Sea Buckthorn Berry Benefits: 9 Reasons to Try This Healthy Fruit

While it may be small in size, the sea buckthorn berry packs a nutritional punch.

These orange berries are filled with nutrients including calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamins B1, B2, B6, and E. These nutrients are known to protect the body against certain diseases and illnesses. 

Need to kick a cold? This berry is well-known for its high vitamin C content, too. 

You’ll find the leaves and fruits of the plant — and its oils — are all beneficial sources of vitamins and flavonoids. Most of the time you’ll see the nutrients derived from the berries are from the pulp’s juice and the actual single seed of the berry. 

Sea buckthorn berry and its extracts can be applied to the skin or ingested. You can drink it in teas, shots, or juices. For skincare purposes, it’s often used for its anti-aging and wound healing benefits. It’s rare to find these fresh berries in grocery stores; you’re more likely to find it in an oil or extract. 

The sea buckthorn berry sprouts on a thorny shrub in clusters of small round berries with a beautiful golden-orange hue. It grows in regions like Canada, Asia, and Europe where there must be a pronounced four seasons to grow well. 

Curious about the health benefits and uses of this bright-colored berry? 

Here’s a look at nine of the best sea buckthorn berry benefits: 

1. It’s Nutritionally Rich 

While tiny in size, the sea buckthorn berry holds an impressive profile of high-nutritional and medicinal values thanks to its rich antioxidant property. The tiny sea buckthorn berry has 190 biologically active nutrients. These range from vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D, E, flavonoids, amino acids, phenols, beta-carotene, folic acid, and organic acids. Oh, and it includes 20 mineral elements. Not bad for a tiny little berry, eh?

2. It Brightens and Heals Skin 

Because its active ingredients have healing properties, the sea buckthorn berry is often found in skincare products. You may find it listed as sea buckthorn oil, which is extracted from the seeds or fruit pulp of the berry.

If you’ve ever picked up a sea buckthorn berry beauty product, it was most likely an anti-aging product like a cream or lotion. It’s known to firm and smooth wrinkles for those with mature skin. The oil of the berry has also been found to heal rough, flaky skin and has been used to treat frostbite in some cases. 

Need to brighten your skin ASAP? You can apply sea buckthorn oil directly to the skin for a dewy, glowing look. 

3. It’s Full of Omega Fatty Acids 

Sea buckthorn offers all four omega fatty acids — omega-3, omega-6, omega-7, and omega-9. These acids provide necessary dietary fats your body can’t make on its own. The rare omega-7 monounsaturated fatty acid — also known as palmitoleic acid — offers anti‐inflammatory results when used. Now, instead of needing to take four different omega supplements, you can just drink up some sea buckthorn juice! 

4. It May Help Diabetics

If you’re a type 2 diabetic, you might consider adding sea buckthorn berry to your diet. The berry’s palmitoleic acid — AKA omega-7 — is thought to play a useful role in minimizing type 2 diabetes symptoms. 

One 2019 study published in the medical journal Diabetologia found positive results in using palmitoleate acid in the treatment of diabetes. High levels of palmitoleate prevent decreases in insulin sensitivity.  Certain lifestyle and dietary changes can sometimes help with this sensitivity. 

Additionally, sea buckthorn may lower meal insulin response for diabetics.  A 2018 European Journal of Nutrition study conducted on overweight and obese male subjects uncovered that sea buckthorn usage “decreased and delayed the insulin response and improved glycemic profile.” 

5. It May Reduce Heart Disease Risk 

Daily consumption of sea buckthorn oil could prevent certain cardiovascular diseases like hypertension and even heart attacks. 

Preclinical and other medical trials linked the anti-inflammatory properties of palmitoleic acid, which is found in sea buckthorn oil, to the prevention of cardiovascular problems. 

In other studies, it has lowered blood pressure, which lessens stress on the heart by allowing it to work with less vigor.

6. It Blows Oranges Out of the Water 

If you’re looking for a fruit that contains a lot of vitamin C to stave off the sniffles, sea buckthorn berry is it. The vitamin C content is 10 times greater than that of oranges! Even outside of the annoyingly long cold and flu season, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant you need in your daily diet. Not only does it boost the immune system, but it helps the body form important connective tissues like bones, blood vessels, and skin.

7. It Reduces Inflammation 

Feeling a little sore after your most recent workout? Or dealing with a flare-up of arthritis? 

You can use a shot of sea buckthorn or a topical cream to keep soreness and stiffness at bay.  For years, it’s been used topically in European and Asian countries as a way to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. 

One double-blind, randomized study in the European Journal of Clinical Medicine found that sea buckthorn berries do indeed have an impact on reducing inflammation markers. 

8. It Improves Immunity

Need a bit of an immunity boost? 

The berry pulp and seeds of this nutrient-rich berry contain useful bioactive compounds like unsaturated fatty acids that are proven to help the immune system. 

On top of that, the oil of this powerful fruit also has 2.4 times more carotenoids — a strong antioxidant — than other oils, according to a Kaunas University of Medicine in Lithuania study. 

If you love tea, consider steeping loose sea buckthorn berry leaves. The leaves are full of excellent vitamins and antioxidants known to help the immune system.  Tea time, anyone?

9. It Takes the Sting Out of Sunburn 

Hang out in the sun for a little too long? If you’re out of your usual aloe vera or want to try a new remedy, consider applying freshly crushed sea buckthorn berry to your skin. You can also apply a sea buckthorn berry concentrate on your skin as well. 

Other skincare uses include wound healing. You can apply it to cuts, burns, and bedsores, too. 

Ready to Start Reaping the Sea Buckthorn Benefits?

Luckily, you don’t need to go out foraging for your own sea buckthorn berries to reap the benefits of them. Check out your local health foods store, grocer, or online retailer for sea buckthorn berry products. 

In order to get fresh berries, you may have to have them shipped into the U.S. as they’re grown and harvested in foreign countries. You’re more likely to find it dried or as an ingredient in shots or juices. The ones in our POTENT-C shot come from Canada. 

If you do get your hands on fresh berries,  you probably won’t want to eat them raw — they’re quite tart — so check out some Pinterest recipes for creative ways to ingest them. 

Or, you can try these 3 easy ways to enjoy sea buckthorn berries:

• Use in cooking - It’s easy to use the sea buckthorn berry in recipes. You can try your hand at making jellies, purees, smoothie bowls, and sauces. You may also find some restaurants incorporate it into signature dishes.
  
  
• Take a health shot - If you’re not much a cook, you can opt for the easiest way to consume the sea buckthorn berry: in a POTENT-C shot. Have it shipped straight to your door!
  
  
• Eat them dried - You can easily order dried sea buckthorn berries online. Mix them in with your favorite trail mix or eat them plain. 

For the best health benefits, try consuming sea buckthorn in some form for at least 30 days. We’d love to hear how you feel at the end of the month after incorporating this tart little “superfruit” into your diet!

How do you like eating these nutritious fruits? Please do share your best recipes down below in the comments section! 

Ready to incorporate sea buckthorn berry benefits into your diet? Our POTENT-C shot offers the perfect blend of sea buckthorn juice and other organic ingredients!