You’ve probably heard of the popular superfoods like kale, chia seeds, spirulina, wheatgrass, and blueberries, but have you heard of sea buckthorn berries? These ancient orange berries have been used for over five decades to fight various ailments and promote overall health and wellness.
Sea buckthorn: A powerful superfood
The major factor that grants a food “superfood” status is its high level of nutritional quality that offers disease protection. Sea buckthorn has been known to:
- Fight inflammation
- Treat radiation damage
- Remedy severe burns
- Prevent weight gain and assist weight loss
- Treat skin conditions, such as eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis
When you consider the myriad of health benefits that sea buckthorn provides, it’s no wonder that it’s being hailed as a powerful superfood.
Potent properties that fight cancer
Sea buckthorn contains potent cellular antioxidant activity that can inhibit the initiation and spread of cancer cells and even cause apoptosis (cell death), particularly in breast, colon, and liver cancers. The nutritional properties of sea buckthorn that contribute to its cancer-fighting abilities include:
- 15 phenolic compounds, particularly the potent flavonoids rutin and quercetin for heart and blood vessel health, and kaempferol and myricetin for fighting cancer
- High concentrations of antioxidants, vitamins C, E, A, B1, B2, and K, and minerals like potassium, magnesium, zinc, and copper
A home run for heart health
In addition to its cancer-fighting properties, sea buckthorn also supports cardiovascular health. It contains potent levels of essential fatty acids, including oleic acid (also found in olive oil), linoleic acid (also found in grapeseed oil), and linolenic acid. These cancer-fighting oils also ward off heart disease and make up 70 percent of sea buckthorn’s composition.
Sea buckthorn’s cardiovascular benefits have been demonstrated to help:
- Regulate high blood pressure and decrease arterial blood pressure
- Prevent cholesterol deposits and decrease blood lipids while increasing HDL
- Prevent immune cell alteration
- Prevent blood clots that lead to stroke
- Regulate fatty acids in blood platelets to prevent the formation of clusters that can lead to heart disease and stroke
Integrating sea buckthorn into your diet
There are many ways to incorporate sea buckthorn into your meals and, ultimately, improve your health. The bush produces a small edible orange berry, the oil of which can be made into a supplement and taken internally or used topically. The berries can also be made into a delicious jam, or you can use the leaves to make a tea infusion.
Sea buckthorn is not readily found in most food stores, but a trip to your local health food store is likely to provide you with this powerful superfood to improve your physical and mental performance each and every day.
