Sea buckthorn, used for more than 12 centuries, is as an effective and natural treatment for various acute and chronic disorders.
You can extract sea buckthorn oil from the seeds, leaves, and berries of sea buckthorn fruit, scientifically known as Hippophae Rhamnoides), a small shrub that thrives at high altitudes and is the native of the northwest Himalayan region.
At times, sea buckthorn is called the holy fruit, and you can use it for ingestion or as a topical application to the skin.
Sea buckthorn has been one of the most popular remedies in Chinese traditional medicine for over 12 centuries now and is also used prominently by Ayurvedic and allopathic practitioners alike. History has it that even Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan used Sea Buckthorn to drive the battles against his enemies.
What is Sea Buckthorn? An Overview.
A common remedy in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic treatment, sea buckthorn offers numerous health benefits spanning from protecting against diabetes to supporting your heart, healing stomach ulcers, and treating a wide range of skin damages.
The fruit primarily grows at high altitudes of the Spiti Valley in the great Himalayan Range, which makes it predominantly hearty. It is also known as the “Holy Fruit’. This fruit serves as a superfood in high-altitude regions where the quantity of ultraviolet radiation is high due to the proximity of the sun. In such regions, where you get exposed to severe cold, heavy snows, barren soil, and scorching heat, sea buckthorn proves exceptionally beneficial in enhancing both beauty and health.
Sea buckthorn has a wide range of uses due to its diverse and dense nutritional composition that includes around 20 minerals, 60 antioxidants, healthy fatty acids, folic acid, and vitamins B1, B2, K, C, A, E, and essential protein-building amino acids.
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The Nutritional Composition of Sea Buckthorn
Sea Buckthorn’s pulp and seed oil are an extremely rich source of all essential monounsaturated fatty acids: palmitic acid, saturated fatty acid, and palmitoleic acid (Omega 7); and fatty acids: α-linolenic acid and linoleic acid.
Its phytonutrients constituents include phytosterols, and carotenoids, vitamin K, E, as well as 28 trace elements such as magnesium, selenium, iron, zinc, calcium, and iodine. Besides this, it is a powerhouse of nutrition with more than 60 antioxidants and 20 minerals.
Sea Buckthorn Benefits
While sea buckthorn has numerous benefits to enhance your health and wellness, the following 10 stand out:
1. Combats Oxidative Stress
The leaf extract of sea buckthorn helps protect you from chromium-induced oxidative stress caused by harmful chemicals such as sodium nitroprusside(1).
2. Protects the Stomach
The oils extracted from sea buckthorn’s pulp and the seed was observed to considerably lower the symptoms of stomach and duodenal ulcers, heal ulcer damage and revamp the stomach lining.
3. Reduces Inflammation
The leaves of sea buckthorn are enormously anti-inflammatory and potent in reducing inflammation in patients who have arthritis. Also, the extract of sea buckthorn comes handy in reducing the production of nitric oxide that further aggravates inflammation.
[Read: Natural Remedies For Inflammation Pain]
4. Fights Cancerous Cells
The sea buckthorn juice helps fight and destroy cancer cells with high potency that is even effective at the micro levels of bone marrow, genes, and sperms. It also helps combat tumor growth in the stomach and the skin.
5. Protects the Liver
Sea buckthorn extract reduces the severity of liver cirrhosis and several other diseases affecting the liver, roughly making it more than 70% beneficial in curing liver-related disorders.
[Read: Liver Detox- Merits and Demerits]
6. Treats Diabetes
The seeds of sea buckthorn induce a considerable reduction in high blood pressure levels. Also, the seeds of this magic fruit lower the elevated blood sugar levels along with heightened fat levels in the blood.
7. Speeds Up Wound Healing
The extract of sea buckthorn is known for its tremendous wound-healing properties that help heal cuts, wounds, burns, along with speeding up cell regrowth to providing quick and effective relief. Also, it helps treat tendon and muscle injuries quickly.
8. Protects the Brain
The leaf extracts of sea buckthorn help reduce the brain damage caused by harmful medications. It’s diverse, and dense nutritional components and more than 60 antioxidants protect the brain against severe oxidative damage.
9. Boosts Immunity
T-2 is a toxin that destroys the immune system.
The extracts of sea buckthorn have the potential to reduce the harmful effects of toxins in the body, thereby boosting your immunity system. Besides this, the extracts of sea buckthorn are tremendously powerful in reducing the chronic stress and toxicity caused by natural killer cells, which are a common part of our immunity system.
10. Improves Cardiovascular Health
This powerful herbal fruit has more than 60 known antioxidants that come in handy in preventing heart damage along with maintaining proper chemical composition and the structure of the heart. Also, it is proven to decrease the clotting of white blood cells, thus lowering the risk of stroke, cardiac arrest, and other heart diseases.
Moreover, the extracts of sea buckthorn have been found to considerably improve the ability of your heart in fighting stress together with the prevention of body fluid leakage into the lungs.
Different ways to use Sea Buckthorn
While the sea buckthorn fruit is widely regarded as a power-food to boost our immune system, health, and overall wellness, you can also use it cosmetically.
Sea buckthorn oil is widely recommended to treat dry, coarse, or sore skin. The berries of sea buckthorn are also recommended for treating sunburns, acne, and neurodermatitis.
In addition, you can mix the sea buckthorn oil with sparkling water in a ratio of 1:6 or with any fruit juice to get a unique taste along with added vitamins and minerals.
DIY Sea Buckthorn Mousse Recipe
You can use the oil and fruit of sea buckthorn in numerous delicious, nutritious, and wholesome recipes. One popular recipe is the sea buckthorn mousse recipe that is quick to prepare and can be enjoyed as a wonderful and nutrition-rich drink to beat the heat.
Things you need:
- 3/4 lb fresh sea buckthorn
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Two gelatin leaves
- One tablespoon lemon juice
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish
- One cup whipping cream
How to prepare:
- Mix water and berries 1:1 and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Mix gently with a blender before straining through a sieve.
- Now soak the gelatin leaves for nearly 5 minutes in cold water.
- Warm up about 2/3 of the juice in a saucepan with sugar till the sugar dissolves completely, then add the gelatin leaves, stir thoroughly, and let it cool down until it is lukewarm.
- Next, whip the cream till it gets stiff, stir in the rest of lemon juice and sea buckthorn. Stir the gelatin-mix gently.
- Transfer it to a glass, jar or a large bowl, cool it in a refrigerator and serve chilled
Precautions
Sea buckthorn is generally safe when consumed as a food. Some research indicates that it is generally safe when consumed for up to 6 months as a medicine.
Though there are not many side effects of sea buckthorn extract so far, still some individuals reported high blood pressure, dizziness, palpitations, swelling, and headache. It can, at times, lead to skin rashes when applied topically.
Sea buckthorn has the potential to act as a blood thinner which might lead to bleeding. Also, pregnant women and people who are prone to allergy should consider consulting a certified health physician or dietician before using sea buckthorn in any form.
Sea buckthorn oil extract is a popular alternative medicine that helps boost immunity, cures a wide range of chronic and acute diseases, and enhances your overall health and general wellness.
It is a source of numerous nutrients and may prove effective in improving the health, functioning, and structure of your heart, liver, and skin. It may also come in handy in safeguarding you against diabetes. Since these berries and the oil extracts were used in traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for more than 12 centuries, it makes sense to give sea buckthorn a try.
