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Berries for keeping good health
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FOOD Sea buckthorn berries help maintain good health
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SEA BUCKTHORN is a hardy shrub that bears yellow and orange berries. It is native to China, Mongolia, Russia and Northern Europe.
The sea buckthorn juice sold in tetra packs on the railway platforms and bus stop stalls of India comes from berries that grow in Ladakh and Leh.
The Greek scholars Theophrastus and Dioscorides mention sea buckthorn in their writings. The ancient Greeks fed their horses the shrub's leaves and branches to induce rapid weight gain and to produce a glossy coat.
In fact, the generic name Hippophae is Latin for "shining horse". The ancient Tibetan medical texts "rGyud Bzi" and "Sibu Yidian" mention the medicinal properties of the shrub. In modern times, Soviet cosmonauts drank sea buckthorn juice in space and applied cream from the berries to protect themselves from cosmic radiation.
Food uses: The fruit is edible fresh, but juice is the most important product of the sea buckthorn berry. The leaves are rich in flavonoids and carotenoids, and tea from the leaves is popular in the Himalayan regions of India and Tibet.
The pulp and seeds contain polyunsaturated oils rich in essential fatty acids.
The fruit pulp is an ingredient in candies, sport and health drinks, jams, jellies, liqueurs and marmalade.
Nutrition: Sea buckthorn berries are among the most nutritious and vitamin-rich fruits around. Hundred grams of the fresh berries typically contain 600 mg of Vitamin C, which is several times the daily requirement of this vitamin.
Hundred grams of the fruit also holds 30-40 mg of carotenoids, up to 180 mg of vitamin E, 100-1000 mg of flavonoids and appreciable amounts of B Vitamins.
The strong link between high fruit and vegetable intake and low cancer or heart disease risk is partly due to antioxidants like carotene found in plenty in sea buckthorn. Berries contain up to 13 per cent soluble sugars, mainly glucose, fructose and xylose, but, overall, they are low in calories. Pressed berries yield 60 per cent to 85 per cent juice that is cloudy because of its high protein content. They contain 11 out of 14 essential minerals, including calcium, iron, manganese and calcium.
Sea buckthorn is an excellent source of essential fatty acids that help maintain good health and promote normal growth and development.
Sea buckthorn leaves contain even greater concentrations of flavonols and sterols found in the fruit.
High in protein (up to 24 per cent), the leaves are also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. They are rich in calcium, magnesium and antioxidants like lycopene.
Medicinal uses: Russian and Chinese scientists contend the sea buckthorn contains 190 bio-active components.
They use its oils to treat burns, bedsores and other complications induced by prolonged immobility or radiation damage.
RAJIV M.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
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Kochi
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Pondicherry
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Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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