Sea Buckthorn Juice: the Ultimate Vitamin C Drink?

“I knew about this lovely stuff, of course. Sea buckthorn berries are famous for containing more Vitamin C than either cranberries or oranges — 400mg for every 100g of raw berries, although of course harvesting, storage and processing all reduce the quantities you absorb.

But I hadn’t tried it. And, though I knew you could find it in Scandinavia, I had no idea it was to be found in the Sagamartha (Everest) region, where its harvesting and processing supplies employment to some of the poorer families in the area.

But it is. The local name for sea buckthorn is akhrilo, and out here it’s made into jams as well as juice, which, like most things in Asia, can be served hot or cold according to the season. Alongside garlic soup, it makes an excellent cold prevention remedy on the trail.

What does sea buckthorn juice taste like? Well, sea buckthorn makes a thick, glutinous juice, which really does need quite a hit of sugar to make it palatable — it’s a cold-climate fruit, like cranberries or lingonberries, rather than a warm weather one like pineapples or mangos, so the natural sugars aren’t exactly sun-ripened to perfection.

Once that’s added, sea buckthorn juice is delicious. It has a crystal-clear sourness that perks up perfectly with the right amount of sugar (I’d like to try it with honey), but has none of the bitterness that you’ll find in citrus fruits.

The sea buckthorn is known as the Siberian pineapple, and if you can imagine a pineapple with the sweetness removed but the flavour kept in, you wouldn’t be far off. There are hints of sour apple and sour orange alongside a berry freshness and, served hot when you are cold, it’s truly invigorating.

The texture is so rich and fibrous — think pressed pineapple juice, rather than orange juice — that, even before you know it’s high in protein, it really is a meal in a glass.

I’ll be looking out for jams when we next get back in range of them and I’d guess that, like cranberries and sour apple, you could make an excellent sauce for game out of it. The locals also use the leaves in a type of tea.”

Sea buckthorn juice does have a very high level of Vitamin C. But like this writer mentioned, the juice is highly unpalatable! He adds a bunch of sugar to make it drinkable … not a healthy choice. On top of that sea buckthorn juice is an expensive source of Vitamin C. Do yourself a favor and read this article about sea buckthorn oil vs. other forms. Buy a quality source of USDA organic oil instead of the juice to get the most out of this fruit.

 

View original article here.

12 thoughts on “Sea Buckthorn Juice: the Ultimate Vitamin C Drink?”

  1. I bought the sea buckthorn oil for Rosacea I have been on this for a little over a week. I am really hoping to see some results. I will let you know if I do. I was wondering how the juice would do on the face topically?

    Reply
    • Hello,

      I would use the oil topically as a treatment (as well as taking it internally) over using the juice topically. The reason why is that I think that the juice will have sugars in it that could cause more problems with the skin than benefits. Using the oil topically will give you a more concentrated amounts of the beneficial properties of sea buckthorn and the oil should help your skin to feel softer and smoother right away.

      Not sure if you have ever tried using the oil topically but you can use either the seed or fruit (or both) on your skin. The fruit oil is usually the best for rosacea because it is so high in Omega 7. Just leave the oil on the effected area for a few hours (but try to keep it on for at least 30 minutes at a minimum) then wash it off with a gentle soap before bed as it stains fabrics.

      Hope that helps and thanks for your question!

      Reply
  2. my husband and I live in Armenia where we can get fresh sea buckthorn fruit at this time of the year in autumn. I usually buy a large amount of fruit, squeeze the juice out in a juicer and mix a little every morning in our fresh squeezed fruit juice. It tastes great mixed with any juice of your choice especially Apple juice which is naturally sweet. The squeezed juice stays fresh in the refrigerator through winter without even freezing it. The juice by itself is unpalatable and very sour but mixing it with other juices is the best way to get all the benefits out if this fruit. We also drink it hot at night mixed with a couple of spoons of honey and fresh mint if as a cold remedy or immune booster. I hope this is helpful for some people.

    Reply
    • Hello,

      You probably want to avoid putting the juice on your face. It’s really hard to find sea buckthorn juice that is 100% from sea buckthorn. Most juices that you find have a lot of sugar added or other juices which you definitely don’t want in your pores. If you have access to actual sea buckthorn juice it’s best to drink that for best results. Keep in mind that that the main benefit of sea buckthorn in juice form is vitamin C.

      It’s much better to find sea buckthorn oil and use that instead. Oils are great for the skin because they are made up of fatty acids. We aren’t big believers in the benefits of sea buckthorn juice. It’s also usually pasteurized so it loses a lot of nutrition.

      Thanks

      Reply
  3. Sea Buckthorn juice is awesome! I am sad they took it off the shelves in the local health food stores so now I order it on line. It has wonderful health benefits. My face is very moisturized every morning after I drink it. People have commented on how moisturized my face looks! I recommend it for older women. It is great for the skin. I also use the facial cleanser for a little redness that I have developed from age on my cheeks. I am 60. It is the only product which controls the redness. I depend on the Sea Buckthorn products.

    Reply
  4. I found some sea buckthron juice here in Ukraine but it had added sugar already and it was expensive in a 1 litre bottle, so no.
    Jackie
    Kiev
    Ukraine

    Reply
  5. Sea buckthorn juice NOT unpalatable for people who grew up before they took the tart out of grapefruits! And added sugar to everything or high fructose corn syrup. U just have to sip it slowly, maybe chewing something in between sips. It stopped my 3 week cold dead in its tracks

    Reply
  6. We have miles of Sea Buckthorn bushes in the Dunes here in Lincolnshire, would love to harvest some but how do you press them? They are quite hard but deep orange and obviously ripe. The migrating birds from Scandinavia will be here in a week or two & they will be all gone!

    Reply
  7. I planted one male and three female sea buckthorn trees in my yard/garden in 2005 (bare root). I live in the US in zone 3 and they thrive here. One female did not live, but the other two and their ‘husband’ have grown to about 22 feet in height and spread out for about 30 feet. All together they produce thousands of berries each fall. In the past 5 or so years the birds have discovered them, so they must be gathered quickly as soon as they are ripe or the birds will leave none for me. I harvest them with heavy clippers and cut off sections of the new branches as the berries grow right on these branches. It does not harm the trees as they grow new branches every spiring. Then I can sit in the house and cut the branches into manageable sizes (about 6 to 8 inches) and remove leaves and thorns etc. Then wash those cleaned pieces which are loaded with berries with hardly any spaces between. Then they go into the freezer. Once frozen, the berries pop off the branches much easier. I then wash again and store the berries in the freezer in bags. This process takes about a week of time for about 4 to 5 hours each day. I use an Omega juicer to make juice. I give what I can’t use to family and friends. Juice will keep frozen for months. Sometimes I can some in pints, so I can ship to family that live hundreds of miles from me. I’m still discovering new ways to use this juice. The pulp becomes a major component of the compost. I do leave some berries on the highest branches for the birds, however, as it is an amazing spectacle to watch. Literally hundreds and hundreds of birds come and have the berries I leave them stripped in no time. It gives them fuel for their migration south.

    Reply

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