THE

ES
'f

ETERI{AL YOUTH

In the far reachesof the Indian Himalavas.wherethe DalaiLamasoendshis summersand

whereuhelocalsappearto beageless, a tiny orangeberryhasbeenprizedfor cenruries-asFood,
aselixif asmedicine.Now the age-defyingpropertiesofseabuckthorn arebeingcelebrated
aroundthe world, makingthis unassumingplant the latestin a long line of so-calledsuperfoods.
Couldthis newestmiraclefiuit bethe onethat finaily turns backthe proverbialclock?
*'LAWRENCE
OSBORNE
P h o t o g r aupyhCsH R I S T O P H E R W I S E

94 | TOWN&COUNTRY
T H E G I V I N CT R E E
\\ir|kc|s pick
sc:rbuckthorn btnics
rlulirg hrlresr scason
in Lldalih.
 P E A KS E A S O N
Pmycr flagsfestoon
Kh:udung-LaPass,
at 18,38o
feet.

long the roadsthar border the Indus l{iver near thc

DalaiLamassruruer lesidence, in l,eh,India,the travelern,ill noticea lorv
slilub growing in vastquantities.It !!r-ours all or'erthe edgesoftheseJlina-
lal'an,1..".,r. ^. ,nol ns arc tightl] clustered,and insidethem -yoLL cansee
tin-vbrightorangeberriesrenderedb-vnature,it wouldseem,to bevirtually
inaccessible to manrmals,thoughthe leavesale a delicacyfor the larvaeof
-Ihis
the emperormoth. ubiquitousplant is knolr'n assartalulain Ladakii,
the languageof this norrherlv part of I(ashmir statc,on the border with
"shining
Tibet. Its botanicalnameis Hippophae rh.mftoidet,which means
horses"in Greel<.In lrnglishit is seabucktlrom.
Thc arcient (lreeksfed it to their horsesand noticedthat theil animals'
hidesbecanreglossyand lustlous.In Hin.ralayarIndia it hasbeeirplarted
mainly to restrainsoil erosion,though the local
Tibetan n-redicinemen, known as amcli' have
beenusing it for cenfuriesaswhat Amercans to-
"superfood."
da1'rvouldcall a They valueits seed
oil as a cru'efor inflammation,skin dcfects,lung
disorders, anda hostofother ailments,andit has
alrvaysbeenrcputedto be (asthe Greel<s noticed)
-Ihe
a wondrous nutrient for hair and skin. bittet
acidic little berries are used as a general health
tonic and al anti-agrngmedicine.
"hoJy
Seabuckthornis saidto be a fmit": the
HOLY CROSS fountain of youth in berry form. In recent years
The Stakna monastery sciencehasrerified that seabucktbornbelies do
in Leh Valley. indeed contain r9o differ-
enr nnl ienr< ind, r,llno
high concentrationsof antioxidantsand fatry
acids,particularl-r' omega-7(pahri-
the invaluable
toleicacid).I heimpoveishedvilJagers ofl.adakh,
long Jeftout of India'secononicboom,havcsud-
denlydiscovered a nutritionalgold mine in their
soil-erosionpla;rts,a bery that cal be casily
trarsfomed into shanpooqgel capsules, soaps,
body lotions,skin senuns,zurdtrilacle juicesfor
the rvorld's mole affluent (and rapidly aging) so-
cieties. Seabucl<thorn tea is already popular in
lndia, and there are rutrrors of a seabuckthorn
rvine. The rArest'srelentlesssearchfor a palliative
for agrng, meanwhile, ma1' have found yet an-
otller so-calledn')iraclefood,this tine procured,
atractivel\,, ftom the land of Shangri-La. TREKKIN6ORDER
Like the Aflican mango (a variant of d.refruJt that grorvsonly in Camer- Seabuckthorn harvesters
make their rounds.
oon ard hasrecentlys$,eptAmericaasa slimmingagent),seabucktbomis
becominga lucrativehealdrfood for die hardful oforganic beautycompa-
niesthat import the ber es-bod.r \VeledaalrldFreshhaveentirecollections

POIYECRANATE BAOBAB
S U P E RC Y C L E O n e o f t h e o r i g n a l ! u p e r f o o d st,h e T h e \ u p e r f o o do f f h e f u i l t r € .D o n r b e
Anotheq) ear,another newb ditfi Lvred antioridant p.cked frr t c-n redlce blood s ! r p n s e di f b a o b a b - a n A f r i . a n f r u i i r i c r i n t o n ,
pfessureand choleitero, boon ron iev-"s ard pota$lum, calc unr, €rd vitamin C Gix t mei is
supetfnd;thestred,fiis seemingljendtessHereare
braii power, and, becauseof its hi!h vitam n mrch asoranges) nartspopp n9 up roon on
n thathal'eeamedthedistiftction.
C c o f t e n t , g i v es k i na f a t u r a l q l o w bea!ty abeh at a (ore fear you.

96| TOWN&COUNTRY
 T H I l V I I , I , A G E RAS] . EA basc'dor sea bucktholn-and processthcrn into consuntcrproducts.
Atnonq thescis Sibu llcaut1,, I companyco'foundedbv a Mormon nametl
IlnrccMcMullinin zoo3.
YEI-I,OW
BERRY
THAT KBPT McMullin hadbccnon the execr-rtivc boalclofdreSaltLal<e Citt' charirl
Cllrice Flumanitarian,andhisphilanthropicw,orl< often took hinr to lndia.
In Llllcutta onc,r'ea|he nret an cxubcrantIndian hcr-balist, cntreln.eneul
T H I I M F R O MC ; E T T I N G
S I C K .N C ) and spc'cialist in avurvedicmcdicincsnamedNico Khanna,rvho hadspent
z5.r'calsin the Hinrlhy:rscxplorinqunrLsuirl hcr-balcures.
l(hannatold hirn of the so-crlledholy 6 uit he had encountcrcdin ser'-
O N E H A D D I E DI N a o Y E A R S . cn of the countr-villimalayansmtesovei-a pcriodof severlldccaclcs. No
onc hnov muchaL.nrLt rir/a1zrfuscientificall_y
but IGanna had heardof i'il,
lagesu4rcrcit rvls regLrlarlv consuncdandu,hercno oneseemed togct sick.
McMullin n'asint gr,red.lOumra insistedthatthebestscabuckthornberries
cilnrenot fi'on'rCl'rina,u'hcrc most of the lvorldi cloyris trown, btLth.om
thc Incliansideof the I limalayas.lhe icleafirr a collabolatiortn as born. If
I(hannr coulclgct the hiqhest-qualit-v lrrries andqtL:uantcc thcir.shipnenr
to Amcrica,McMullin u,oulclgrnrarrteeAmcricaninvestnrentlncl market
plofits. Ancltlre li'crtinc middle-tscdpcoplcof Anre ca u'oulclhavcrheir
lvlinl<lessmoothccl au,a!.
Khrnna u'cnr to l-eh,rhe cilpital of India:sLadrhh resion,situatedar
an altitudeof rr,ooo fcct and rvith a populationof about zz5oo l-ch \\ as
oncean inrportanttlade iexus lrtr,vccnIndia, libet, and China;hashish,
cashmerc,:rndindiso were its lifcblood.lt sits nearthe hcaduatersof rhe
Inclusl{ivcr',h'on rvhichIncliatakesits name,but its cultureis almosten,
'l'ibetan
tircly Leht steepalle_vsarecrorrclccl rvith trekl<ingcompanies and
the n'ull(cts and sclroolsof exilcd lbetans, who do not forget that l.eh
u,asfoundcclin the roth centurylry a warlike libetan princc,Nyima Gon.
'Ibday
the Dalail-amaspendsparr ofrhe year here,and his imageis eler_v-
where danulingfi'onr dashboards, plasteredto the ualls of cafds.l-ehis
THE LONC AND WINDINCROAD
alsolreavilvmilitaized dueto irs proxinicy to the volatilcChineseborder
Snowcapped mountains arc the
backdrop ol1 the meandering roacl out of I-eh. A pennit is ncededto ventureany\\rhereoLLtside the tou'n.
I-cb Palace,u'hich loomsover tl'rero\,vn,rvasbuilt in the rzth cenrury
ancimodeledafter thc Potalain Lhasr Clcat gildedprayerrvheelssrandar
the corners,anclstrimgsof prayefflag5loopaclosstlte strccrs.Ar night rhe
lanesfill rvith dogsand shiveringcous. At darvnyou hcal praversbeinq
sunqin thc fir'st-flqrl rvindou,solcl cupsofincense.At thc OnrasilaHotel,
rvhereI st:wccl,the stal'l'cure out at fir'stlight to pr:ryto thc flolr,erbeds.
Ninety pclccntlluddhist,Lehis a placcthat seemsto existn.ithin a deliber-
atequietncss6'amedby the uiant glacicrson tlre horizon.
'Icn
milcseastof Leh licsthc ancientcittdel at Shc'\a, ar.oundnhiclr
rvhitc r/rorrcrir'(betterl<nor,vnas BrLddhiststupas,those rrorLndlikercii-
qlrary shlincs.you sccin this plrt clfthcrvo d) srandluinedin thc dcserr.
'lhe
libetanpastis vivicllyprescnrhclc,andin tl'risausrcrc, blight high-
lancl,sc'abuckthorn plants thlivc cffortlesslyas thc,vhavcfor cenru es,
glitter-inglil<cgoldenrosehipsakrngthe roads.It n'asthc pcrfecrplacetcr
nleetNico l(hanna.
Norv 69 ancla l)elhi nillionailc, I{hannalooks15ycars,younger ("Sea
l.rucl<thorn everydly, my ilcal lcllor'r,1"),
but he nas hobblingrhar da-vbe-
causcirisles rvasactingrip.Oneofhis eiant dosshaclbo\,r,lecl hin overand
brrrl<enhis lc{, anclthe sreelplatein it sccmedto har,eshifted.fauntl'anc1
elegantncvctheless,Khannawalkccime to the edgeof a farrn to look at
great matsofmashedscabuckthonrbctliesdrlinu in thc sunand to shou

C O C O N U TO I L C O J IBE R R I E s xot4RUcHA
A good to yo! \atLtratedfat lhe Lr(rn:lirr T h eC h i i e s e
h - v cb e e nm u f c hn . lo d 9 { i i 5 l o rc e f t u r e s Be oved ii hea (h dnd f.lhlof cirdei, the
o[ . .]i.1 rh.t fcorporaler coconut o ifdrde t o e n q l h e nt h e i r i f e \ p a n j f l q i d e s a n . n t . ! f ! nolor ourly !mclly fermented tea is be eved to
nprored re.rr hralrhard net.bolr i -l;, r. | ,a .^ a, I mm,-. . o\rd,\ d,a | .^ ,^, p r o m o t eg e n e r a l w e - b e i i g , n a v e o f f h u n ! e r ,
lrl
betler !!pport€d nrnrofe lrllem, dnd to re!ulate choleiterol, prok.t vi on, and and even.ure hanqove6. llany devoteer hale
yo!n!ler lookioq 5kirr. h.ve a.alminqcllcd on the psyche takef to DlVng their own hrcw\

JANUARY 2or2I 9Z
 "l
nrehis ncatlJ,piutcd hair:Onl-ya fer, glav stnncls. nrakea jolly mcan In zoo5, Joldan,:rbtlined;r liccnsclirn thc Inclianllovernrrrentto
scabucl<tholnshampur.I can do tirc s:tmefcrr,r'ou.No mole gla] for regulatcthc scabucl(thornlrrrvestir Lch anclat thc sarrctime begll
1,or.r'-*ahalcm ofgiris,vou r'villbc havins!" to rvorku'ith l{hanna.-lhc pr-trcssing Plarrrthc tu,oofthcnr sctup t,rr-
Onc of thc tonrcn fiun thc collcctivcclrnc u'ith r,Ls. Her nlme uas Lrnclcr':llock-l'mountainrangeiincl
gcthcr lics ofit]rc roaclncirr She,\',
'l.scling
Yangslcct,amdshccxplaincdhor'r'hard it nas to strip the Lin-v wirhinvicr'i'oidistantglacicls.
berriesli'oln rhosclou'-l-vingbarhcl bnnchcs,u'hoscthor-nswere like Khuna coulclb:ilcl,tcontainln cpicarrclmissionat-r' cnthtNiiisnr.
"
litrle claqqers.Yetthe_vrranagedro halrcst tons ol thcm ci,crl,;\ugr:st lhis is goingto bc thc biggcstnutr-rtion storl on carth.Scabucl<thotn
ancl-Septenrltrand ship them to A:rerica. Plumpsacksof thcm \'\'cr-c u,i]l Lt usedin rtals u'c havcnever-clcninlginecl.Alt'eadlnrl ortn
pilcd up at thc cdgcof the mats. Ihe harvestersmadeg2,oq) eachan.l hcrbalconrpar-y in Inclilhas43 scabLrcktholn products. I)id,r'ouIitroil
livccloff thc plocccdsfcl thc rcstof thc -vcar:It u :lsexcellentmore_yb_v the InclianArnr,r'hascleveloped a seabucl<tholtrsuPplctrcntfirr its sol-
"l "ancl to fight thc bloodl'(ihincsc?(Alri-
I-chstandards. can u'ork fiu six rvccl<s." \'lngsleetsaicl, spendit dicls postccl hclc at hiqhaltitucle
l\,o rnclnthsof n orli, ro rnonthsof lllone1r"lt was,
thc lcst ofthc _r'car: (lhincscscntinrent,I noticecl,runs high in I-aclakh, not lcitstlrecause of
fbr',:rocc,itlobalization sone {ht. So mLrchso that in zoog the Dalai Ohinastrcatnrent of Iiber.)
Llnra sl c his LrlessiDq to the ellblt. I r'roticedthat thc bushcscarFtccl Sca buclith'lrn grou's ali olcl thc uorlcl. It can be {bunclin Can'
thc dcscrtasf:u asthe c1ecouldsee,rhe lear,es palegra1,ancloiivc,thc acla:urilin Finland.But norvhereelscckts it gt-ou'ut srLchtlemenclorts
thorns rrctallic in thc sun.'lhcrc u'asno nccdto firrm thenr like otlrer hcights.I(hannacxplainedthrr it rvasthc Hinral:i1'an altitudcthat fbrce.l
c.ops;tlre) qre,,,,' r-r,'wherc
e,".e thrt thc phnt
lilic lveeils,so eflil't1cssl1, the planrto defcnditsclf by suckingin hr"L.ge anrolLnrof nutt'icnts. Ihis

O R A N C EC R U S I
The jou|ney 6om bet.rl ro juice is labolious. Irirst thc sca bucIrhoIn berlies ale har-vestcd,and then
separated.r,''ashed,and5ofted'!irra1l'ytheylrepr.ocesscdthorrgirauachjnctoobrlintheth
abroad. (),1drtl.i A berd ofcamcls lingcr contcntcdly in the shrdorvs ofthe Himalayas north ofl.eh.

hed,Khannasaicl,beenor'er'looked asa rcsoulcc..Somcofthc cliffictLlt-y lnd the fact that it grou'srvild rnakcit the bestlorgevir-i'plr uct ocr'
of harvesting,he explained,is alleviatedby specialttxrlsthat shal<c
thc ciiscovered. lhe concentlationof nutlientsis unpanllelecl.'
branchesand rake the berlies ofi He gesturedrathcr gran.ll1.at thc I Ic broughtme into a long shcdthat servesasa licrot;u lhctc ri'ct-c
pilesof crushedsl<ins,prLlp,leaves,and pits laiclout on thc mats.Thc abouta dozenworl<ersanddrrcc nrachincs fbr separltinq,ueslrirg,ancl
lc:l'esof the malc pJant,r'vhichare olten overLroked,n'erenori, being fina1Jyjuicing the berriesOtLcof the last machinecanrcr frlth,r' palc
,,.-.1 r^ ----.^ - ^,.r^-r.^"
oranqeliqllid that cascadcd dorvr l nretalchureand into a rub, hlrr
'lhe
harvestingof the berricsfor comnrcrcial hadan un- rvhichit rvasladledcarefull-r'
pur'poscs into a blucplasticd.unr that \\'ouldclcntu-
lil<el,vbeeinning.I n'as told the stolj, by ladbar Joldarr,thc assjstant a111, Lr sentto Sibu lleaLrt-v fol lnttling. llach drurr w;ls :rarkcclrt itlr
corrmissicuerlirr labor in l-eh.Joldanwas one of thc first pcoplctcr thc dlte ofthe harvest.'Ihe$'orkcrsolicred me a glassofthis lau'jtLice.
r,rnclerstand the possibilitiesol seabuckthom in thc contcxt of a rc- It rt'asso bitter as to be urdrinkablc,but a f-ervmomenrslatcr anothcr
"\Ve u'ith sugat:It
rrote and inpoverishedecononrl,. think that scabucktholn u'as glass:rppealed, this time dilutedlr"ith lvaterandsrveetenecl
'discor.er-ed'
as a nutlition aid b-vu NGO caileddre l-eh NLrtlition \\,aslikc a talt apricotjuice,pleasantl-v |cfi-eshing,and ir nas esscntialll
"
l\-ogr-amback in the mid-r99os,"he said. lhe,r'.an a coopelativcof thc samcconcoctionth:rt Sibunorv sellsonlinc in thc' UnitedStatesftrr
uornen har'"estersunder an linglishmanr,rdromo'crJonc callcclNich. g29.9-5 lrora 75o millilitcr carton.
It u.asthis rather m,vsterious li'rqlishnan rvho seemsto havcsturnblcd We u'entout into the intensesun,and I sarvtlrat all the \r1n'l(rshad
upon thc idca of harvestin{ seabucl<thornberrieson a largcr scalc. asscmblcd to d nl<their clailyglassof su,cctcncdseaLrtLcl<thorn iuicc.
Nicl<andthcscz6 locll women,the_y $ele tlrefiI.st." I lcalizecl thcnthrt it u'asclilllcLrlt ro gucssthcil lcoNrNUED oNpAcE iosl

t". I.,lANCOSTEEN ACAI

T h r i m a l l p u r p l ef r u t f o l l o f p o y p r e f o l The ittlc bcny lhal co! d. th s Br.z i.r bornnrpcr
a n Lo x i d a f t sh a sb e e d u s r t l . S o ! ( h e a ( A s a f o r fruit l.rded if trc U S ni(he md'a!!htr. The
m o r et h a n 4 0 0 y e a 6 t o s o w i q i r ! l . n d s o o l h c a n ( . ! . ! , a n t o x i d a r t ,. n d . m i f o a ( d r i . h . q i i s a 5
inflamdation of the rl<in ltj befehts were noted qtr \,n.-n'o.^aL ta,rl | tr l"D O.. a
by a Cerm.n (iertiit in lhc mid 1800\. i.ooped !p by be.ut! brands ke K ehl'5

98I TOWN&COUNTRY
"I PROMISE
YOU I CAN MAKE SKIN CREAMSTHAT
WOMAN LOOK LIKE
WILL MAKE ANY 5o-YEAR-OLD
IC
A 3o'YEAR-OLD . A N M A K E T H E W H O L EW O R L D
I,OOKLIKE A TEENAGER."

Inrlnpir.! lrr lr).r nlerexnllr!lrfi ni.l

E 7. 7 t t , , 1 1 , , " , ' , , , l r , e r o n r r o ! n . 1 .D o j r . o n , n o r ! r o ! n n . r r e e f. . r i c I t h . 9 1 0 \ | l i ( r , ! h t l r e i n - " . 1 l o
| . l n L r . s k ir t . , q o , f ( l $ , , c ! . . . ! d e r e . . r
lrrl,nr\ol veir) lri.l.r h..li\ d r)frlcrl l..rl
j. u,L n,rqn t,. lt h i r b.. r nrN,r lo \ lal
\ .!.r () l\.[ rL,L r or r ! ! i t e b o ( t a ] . t . rf ll
ll Lp,,xL.lh\mif. lotro.h,rlelto ( ,.
_di. , , r.!.r. \i.tn.l .!trr!

j A N l - l AR Y zorz 99
 The Groves of Eternal Youth "dry"
then irrported alcobolinto a ferv states Chernobyl.)Its weight'losspou'ers,holvever,
like Nagaland.He madc millbns building seen more diflicult to explain.
"Weight
I c o N T T N U E DF R o M p A c E e B l bridges.All along,howeve4he u'asinterested lossmay or may not bethe biggest
ages.Therewcre somcsignsthe men were in ir tladitional medicines.In 1968 he founded sellingpoint," Khannasaidonenight aslve sat
their fiftics, but thcir skin was smooth and his herbalisccolnpany Mantra. Bctweenthat in the restaurantofthe OmasilaFlotel,shiver-
tanned,the wrinklcs shallowand fine. There year and l99q when he movedhis family to ing in overcoatsand woolly hats becausethere
wassomethingShangi-l-a-islraboutthrssccnc: Delhi, he livedahrost entirelyin the Himala' was no heat. (Tibetans, I remarked, seemed
the mery, ageless workerswith their seabuck- yan rcgions,in AmnachalPradesh, Assam,and completelyinsensible to the cold,evenwhen it
thom juice,the snowcapped mountains,the in- Ladakh.When his mother died, Kharna be- was minus-9 outside.Was that another benefit
"l
digosky.Eternalyouthin a glassol'juice. cameevelrnrore passionate about traditional of eating sastaluluberries?) thinh the big-
On thc way back to Leh, we stopped at therapiesrootedin Hinralayanplants. gestthing will be its effecton the humanskin.
"l
tlre myste ous chortensof Shey.We had just went aroundcollcctingplantsand he.bs 1he skin is the body'sbiggestorgan,and it! thc
"ln
passed the DalaiLama'ssummerresidence.'lhe like somemadman,"he told me. the back or gan we can seemost easily.I make my own
u4ritewashedc,4orleirleachedto the baseoftl.re ofmy mind wasthe ideaI couJddo sonrething higl.r-concentrationsea bucl<thorn skin prod-
nearby mountains, weather-wom and mute. for the humanracc that was not just mal(ing ructs helein India.ard Icrn teJJlou Ipromi'c
A magnificent placc, Klunna leminded ne, money.I wanted to make medicinesthat drew you I can make skin creamsthat will make
a place that producesunique things-a place on ancll wisdon but were backedup by sci- arry5o'year'oldwomanlook likea 3o'year'old.
unlike anywhere else.We were r4,ooo feet up, ence.I keptcomrrrg;rcrlrr scahuckthom. \ou.hould.e( mJ wift. m1 drughrer'.. Thcl
'lhe
and I was bleatlring with difliculty, not surpris- plant'splopertieshavenow beenwcll are on m.vregirneand they ltnk like teenagers.
ing asI sufferfi'om chronicbronchitis.Khaana describedin clinical literatrLle,and they par' I canmakeyou IooJ< likea teenagcrI canmal<e
claimedthat he couldcu'e evenmy bronchitis tially corrobonte,ol at leastdo not invalidate, the wholeworld look like a teenagcr"
'fib
rvith seabuckthorn. the krowledge of et'samchis.1Jneoil in par- That lemainsto be seen.Americai health
As we loungedin the shadeofa psychedelic ticularcontainshigh levelsof vitamin C, about I'adsdo come and go. But for a few daysI used
'Iibetan
gateswarmingwith imagesofgodsand 15ttmcsa\ muchr. oranee.lrtd .ornetinrer a. the ploductsmyself.ln the heezinghotcl bath-
demons,ICralna told me of his first encounter nuch asrg5o milligramspr roo gram$aswell room I slatheredon copiousamoLLnts of sca
"I buckthom anti-agingcream,hair conditjonel
n ith the miracle fi'uit of the Himalayas. was as remarkableconcentrationsof vitamin E,
16 and I went to stay with a tribe calledthe carotcnoids, ald flavonoi&.Seabuckthornalso andserumoil. I drankthe maleleaftea.When I
Yimchungerin a placecalledNagaland. It is also containsomegafatty acidg especiallyomega-7 foseat dawn,my facelookedshinyandslightly
in the Himalayas,but on the other side,in tlre which is found in yoguft, macadaurianuts, and insanein the bathroonrrnirror Butmy hair had
east.I stayedin a Yimchungervil)agebecauseI whole milk. imp|orcd.rnd rnr rltin hadraken.n a curi.ru.
had a Yimchungel girlh'iend, you see.They are In fact, it contains more omega-Zthan any butunmr'rakabllg.rlden glonr'llresurfaccwr.
majority Baptistsin that place,more than Mis- other known edible substalce,ald it was tbis nore elastic,more unblemished. I was unrea-
sissippi, tley say.But by Godthey areamorousl unusrnlqualitythat washeraldedby television sonablyandchildishlydelighted.
Iti theirdiet." dmtor Mehnet Oz, who recently featur€d sea Still, I wonderedif my own vanit-vhad
It was the eally r96os,and Nagalandr,r'as buckthorn on his show.Dr. Oz showedl.risau- .rmfl.\ maJernewrrrrto helievein thc mrgi
a wild and remoteplace.(lt lieson the bolder diencetwo blackmice,one nonlal in sizeand cal powcrs ol sea buckthom. Obviouslli
of Burma and is the easternlnostprovinceof one g'otesqueJyobese;they had been fed an Khanna'sproducts play on our widespread
'lhe
India.) _voung Khanna,whoseparentswere identicaldiet.Thenormalmousehadalsobeen r n a b i l i r lt o i c c e p rt h e . i n r p l e . fr a c t . , ' f r g
"lt ing. Evcnifthe claimsofsea buckthorn prod-
academics, was deJightedly out of his element. givenseabuckthornoil. also,"he addedcoy-
IJis girlfriend, meanrvhile,told him that all ly showinghow it could be usedasa skin oil, llcts turn out to be overblown,the villagers'
"keepsyouyoung
the villageisate a yellorvberry that prevented andbeautiful." contract with Sibu Beautyhas brought in a
themlirrm gcttingsick.Sheclaimedthatno one C)mega-7is a non-essentialfatty acid, welcone flow of cosmeceutical dollars.And
1uddiedin her villagein 4oyears.lt couldntbe mcaningthat ,vour body doesn'tneedto ac- cntrepreneurslike Khannaand McMullin are
true, but he nevertheless noticedthat nobody quirc it flom a dictary source.(Non-essential thinking up new ways to utilize cvel,yhusl(
seemcdto haveanyailrrents. fatty acids are naturally syntllesizedin the andleafandstem.
"l Beforelcaving Leh, I rvent to visit a local
lookedaroundrne,andI couldnot believe body.) But lecent rcsearchat tbe Harvard
it. It was lil<e some kind of paradise.Perlups Schoolof Public Health has shown that its amchi for a consultation.He was a middle-
it was the healtlrymountaincljmate,but tlren benefits may neverthelessbe considerable. aged fellorv in a modest Western suit and
'lhe
again,perhapsit was somethingthey were eat- study suggestedthat omega-7reduces rubber-soledshoes.Ile assuredme that sea
ing. OI both. They told mc tiat they ate every' the lerelr of rnflammarorlchcmical.pro bucl<thornwould indeedbe an excellentcure
'lf "The
thinq. lhey said, an insecteatsit, we eat it.' ducedby the body and thtLsreduceslevelsof fol my chronicbronchitis. beautifulsl<il
I soon lound that they were eating seabuci(- cardiovascular risk, livcr disease, anddiabetes. w i l l o nl y b ca s i d ce f l e c t\.o n e o f m 1 p a t i r n r :
thom. In folk medicincit hasbeenwell loown It alsoseemsto rejuvenateskin because palm- evercough,andthat is because I givethemsar-
for centurics. That rvas my fiI-st encounter i t o l e i ca c r d - w h i c h .i n f a c t ,i s r p r o m i n e n t tahtlu,"he said,lookingme over thoughtfully
"But
rvith scabuckthorn,andI nevei'fbrgotit. I was c o n r f o n e nor l s k i n i n h i b i r rt h e f o l m a l i o n I suspectyou are ntore interestedin the
stmck lry hou, incrcdiblctheil skin was of li'eeradicalsin thc tissuc.(As early asI986, beautiful skin. That is the way you Wcstern-
Khanna'scarccr thcn tcrck someunexpected Russiandoctols used sca bucktholn oint- ers are. As you grow old, all you think about
turns. He ran a lucrativclottcry for a while, rnentsto treat victin-rsof radiation injury at is vouth."

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