Drinking Goji Berry with Scrophularia and Licorice Harmonizes the Heart and Kidneys

Many people are unfamiliar with the benefits of goji berries, and tend to overlook them entirely. Small as they are, though, goji berries hold remarkable, far-reaching power. They offer excellent health-supporting benefits for the body, and drinking a cup of goji berry tea each day does a world of good. Today we’ll walk through what makes goji berries so special, to help you get to know these unassuming little medicinal herbs a little better.

【Ancient Medical Commentaries】

Miao Xiyong noted: “Goji berries are moistening and nourishing, and can also clear internal heat. They are specifically effective at tonifying the kidneys, moistening the lungs, generating fluids, and boosting qi, making them a key medicinal herb for addressing deficiencies of true yin in the liver and kidneys, as well as fatigue and internal heat caused by depletion.”

Ni Zhumo observed: “It is commonly said that goji berries treat eye conditions, but that is not their core action. They tonify essence and vitalize the spirit; when the spirit is full and essence is abundant, eye issues resolve as a result. It is also said they treat wind syndromes, but this is not their direct function: they nourish blood and generate nutritive essence, and when blood is sufficient, pathogenic wind dissipates, so they are effective for wind-related conditions.”

Li Zhongzi wrote: “Goji berries tonify the kidneys and benefit essence. When kidney water is abundant, the bones grow strong, and ailments such as diabetes, blurred vision, lower back pain, and knee pain will all resolve. Goji berries are mild in nature and not heating; they have the ability to replenish water and curb fire, and their effects are the same as rehmannia root.”

Huang Gongxiu recorded: “Goji berries are sweet, cold in nature, and moistening. All medical texts note their ability to dispel wind, improve vision, strengthen tendons and bones, and tonify essence and yang. In truth, these effects stem from kidney water deficiency: taking this sweet, moistening herb allows yin to grow alongside yang, and when water is sufficient, pathogenic wind is extinguished. This is why they can improve vision and strengthen tendons, clearly marking them as a herb that nourishes water, which is why texts also record their use in treating diabetes.”

Wang Bingheng stated: “Goji berries are listed in the Shengji Collection as a single-herb remedy for shortness of breath. I believe they are uniquely effective at tonifying blood, a property no other herb can match. When combined with Scrophularia (yuanshen) and licorice root, the formula is called Kanli Dan, and it can harmonize the heart and kidneys.”

【Suitable Populations】

Suitable for those with deficiency of essence and blood, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, dizziness and tinnitus, nocturnal emission, infertility, kidney deficiency and essence depletion, diabetes, frequent urination, blurred vision, and declining eyesight.

【Constituent Components】

Goji berries contain goji berry polysaccharides, monosaccharides, betaine, fatty acids, proteins and polypeptides, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, 18 amino acids (including 8 essential amino acids), and trace elements (calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, and others).

【Nature, Flavor, and Meridian Tropism】

Goji berries are sweet in flavor and neutral in nature. They enter the liver, kidney, and lung meridians.

【Primary Therapeutic Effects】

They work to nourish the liver, tonify the kidneys, and moisten the lungs. They are indicated for liver and kidney deficiency, dizziness and blurred vision, poor eyesight, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, impotence and nocturnal emission, consumptive cough, and excessive thirst due to diabetes.

【Health-Preserving Effects】

1. Boosts immune function and improves the body’s ability to adapt and self-regulate. Consuming goji berries strengthens the body’s foundational resistance and helps expel pathogenic factors. It not only enhances overall bodily function and supports recovery from illness, but also raises the body’s ability to fend off disease and defend against harmful invasion, while improving tolerance for all kinds of harmful stimuli.
2. Effectively slows aging. Goji berries are a premium medicinal herb for strengthening foundational resistance, generating essence and replenishing marrow, nourishing yin and tonifying the kidneys, boosting qi and calming the spirit, building overall strength, and delaying the effects of aging. Since ancient times, they have been considered a top-tier tonic for nourishing and fortifying the body. They effectively enhance the function of all major organs, improve brain function, and combat free radicals, delivering clear anti-aging benefits.
3. Lowers blood lipids and helps treat hypertension. Regular consumption of goji berries can significantly reduce serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, ease and prevent atherosclerosis, and support the management of high blood pressure. They are an excellent health supplement for people with coronary heart disease.
4. Has anti-cancer properties. Goji berries significantly inhibit the formation and spread of cancer cells. Modern experimental and clinical research shows that drinking goji leaf tea regularly can markedly improve and enhance immune function and physiological function in older adults, people with weak constitutions, and tumor patients, with benefits for strengthening the body and slowing aging. When used alongside chemotherapy for cancer patients, it can reduce toxic side effects, prevent drops in white blood cell counts, regulate immune function, and deliver additional therapeutic benefits.
5. Has notable vision-supporting benefits. Goji berries are especially renowned for their ability to support eye health, which is why they are also commonly called “bright-eye seeds.” Generations of physicians have long used goji berries to treat blurred vision and night blindness stemming from liver blood deficiency and kidney yin deficiency. The well-known formula Qiju Dihuang Wan uses goji berries as its core medicinal ingredient. It is also a common folk remedy for chronic eye conditions, and goji berry steamed egg is a simple, effective dietary therapy.
6. Strengthens the body and tonifies yang, supporting male sexual function. As a tonic, it is highly effective for a range of kidney deficiency syndromes and liver and kidney disorders, and can significantly raise plasma testosterone levels in the body to deliver strengthening and yang-tonifying benefits. It also shows clear therapeutic effects for reduced sexual function.
7. Supports skin health and beauty. Many people do not realize that eating goji berries regularly can benefit the skin. This is because goji berries improve the skin’s ability to absorb oxygen, and also have a brightening effect. Goji berries show clear therapeutic effects for psoriasis, and varying degrees of benefit for other skin conditions.
8. Alleviates allergic inflammation. Goji berries can ease symptoms such as gastrointestinal discomfort, joint pain, and bleeding triggered by allergies, and these effects are achieved through regulating endocrine function.
9. Has anti-fatigue benefits. Goji berries can significantly increase the storage of muscle glycogen and liver glycogen, boost overall vitality, and help reduce fatigue.
10. Enhances learning and memory. Goji berries support brain function and improve people’s ability to learn and retain information.
11. Supports liver health and prevents fatty liver. Goji berries protect the liver and tonify the kidneys, inhibit the buildup of fat in liver cells, and promote the regeneration of liver cells.
12. Helps lower blood sugar and supports diabetes management. Goji berries contain guanidine derivatives, which help reduce blood sugar levels, so they can be used as a health supplement for people with diabetes.
13. Boosts the body’s blood-forming function. Goji berries significantly promote the proliferation of blood-forming cells, increase white blood cell counts, and support overall hematopoietic function.
14. Improves the body’s adaptability. Goji berries strengthen the body’s adaptive defense mechanisms, so that when faced with harmful stimuli such as oxygen deprivation, extreme cold, or blood loss, people have greater tolerance and endurance.
15. Treats male infertility. Goji berries can increase both sperm count and motility in cases of oligospermia, making them an effective treatment for male infertility.
16. Supports the treatment of obesity. Drinking goji berry tea daily can help reduce body weight and manage obesity.
17. Treats chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. The active compound in goji berries, citric acid betaine, has proven therapeutic effects for liver diseases including chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, with very strong efficacy.
18. Improves thyroid secretory function, and is also used to treat tinnitus, anovulatory infertility, and other related conditions.

【Dietary Therapy and Medicinal Dishes】

• Goji berry vision-supporting tea: Eases eye fatigue and supports clear vision.
• Goji berry American ginseng tea: Nourishes yin and tonifies the kidneys, and is recommended for regular consumption by those with chronic urinary tract infections.
• Goji berry poria tea: Suitable for those with chronic nephritis, low urine output, painful urination, and urethritis.
• Goji berry steamed chicken: Suitable for those with lower back and leg soreness, mental fatigue, impotence, thin and clear semen, and cold extremities.
• Goji berry porridge: Suitable for people with diabetes, as well as those experiencing dizziness, blurred vision, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, impotence, and nocturnal emission due to liver and kidney yin deficiency.
• Cordyceps goji berry Chinese yam mutton soup: Used to support women with weak constitutions and pale complexions, lower back soreness, and shortness of breath, as well as men with low sperm count, mental fatigue, and other related symptoms.
• Cistanche goji berry rehmannia sea cucumber lean pork soup: Used to address essence and blood deficiency, including yin and blood deficiency following illness or postpartum, with symptoms such as weakness, constipation, diabetes, dizziness, and general fatigue.
• Goji berry tea: Offers a wide range of benefits, including support for cold constitution, cold sensitivity, digestive health, liver and kidney disorders, tuberculosis, constipation, insomnia, low blood pressure, anemia, various eye conditions, hair loss, oral inflammation, and skin health.

【Usage and Dosage】

Oral use: Decoact in water, 5–15g; may also be prepared as pills, powders, ointments, or alcoholic tinctures. For dietary use, it can be steeped for tea, soaked in alcohol, added to soups, or boiled into porridge.

【Precautions】

Contraindicated for people with external pathogenic excess heat, spleen deficiency with dampness, or diarrhea. Those with weak spleen and stomach who experience frequent diarrhea should also avoid it.