The Anti-Aging Effects of Goji and Other Herbs
Friday, June 27th, 2008
Herbs that have a reverse effect on aging (hence the name anti aging) have been in great demand for countless centuries if not thousands of years. One would assume that for the most part of the past several millennia, the efforts were mostly in vain as the science of medicine was in its infancy. Chances are that charlatans and snake oil sales men were the only ones who benefited from these efforts.
Fortunately, the science of counteracting the effects of aging has come a long way. This is partly because we have discovered the existence of free-radicals, which is a group of chemical compounds that will effect the body’s ability to regenerate. If the body can’t regenerate like it is supposed to, it will age faster.
Now, I have been bashing ancient people in the first part of this article for their perceived lack of medical knowledge, but the truth is the some of them were onto something. The have discovered healing plants that, among other things, had anti aging effects. One such plant is the goji berry. It is a small, orange-red fruit that the Chinese have been using for a long time for a great many things including for its anti aging properties.
Ginkgo biloba is another plant that will have positive effect on short term memory if nothing else. That could be considered an anti aging effect as memory loss is usually associated with advancing years.
Bilberry and blue berry are said to improve eyesight, another aging related ill effect. Berries in general have the tendency to reduce the levels of free radicals.
Soy and red clover also have anti-aging properties.