Medical expert of the article
New publications
Sea buckthorn for diabetes mellitus
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

Sea buckthorn is considered one of the leaders in vitamin C content and a very useful plant, the medicinal properties of which are recognized even by traditional medicine.
The caloric content of sea buckthorn is relatively low (about 52 kcal), and the glycemic index is only 30 units. The sugars contained in the fruits (and there are only about 5 g per 100 g of product) are mainly fructose, which is only beneficial for diabetics.
[ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ], [ 7 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ]
Benefits
The sour orange berries of the plant contain sufficient amounts of vitamins A, E, group B, including biotin, as well as microelements and unsaturated fatty acids (vitamin F) useful for diabetes. The latter is responsible for metabolic processes in the skin, preventing all sorts of dermatological diseases and accelerating the process of tissue regeneration in case of damage to the integrity of the skin. This is very important, considering that with diabetes there is a tendency to form wounds on the body, which subsequently heal very slowly and with difficulty.
Eating berries helps control metabolism in the skin from the inside, and sea buckthorn seed oil can be used externally as an excellent wound healing agent.
Sunny berries reduce pain, help fight inflammatory processes, reduce blood viscosity and prevent blood clots, improve the functioning of the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, and normalize metabolism in the body. Berry juice also has a choleretic effect, stimulates the secretory function of the digestive organs and intestinal peristalsis, and has a positive effect on the liver and the condition of blood vessels.
In case of diabetes, sea buckthorn can be consumed both fresh and dried, adding to teas and compotes. The oil is used to treat wounds and trophic ulcers in pure form or in combination with birch tar, propolis, hydrogen peroxide. From fresh fruits, you can make healthy jam, which you need to eat no more than 5 tbsp. per day, provided that it is prepared using sugar substitutes, not sugar. This will be a healthy vitamin dessert, which is useful for diabetics due to the fact that their body loses most of the nutrients every day.
As we can see, local gifts of nature and popular berries supplied to us from neighboring countries are not only completely safe, but also very useful for such a serious metabolic disease as diabetes. Berries for diabetes help saturate the body with useful substances, which in turn will increase immunity, control blood pressure and heart performance, remove toxins from the body, correct blood glucose levels, etc., preventing all sorts of complications.
Contraindications
Sea buckthorn berries have a pronounced acidic taste, so it is not surprising that fresh fruits and juice from them should not be consumed in case of high stomach acidity, peptic ulcer, gastritis and other gastrointestinal pathologies, in which the product will have an additional irritating effect on the mucous membrane, only aggravating the course of the disease. Although sea buckthorn oil is even used for medicinal purposes internally for such diseases, for example, for the treatment of stomach ulcers and erosive gastritis.
Sea buckthorn juice contained in the fruits of the plant increases the acidity of urine, which is dangerous in case of urolithiasis. Caution in the use of fresh berries and compositions based on them should be observed in case of pancreatitis, liver and gallbladder diseases, especially in the acute stage, in case of diarrhea. In this case, a specialist consultation is necessary.
[ 12 ]