goji's proteogly-cans, polysaccharides (a type of carbohy-drate) that show antioxidative properties.Scientists also identified a total of 52phenolic acids and fiavonoids (com-pounds with high antioxidant activity)from the fruit. Recent research indicatesgoji inhibits prostate cancer cell growthin mice and improves serum antioxidantbiomarkers in healthy humans. In a 2008

randomized, double-blind placebo-con-trolled trial of healthy adults published inThe Joumai of Alternative and Comple-mentary Medicine, daily consumption ofgoji juice increased feelings of generalwell-being and improvements in neu-rologic/psychologic performance andgastrointestinal functions. The NaturalStandard, a research collaboration onalternative therapies, reports that there isa lack of human clinical data on the ef-ficacy of goji, but the area of laboratoryand animal research is growing.

Goji or bust? Until research provesotherwise, treat goji like any other high-antioxidant fruit. Sure, goji berries arerich in nutrients that might protect yourhealth, but don't limit yourself (or yourpocketbook) to these exotic berries.Choose from a variety of fruits and vege-tables that possess a symphony of naturalplant compounds and nutrients that canprotect your health in many ways.

Phthalates Hidden in Plastics—Urban Legend or Real Risk of Danger?Q I heard that phthalates found inplastics are harmful. Is this true?

A Plastics have been at the forefiont ofurban legends, but in the case of phthal-ates there is legitimate concern. Phthalatesare a group of chemicals called plasticiz-ers that are added to vinyl plastics to makethem flexible. They are commonly foundin household and personal care items liketoys, packaging, hoses, raincoats, showercurtains, nail polish and shampoo.

Phthaiate worries. According to RolfHalden, Ph.D., P.E., assistant professor inthe Department of Environmental HealthSciences at the John Hopkins BloombergSchool of Public Health, phthalates areenvironmental contaminants that canexhibit hormone-like behavior by actingas endocrine disruptors in humans andanimals. The Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC) reports that thehealth effects of phthalates in people arenot yet fully known, but several studiesexplore possible associations with devel-opmental and reproductive outcomes (se-men quality, genital development in boysand shortened pregnancy.) In July 2008,the U.S. Congress passed legislation ban-ning six phthalates from children's toysand cosmetics.

Unfortunately, exposure to phthalatesis nearly ubiquitous through air, water,skin, food and even medical tubing.The Environmental Working Group(EWG), a public and environmentalhealth advocacy group, analyzed datafrom the CDC in 2005 and determinedthat 84 percent of the U.S. populationis contaminated with at least six dif-ferent phthalates at any given time.Hence, EWG is currently pushing fora cumulative assessment of the humanhealth risks of phthalates.

Phthaiates in the food system. Stud-ies have found that phthalates may befound in fat-containing foods; migrateinto foods from plastic food wrappings,recycled fiber materials like paper andpossibly printing inks used on wrap-pers; and enter foods during processingdue to the use of poly vinyl chloride(PVC) in food production and generalcontamination of the environment.Heating plastics can leach phthalatesfrom containers into water and food.

On phthaiate alert. To reduce expo-sures to phthalates, EWG suggests:• Check the ingredient list of beauty

products for dibutyl phthaiate (DBP.)• Use personal care and household

products that do not contain "fra-grance," which commonly includesthe phthaiate DEP.

• Avoid cooking or microwaving inplastic.

• Use a non-vinyl shower curtain.• Use paints and other hobby products

in well-ventilated areas.• Give children phthalate-free toys.• Urge medical facilities to reduce the

use of products containing phthal-ates.

• Avoid products made of flexiblePVC or vinyl plastic like PVC lawnfurniture and building materials.

• Visit Skin Deep (www.cosmetics-database.com), EWG's database ofpersonal care products with safetyratings based on toxicity.

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www. environmentalnutrition. com ENVIRONMENTALNUTRITION 7February 2010

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