Dr Oz touched off another tsunami in the diet and weight loss world last week when he featured yet another “superfood”, the Sea Buckthorn Berry .

Somewhat reminiscent of the firestorm that followed his review of the Acai Berry back in 2008 and the African Mango in October 2010, interest in viewing the most recent episode caused the servers to crash on his website for nearly 48 hours afterwards.

The “secret weapon” Sea Buckthorn has in abundance

Much like the Acai Berry, this new wonder berry is a well-rounded food source with many excellent nutritional properties like omega 3,6 &9s and high antioxident level. But the Sea Buckthorn has a “secret weapon”, Omega 7! You’ve probably never even heard of Omega 7, as it is extremely rare in natural food sources, with Macedamia nuts being the only well known source, and that in very small amounts.

Omega 7 fat is key to proper functioning of the human body, and it has been gaining a lot of attention by western medicine in recent years for treatment of a wide variety of ailments. And even more so by the health and beauty industry for it’s very strong anti-aging properties (more on this below).

Dramatic weight loss study with Mice

Actually, Dr Oz was revisiting this little berry to talk about the results from a new study that showed very promising weight loss benefits that were previously unknown, but more about that later. The June 2, 2011 episode talked about some of the many benefits of the Sea Buckthorn Berry Juice and oil. The real shocker though was the results of a study where mice were fed a high fat, high calorie diet. Half of the mice were also given a daily dose of Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil.

The 1st group of mice got very fat and suffered from numerous weight related illnesses. The second group of mice were approximately 1/2 the weight of the mice that did not receive the Sea Buckthorn oil. Scientists believe the Sea Buckthorn Oil sends a signal to the brain to stop storing fat, and prevents the absorption of excess calories into the fat tissues. Very Exciting!

The full text of the study is here.

More studies underway

Follow up studies are underway now to determine the efficacy of Sea Buckthorn berries in aiding weight loss, and preliminary reports are positive in these as well. Some final things to note:

Seed Oil was used for the weight loss study, not the berry or juice.

Most Whole Foods markets carry Sea Buckthorn Seed oil

You can also purchase Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil softgels as recommended by Dr Oz in our store.

MORE WEAPONS IN THE WEIGHT LOSS BATTLE

Sea Buckthorn is great for skin care, anti-aging, digestive health, and does prevent weight gain. But for weight loss, it is a partial solution – it signals the brain to stop storing excess fat.

We recommend Sea Buckthorn in combination with other natural supplements that are effective for other areas of dieting.

For maximum results we recommend SDF-3,

SDF-3 combines Sea Buckthorn with Acai Berry, African Mango, and smaller amounts of some other natural products designed to aid weight loss. It is a very effective weight loss aid when taken together and is now our best selling item by far. In addition to the fat-blocking ability of Sea Buckthorn, it also:

• increases energy and stamina
• speed up metabolism for increased fat burning
• minimize hunger to help limit calorie intake

Read more about SDF-3 here

Sea Buckthorn Nutritional Properties

The full list of nutritional properties of the Sea Buckthorn Berry are:

Vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D, K, and P
Omega 3, 6, 7 & 9 (Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs)
42 Lipids
Organic Acids
Amino Acids
Folic Acid
Tocopherols
Flavonoids
Phenols
Terpenes
Tannins
20 Mineral Elements

Other benefits of Sea Buckthorn Oil

Dr Oz first introduced the Sea Buckthorn oil to his audience on March 11, when he touted it’s impressive performance in treating skin conditions. The berry has long been used in Chinese and Tibetan traditional medicine for treating a wide variety of external and internal organ conditions. Modern science has been able to determine that it is most likely the high concentrations of Omega 7 fats that are proving so beneficial. Besides the Omega7, it is also high in Omega 3,6,and 9 fats, antioxidents and many other beneficial ingredients. In fact, Seabuckthorn is known as nature’s most balanced fruit. This “Holy Fruit of the Himalayas” has been cherished by native Tibetans for centuries for its incredible nutritive qualities. The Seabuckthorn fruit is also known throughout the world as Sandthorn, Sandorn, and Siberian Pineapple.

Beauty and Anti-aging
The oil has been increasing used in the beauty industry due to it’s anti-aging properties, as well as the treatment of specific skin conditions like rosacea, dry skin. Some of the other benefits are:

Strong antioxidant network
Reduces inflammation
Cellular Rejuvenation
Improves cardiovascular health
Improves brain and nervous system function
Natural energy booster
Helps repair scald and wound burns
Improves nervous system health
Improves skin complexion, anti-acne

Fights disease and internal disorders

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks, Chinese, and Tibetans used sea buckthorn to treat afflictions of the skin, digestive tract and other mucous-membrane containing organs. Today, using our modern analytical tools, we now understand why it was such an effective therapy.

Sea buckthorn is remarkably high in antioxidants, nutrients, and fatty acids that have an affinity for healing the digestive tract, most notably omega-7 fatty acids (also known palmitoleic acid and cis-vaccenic acid).

Most people haven’t heard of omega-7’s, mainly because they are rarely found in the foods we eat (macadamia nuts being the only other known plant source), but they are the principle constituents of the cell membranes that make up the skin and the mucous membranes of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tract. They therefore play a crucial role in maintaining the structure and integrity of the gut.

Not surprisingly, those who suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis have low levels of omega-7 in their colonic mucosa.

Powerful anti-inflammatory
In addition to omega-7’s, seabuckthorn also provides a rich source of powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory constituents including carotenoids (pro-vitamin A), mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols (vitamin E), phytosterols and beneficial omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids.

Together with omega-7 fatty acids, these compounds deliver proven benefits to gut mucosa while providing a wide range of benefits to the cardiovascular, immune, and integumentary system.

In numerous animal models, sea buckthorn has been shown to prevent and repair ulceration of the digestive tract caused by common stressors like noise, radiation, vibration, and acidic environments. These impressive findings have prompted further research examining this effect in humans.

In one clinical study involving 30 subjects diagnosed with peptic ulcer disease, sea buckthorn supplementation for one month was deemed an effective treatment for 96.7 percent of cases and had a 76.6 percent cure rate. Its restorative effects on oral and vaginal mucosa have also been studied in humans and are equally impressive.

- read more about the benefits of Sea Buckthorn -

Side Effects

Sea Buckthorn is really just a very nutritious fruit, with no natural stimulants, laxatives, or diuretics. Much like the Acai Berry, it too has no known side effects.