Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Published : November 8, 2017 6:04 PM IST
Have you ever heard of sea buckthorn? Despite its name, the golden-yellow fruit has no connection with the sea and is in fact found mainly in the cold, dry regions of India such as Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. The luscious fruit is mentioned in many ancient texts and is prized for its many health benefits. It contains omega fatty acids 3, 6 and 9. It is also the only fruit that contains the rare omega 7 fatty acids. It is also brimming with antioxidants. For centuries the fruit has been featured in Chinese medicine for its healing properties and lately, science has also uncovered some of its amazing health benefits.
The sour fruit with an astringent taste is eaten only after it is past its ripening stage when it is palatable. The fruit is used extensively to prepare jams and liquor, but lately, it is also available in the form of teas prepared out of its leaves and fruits. The fitness world has also been paying attention to the fruit lately for its weight loss effects.
A 2011 study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture explored the possibility of sea buckthorn contributing towards weight loss. The study was designed to investigate hypolipidemic and hypoglycaemic effects of the seed residues of the sea buckthorn. In the study, mice were fed a high-fat diet for four weeks to cause a rise in their serum total cholesterol levels. The mice were then given different doses of sea buckthorn seed residue.
It was found that the fattened mice showed improvement in their body weight after the sea buckthorn extract was fed to them. It also lowered their total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in the liver. Going by the study, it can be concluded that sea buckthorn could make a good addendum to our weight loss regimen.
Read the previous weight loss tip.
References:
Wang, J., Zhang, W., Zhu, D., Zhu, X., Pang, X., & Qu, W. (2011). Hypolipidaemic and hypoglycaemic effects of total flavonoids from seed residues of Hippophae rhamnoides L. in mice fed a high fat diet. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 91(8), 1446-1451.
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