Overview
About Goji berry
Goji berries are marketed as a clean superfood, but they are one of the more trigger-dense foods in this database.
Goji is a nightshade, a Lycium species in the Solanaceae family alongside tomato, pepper and eggplant, and it grades at the top of the nightshade scale here, which makes it a frequent blind spot for people otherwise avoiding nightshades. It also grades high FODMAP with excess fructose, high in salicylates, high in lectins and high for sulfites in the dried form, with moderate ratings for histamine, histamine liberation and nickel. Separately from any of that, goji has a documented interaction with the blood thinner warfarin.
Sensitivities
How Goji berry scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Goji is a nightshade (Lycium barbarum, Solanaceae) and grades at the high end for it, yet it is almost never labelled as one, so it slips into smoothies and trail mixes during nightshade eliminations
- Published case reports describe a probable interaction with warfarin, with raised INR and bleeding after goji juice, tea or wine. If you take warfarin, raise goji with your prescriber before adding it, and do not treat it as an ordinary berry
- Dried goji grades high for sulfites, which are commonly used to hold the red colour in dried fruit. That is a separate trigger from the berry itself and it hits sulfite-sensitive people and asthmatics first
- High FODMAP with excess fructose and moderate polyols, because drying concentrates the sugars: a small handful carries the load of a much larger amount of fresh fruit
- High in salicylates and high in lectins, with histamine, histamine liberation and nickel all in the moderate band, so it stacks with other foods rather than acting alone
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Goji berry
Are goji berries a nightshade?
Yes. Goji, also sold as wolfberry, is Lycium barbarum, a member of the Solanaceae family with tomato, potato, pepper and eggplant. It grades at the high end of the nightshade scale here. Because it is sold as a berry and a superfood rather than as a vegetable, it is one of the most commonly missed nightshades on an elimination diet.
Do goji berries interact with warfarin?
There are several published case reports of a probable interaction, in which patients stable on warfarin developed a markedly raised INR and bleeding after drinking goji juice, tea or goji wine, and improved after stopping it. This is a known enough signal that clinicians are advised to ask about herbal products and monitor INR more closely. Speak to whoever manages your anticoagulation before eating goji regularly.
Are goji berries high FODMAP?
Yes. Dried goji grades high FODMAP with an excess fructose rating and moderate polyols. Drying removes the water and leaves the sugars, so a tablespoon scattered on porridge is a much bigger FODMAP dose than the same weight of fresh fruit would be.
Why do dried goji berries contain sulfites?
Sulfites are routinely used on dried fruit to preserve it and to keep the bright red colour from browning, and goji grades high for them here. If dried goji gives you wheezing, flushing or a headache while fresh fruit does not, the preservative is the more likely culprit than the berry.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.