Sea buckthorn fruit is an amazing superfood! High in rare Omega fatty acids and anti-oxidants, powerful seabuckthorn berry and seed oil scavenges free radicals that cause three major ailments: cancer, arthritis and heart disease. But that’s not all – anti-aging sea buckthorn also treats altitude sickness, digestive problems, radiation and more!
I had never heard of sea buckthorn juice and oil until we visited Ladakh, way up in northern India. So, I had no idea that this tiny little golden berry is highly prized for its amazing health and beauty benefits.
We had been living in Rajasthan in the western part of India, and in our case, going north meant going to a very high altitude in the Himalayas. Originally part of Tibet, Ladakh is a primarily Buddist territory. It was annexed by India before the rest of Tibet was taken over by China. Luckier for the Ladakhis…at least, as a part of India, they are still free to practice their lifestyle and religion as before.
Fellow travelers along the way advised us that we needed to be careful when arriving to the 11,562 ft. altitude – good advice!
And that’s where the amazing sea buckthorn juice and its numerous proven health benefits comes into the story…
Sea Buckthorn Juice
Our new friends encouraged us to drink lots of Sea buckthorn juice, which is supposed to have properties that alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness. Apparently altitude sickness is quite prevalent among tourists in Ladakh, particularly for trekkers who don’t acclimate slowly to the high altitude.
Being into natural products and natural remedies, we were very excited to check out this new fruit juice/remedy/drink.
We arrived in Leh and immediately went to a market to purchase sea buckthorn juice. We sipped it continually for the first several days as we slowly meandered around the beautiful little town, gradually acclimatizing to the high elevation.
Where Does Sea Buckthorn Come From
We learned that sea buckthorn has been prized for centuries in Asia, even so far back as the 12th century. At that time, Genghis Khan used sea buckthorn for its energizing properties. It also protected his troops against harsh winter conditions and high altitude sickness.
These small shrubs (Hippophae rhamnoides) only grow sparsely in cold countries with very high altitudes, like China, Tibet and Pakistan. Therefore, sea buckthorn is considered somewhat of a community treasure in Ladakh and is highly prized for its unique health properties.
Drinking Sea Buckthorn Juice
Sea buckthorn juice is bright orange, due to its high beta carotene content. Beta carotene is the same ingredient that gives carrots their bright orange color. Sea buckthorn juice is really tart! It tasted like a cross between apricot and peach juice, but with its own unique fruity flavor.
Sea buckthorn juice really needs a sweetener added to be palatable. We found lots of options to solve this issue – juice with sugar, juice with honey. and juice mixed with other fruit juices, like apple or apricot.
But… sea buckthorn juice is not easy to find outside of the high altitude regions where it grows. Fortunately, we also discovered that sea buckthorn oil (rather than the fresh juice) is an incredible natural remedy that can be taken internally to help prevent and treat some serious ailments, such as cancer, arthritis and heart disease. But that’s not all! Sea buckthorn oil has numerous other healing properties, which is what makes it such an amazing superfood, worth adding to your natural health arsenal.
Amazing Properties of Sea Buckthorn Juice or Oil
1. Heart Disease
The antioxidants in sea buckthorn are excellent for minimizing the risks of heart disease, as they help to reduce blood pressure. Sea buckthorn is a prime source of plant sterols that are known to lower cholesterol levels. This amazing oil also reduces the danger of blood clots.
2. Cancer
Sea buckthorn juice is one of few vegetable sources that contain all four Omega fatty acids – Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 7 and Omega 9. The Omega fatty acids scavenge free radicals, which is a key to fighting anaerobic diseases. By helping to keep the blood oxygenated, sea buckthorn’s protective effects aid in slowing down or even stopping the spread of cancer cells.
3. Arthritis
Sea buckthorn oil’s numerous phytonutrients reduce inflammation that causes swelling and painful joints. Sea buckthorn oil also aids in slowing down cartilage degeneration and promotes healthy cartilage regeneration.
4. Lowers Blood Pressure
High in the flavonoid quercetin, sea buckthorn is known for lowering blood pressure.
Note: If you have naturally low blood pressure you should be cautious in taking sea buckthorn internally.
5. Aiding Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Due to Omega 7 fatty acids, sea buckthorn is helpful in reducing blood sugar levels naturally.
6. Boosts Immune System
Sea buckthorn is chock full of flavonoids and cartonoids that strengthen the immune system with their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These compounds increase resistance to infections.
7. Anti-aging
Sea buckthorn is high in antioxidants, which are important in our diets to slow down the aging process. Sea buckthorn encourages collagen production that is necessary for wrinkle-free youthful skin.
8. Treat Ulcers and Digestive Ailments
The natural plant constituents in sea buckthorn oil work together to treat gastric ulcers. These phytonutrients also repair gastric cells and lubricate a dry digestive tract. This combats constipation and other digestive disorders.
9. Promotes a Healthy Liver
The anti-inflammatory elements of sea buckthorn may also be useful in promoting liver health and avoiding liver diseases, such as cirrhosis.
10. Combats Radiation Poisoning
Sea buckthorn has powerful anti-radiation properties. It is highly effective in protecting against harmful UV rays and in defense against radiation poisoning. Even Russian cosmonauts say that their ventures into space were helped by the sea buckthorn that they took as a preventative against potential radiation poisoning.
11. Dry Eyes and Dry Skin, Hair and Nails
As sea buckthorn is found primarily in high mountainous eastern regions, it has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. As a food supplement, sea buckthorn is well known to reduce inflammation and eye dryness and redness by supporting proper functioning of mucous membranes.
Sea buckthorn taken internally improves skin elasticity and smoothness and also treats eczema and other inflammatory skin conditions.
12. Female Intimate Dryness
Sea buckthorn oil taken internally is also very effective in treating vaginal dryness that comes with hormonal changes. Whether hormonal changes result from child birth, menopause, infection, or hormonal birth control, sea buckthorn oil can relieve vaginal dryness when taken regularly over time.
13. Prevents Altitude Sickness
Sea buckthorn combats altitude sickness, much as coca leaves are used as a traditional remedy by trekkers in Peru. Sea buckthorn has been used to combat altitude sickness for centuries throughout Asia – China, India, Tibet, Nepal, Russia, and Mongolia.
We are not fitness buffs or trekkers, so we were keen to avoid altitude sickness in Leh. We drank our sea buckthorn juice religiously and we did not get sick! Can I say 100% that it kept us from getting sick?
Of course not. But with the trekkers we met there also swearing by it, I’m willing to give sea buckthorn some hefty credit.
We definitely had an easy transition to the high altitude. Plus, we benefited from sea buckthorn’s other amazing health benefits.
Conclusion
I can’t say enough good things about sea buckthorn oil!
It has a high beta-carotene content, which provides its rich, brilliant color. The oil ranges from bright yellow-orange to deep orangy-red, depending on the ratio of fruit to seeds used in making the oil.
You can add sea buckthorn to your diet regularly by taking sea buckthorn seed oil gel capsules ✓ as a supplement. Or, you could try these dried sea buckthorn veggie caps ✓.
Sea buckthorn seed oil ✓ can be taken internally daily to aid in the prevention of numerous diseases, or used topically…it even prevents and soothes sunburn, too! You can also try a mini bottle of the oil ✓ if you want to start small to see how it works for you.
Sea buckthorn oil can also be added to your beauty routine to counteract aging. With so many benefits, this wonder fruit is truly high on my list of powerful superfoods.
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*This Article First Written: October 8, 2020