T H E

'fE S

E T E R I { A L Y O U T H

In the far reaches of the Indian Himalavas. where the Dalai Lama soends his summers andwhere uhe locals appear to be ageless, a tiny orange berry has been prized for cenruries-as Food,

as elixif as medicine. Now the age-defying properties ofsea buckthorn are being celebratedaround the world, making this unassuming plant the latest in a long line of so-called superfoods.

Could this newest miracle fiuit be the one that finaily turns back the proverbial clock?

* 'LAWRENCE OSBORNEPhotographs uy CHRISTOPHER WISE

9 4 | T O W N & C O U N T R Y

T H E G I V I N C T R E E\\ir|kc|s pick

sc:r buckthorn btnicsr lu l i rg hr l resr scason

in Lldal ih.

P E A K S E A S O NPmycr flags festoonKh:udung-La Pass,

at 18,38o feet.

H O L Y C R O S SThe Stakna monastery

in Leh Valley.

T R E K K I N 6 O R D E RSea buckthorn harvesters

make their rounds.

long the roads thar border the Indus l{iver near thcDalai Lamas sruruer lesidence, in l,eh, India, the traveler n,ill notice a lorvslilub growing in vast quantities. It !!r-ours all or'er the edges ofthese J lina-lal'an ,1..".,r. ̂ . ,nol ns arc tightl] clustered, and inside them -yoLL can seetin-v brightorange berries rendered b-v nature, it wouldseem, to be virtuallyinaccessible to manrmals, though the leaves ale a delicacy for the larvae ofthe emperor moth.

-Ihis ubiquitous plant is knolr'n as sartalula in Ladakii,

the language of this norrherlv part of I(ashmir statc, on the border withTibet. Its botanical name is Hippophae rh.mftoidet, which means "shining

horses" in Greel<. In lrnglish it is sea bucktlrom.Thc arcient (lreeks fed it to their horses and noticed that theil animals'

hides becanre glossy and lustlous. In Hin.ralayar India it has beeir plartedmainly to restrain soil erosion, though the localTibetan n-redicine men, known as amcli' havebeen using it for cenfuries as what Amercans to-da1' rvould call a "superfood." They value its seedoil as a cru'e for inflammation, skin dcfects, lungdisorders, and a host ofother ailments, and it hasalrvays been rcputed to be (as the Greel<s noticed)a wondrous nutrient for hair and skin.

-Ihe bittet

acidic little berries are used as a general healthtonic and al anti-agrng medicine.

Sea buckthorn is said to be a "hoJy fmit": thefountain of youth in berry form. In recent yearsscience has rerified that sea bucktborn belies doindeed contain r9o differ-enr nnl ienr< ind, r , l lno

high concentrations of antioxidants and fatryacids, particularl-r' the invaluable omega-7 (pahri-toleic acid). I he impoveished vilJagers ofl.adakh,long Jeft out of India's econonic boom, havc sud-denly discovered a nutritional gold mine in theirsoil-erosion pla;rts, a bery that cal be casilytrarsfomed into shanpooq gel capsules, soaps,body lotions, skin senuns, zurd trilacle juices forthe rvorld's mole affluent (and rapidly aging) so-cieties. Sea bucl<thorn tea is already popular inlndia, and there are rutrrors of a sea buckthornrvine. The rArest's relentless search for a palliativefor agrng, meanwhile, ma1' have found yet an-otller so-called n')iracle food, this tine procured,atractivel\,, ftom the land of Shangri-La.

Like the Aflican mango (a variant of d.re fruJt that grorvs only in Camer-oon ard has recently s$,ept America as a slimming agent), sea bucktbom isbecoming a lucrative healdr food for die hardful oforganic beauty compa-nies that import the ber es-bod.r \Veleda alrld Fresh have entire collections

B A O B A BS U P E R C Y C L E

Ano t he q) ear, an o th er n ew b ditfi Lv re dsupetfnd; the stred,fi is seeminglj endtess Here are

n that hal'e eamed the distiftction.

P O I Y E C R A N A T EOne o f the or ig na l !uper foods , the

antioridant p.cked frr t c-n redlce bloodpfessure and choleitero, boon ron iev-" s ardbraii power, and, because of its hi!h vitam n

The \uper food o f fhe fu i l t r€ . Don r bes ! rpnsed i f baobab-an Af r i .an f ru i i r i c r in ton ,

pota$lum, calc unr, €rd vitamin C Gix t mei is

9 6 | T O W N & C O U N T R Y

C cof ten t , g ive sk in a fa tu ra lq lowmrch as oranges) nar ts popp n9 up roon on

bea!ty abeh at a (ore fear you.

THI l VI I , I ,AGERS A] .E A

YEI- I ,OW BERRY THAT KBPT

THIIM FROM C;ETTING SICK. NC)

ONE HAD D IED IN ao YEARS.

C O C O N U T O I L

basc'd or sea bucktholn-and process thcrn into consuntcr products.Atnonq thesc is Sibu llcaut1,, I company co'founded bv a Mormon nametlI lnrcc McMullin in zoo3.

McMullin had bccn on the execr-rtivc boalclofdre Salt Lal<e Citt' charirlCllrice Flumanitarian, and his philanthropic w,orl< often took hinr to lndia.In Llllcutta onc,r'ea| he nret an cxubcrant Indian hcr-balist, cntreln.eneuland spc'cialist in avurvedic mcdicincs named Nico Khanna, rvho had spentz5.r'cals in the Hinrlhy:rs cxplorinq unrLsuirl hcr-balcures.

l(hanna told hirn of the so-crlled holy 6 uit he had encountcrcd in ser'-cn of the countr-vi llimalayan smtes ovei- a pcriod of severll dccaclcs. Noonc hnov much aL.nrLt rir/a1zrfu scientificall_y but IGanna had heard of i'il,lages u4rcrc it rvls regLrlarlv consuncdand u,herc no one seemed togct sick.McMullin n'as int gr,red.lOumra insistedthatthe best sca buckthorn berriescilnre not fi'on'r Cl'rina, u'hcrc most of the lvorldi cloyr is trown, btLt h.omthc Inclian side of the I limalayas. lhe iclea firr a collabolatiort n as born. IfI(hannr coulcl gct the hiqhest-qualit-v lrrries and qtL:uantcc thcir.shipnenrto Amcrica, McMullin u,oulcl grnrarrtee Amcrican investnrent lncl marketplofits. Ancl tlre li'crtinc middle-tscd pcoplc of Anre ca u'oulcl havc rheirlvlinl<les smoothccl au,a!.

Khrnna u'cnr to l-eh, rhe cilpital of India:s Ladrhh resion, situated aran altitude of rr,ooo fcct and rvith a population of about zz5oo l-ch \\ asonce an inrportant tlade iexus lrtr,vccn India, libet, and China; hashish,cashmerc, :rnd indiso were its lifcblood. lt sits near the hcaduaters of rheInclus l{ivcr', h'on rvhich Inclia takes its name, but its culture is almost en,tircly

'l'ibetan Leht steep alle_vs are crorrclccl rvith trekl<ing companies and

the n'ull(cts and sclrools of exilcd lbetans, who do not forget that l.ehu,as foundccl in the roth century lry a warlike libetan princc, Nyima Gon.'Ibday

the Dalai l-ama spends parr ofrhe year here, and his image is eler_v-where danuling fi'onr dashboards, plastered to the ualls of cafds. l-eh isalso lreavilv militaized due to irs proxinicy to the volatilc Chinese borderA pennit is nceded to venture any\\rhere oLLtside the tou'n.

I-cb Palace, u'hich looms over tl're ro\,vn, rvas built in the rzth cenruryanci modeled after thc Potala in Lhasr Clcat gilded prayer rvheels srand arthe corners, ancl strimgs of prayef flag5loop acloss tlte strccrs. Ar night rhelanes fill rvith dogs and shivering cous. At darvn you hcal pravers beinqsunq in thc fir'st-flqrl rvindou,s olcl cups ofincense. At thc Onrasila Hotel,rvhere I st:wccl, the stal'l'cure out at fir'st light to pr:ry to thc flolr,er beds.Ninety pclccnt lluddhist, Leh is a placc that seems to exist n.ithin a deliber-ate quietncss 6'amed by the uiant glacicrs on tlre horizon.'Icn

milcs east of Leh lics thc ancient cittdel at Shc'\a, ar.ound nhiclrrvhitc r/rorrcrir'(better l<nor,vn as BrLddhist stupas, those rrorLndlike rcii-qlrar y shlincs.you scc in this plrt clfthc rvo d) srand luined in thc dcserr.' lhe

l ibetan past is viviclly prescnr hclc, and in tl 'r is ausrcrc, blight high-lancl, sc'a buckthorn plants thlivc cffortlessly as thc,v havc for cenru es,glitter-ing lil<c golden rose hips akrng the roads. It n'as thc pcrfecr place tcrnleet Nico l(hanna.

Norv 69 ancl a l)elhi nillionailc, I{hanna looks 15 ycars,younger ("Seal.rucl<thorn every dly, my ilcal lcllor'r,1"), but he nas hobbling rhar da-v be-causc iris les rvas acting rip. One ofhis eiant doss hacl bo\,r,lecl hin over andbrrrl<en his lc{, ancl the sreel plate in it sccmed to har,e shifted. fauntl'anc1elegant ncvctheless, Khanna walkcci me to the edge of a farrn to look atgreat mats ofmashed sca buckthonr bctlies drlinu in thc sun and to shou

A good to yo! \atLtrated fat lhe Lr(rn:lirro[ . .]i.1 rh.t fcorporaler coconut o ifdrde

nprored re . r r h ra l rh a rd ne t .bo l r i

C O J I B E R R I E sThe Chi iese h-vc been mufch n. l od 9{ i i5 lor cef tures

to enq lhen the i r i fe \pan j f lq ides an .n t . ! f !- l ; , r . | ,a . ^ a , I mm, - . . o \ rd , \ d ,a | . ^ , ^ , l r l

x o t 4 R U c H ABe oved ii hea (h dnd f.lhlof cirdei, the

nolor ourly !mclly fermented tea is be eved topromote genera lwe -be i ig , nave o f f hun!er ,and even.ure hanqove6. llany devoteer hale

takef to DlVng their own hrcw\

betler !!pport€d nrnrofe lrllem, dnd to re!ulate choleiterol, prok.t vi on, and

T H E L O N C A N D W I N D I N C R O A DSnowcapped mountains arc the

backdrop ol1 the meandering roacl out of I-eh.

yo!n!ler lookioq 5kirr. h .ve a .a lminq c l l cd on the psyche

J A N U A R Y 2 o r 2 I 9 Z

nre his ncatlJ, piu tcd hair: Onl-y a fer, glav stnncls. "l nrake a jolly mcansca bucl<tholn shampur. I can do tirc s:tme fcrr,r'ou. No mole gla] for

1,or.r'-*a halcm ofgiris,vou r'vill bc havins!"Onc of thc tonrcn fiun thc collcctivc clrnc u'ith r,Ls. Her nlme uas

'l.scling Yangslcct, amd shc cxplaincd hor'r' hard it nas to strip the Lin-v

berries li'oln rhosc lou'-l-ving barhcl bnnchcs, u'hosc thor-ns were likelitrle claqqers. Yet the_v rranaged ro halrcst tons ol thcm ci,crl, ;\ugr:stancl -Septenrltr and ship them to A:rerica. Plump sacks of thcm \'\'cr-cpilcd up at thc cdgc of the mats. Ihe harvesters made g2,oq) each an.llivccl off thc plocccds fcl thc rcst of thc -vcar: It u :ls excellent more_y b_vI-ch standards. "l can u'ork fiu six rvccl<s." \'lngsleet saicl, "ancl spend itthc lcst ofthc _r'car: l\,o rnclnths of n orli, ro rnonths of lllone1r" lt was,fbr',:rocc, it lobalization sone {ht. So mLrch so that in zoog the DalaiLlnra sl c his LrlessiDq to the ellblt. I r'roticed that thc bushcs carFtcclthc dcscrt as f:u as the c1e could see, rhe lear,es pale gra1, ancl oiivc, thcthorns rrctallic in thc sun.'lhcrc u'as no nccd to firrm thenr like otlrerc.ops; tlre) qre,,,,' e,".e r -r,'wherc lilic lveeils, so eflil't1cssl1, thrt thc phnt

In zoo5, Joldan ,:rbtlined ;r liccnsc lirn thc Inclian llovernrrrent toregulatc thc sca bucl(thorn lrrrvest ir Lch ancl at thc sarrc time begllto rvork u'ith l{hanna.-lhc pr-trcssing Plarrr thc tu,o ofthcnr sct up t,rr-gcthcr lics ofit]rc roacl ncirr She,\', Lrnclcr':l lock-l'mountain range iinclwirhin vicr' i ' oidistant glacicls.

Khuna coulcl b:i lcl,t contain ln cpic arrcl missionat-r' cnthtNii isnr." lhis is going to bc thc biggcst nutr-rt ion storl on carth. Sca bucl<thotnu,i] l Lt used in rtals u'c havc never-clcn inlginecl. Alt 'eadl nrl ortnhcrbal conrpar-y in Incli l has 43 sca bLrcktholn products. I)id,r 'ou Iitroilthe Inclian Arnr,r' has cleveloped a sea bucl<tholtr suPplctrcnt firr its sol-dicls postccl hclc at hiqh altitucle to fight thc bloodl'( ihincsc? (Alri-(lhincsc scntinrent, I noticecl, runs high in I-aclakh, not lcitst lrecause ofOhinas trcatnrent of I iber.)

Sca buclith'lrn grou's ali olcl thc uorlcl. It can be {buncl in Can'acla:uril in Finland. But norvhere elsc ckts it gt-ou' ut srLch tlemenclortshcights. I(hanna cxplained thrr it rvas thc Hinral:i1'an altitudc that fbrce.lthe planr to defcnd itsclf by sucking in hr"L.ge anrolLnr of nutt'icnts. Ihis

O R A N C E C R U S IThe jou|ney 6om bet.rl ro juice is labolious. Irirst thc sca bucIrhoIn berlies ale har-vestcd, and then

separated.r , ' 'ashed,and5ofted' ! i r ra1l 'y theylrepr.ocesscdthorrgi rauachjnctoobr l intheth� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �abroad. (),1drtl.i A berd ofcamcls lingcr contcntcdly in the shrdorvs ofthe Himalayas north ofl.eh.

hed, Khanna saicl, been or'er'looked as a rcsoulcc. .Somc ofthc cliffictLlt-yof harvesting, he explained, is alleviated by special ttxrls that shal<c thcbranches and rake the berlies ofi He gestured rathcr gran.ll1. at thcpiles of crushed sl<ins, prLlp, leaves, and pits laicl out on thc mats. Thclc:l'es of the malc pJant, r'vhich are olten overLroked, n'ere nori, being, , . - . 1 r ^ - - - - . ^ - ^ , . r ^ - r . ^ "

' lhe harvesting of the berrics for comnrcrcial pur'poscs had an un-

lil<el,v beeinning. I n'as told the stolj, by ladbar Joldarr, thc assjstantcorrmissicuer lirr labor in l-eh. Joldan was one of thc first pcoplc tcrr,rnclerstand the possibilities ol sea buckthom in thc contcxt of a rc-rrote and inpoverished econonrl,. "\Ve think that sca bucktholn u'as'discor.er-ed' as a nutlition aid b-v u NGO cailed dre l-eh NLrtlitionl\-ogr-am back in the mid-r99os," he said. " lhe,r' .an a coopelativc ofuornen har'"esters under an linglishman r,rdrom o'crJonc callccl Nich.It u.as this rather m,vsterious li'rqlishnan rvho seems to havc sturnblcdupon thc idca of harvestin{ sea bucl<thorn berries on a largcr scalc.Nicl< and thcsc z6 locll women, the_y $ele tlre fiI.st."

I . , l A N C O S T E E N

lnd the fact that it grou's rvild rnakc it the best lorgevir-i' plr uct ocr'ciiscovered. lhe concentlation of nutlients is unpanllelecl.'

I Ic brought me into a long shcd that serves as a licrot;u lhctc ri'ct-cabout a dozen worl<ers and drrcc nrachincs fbr separltinq, ueslrirg, anclfina1Jy juicing the berries OtLc of the last machine canrc r frlth,r' palcoranqe liqllid that cascadcd dorvr l nretal chure and into a rub, hlrrrvhich it rvas ladled carefull-r' into a bluc plastic d.unr that \\'ould clcntu-a111, Lr sent to Sibu lleaLrt-v fol lnttling. llach drurr w;ls :rarkccl rt itlrthc dlte ofthe harvest.'Ihe $'orkcrs olicred me a glass ofthis lau'jtLice.It rt'as so bitter as to be urdrinkablc, but a f-erv momenrs latcr anothcrglass:rppealed, this time diluted lr"ith lvater andsrveetenecl u'ith sugat: It\\,as likc a talt apricot juice, pleasantl-v |cfi-eshing, and ir nas esscntialllthc samc concoction th:rt Sibu norv sells onlinc in thc' United States ftrrg29.9-5 lror a 75o millilitcr carton.

We u'ent out into the intense sun, and I sarv tlrat all the \r1n'l(rs hadasscmblcd to d nl< their claily glass of su,cctcncd sea LrtLcl<thorn iuicc.I lcalizecl thcn thrt it u'as cli l l lcLrlt ro gucss thcil lcoNr NUED oN pAcE iosl

Th r ima l lpurp le f ru t fo l lo f poypre fo lanL ox ida f ts has beed usr t l . So ! (hea( As a fo rmore than 400 yea6 to s ow iq i r ! l .nd soo lhc

inflamdation of the rl<in ltj befehts were notedby a Cerm.n ( ie r t i i t in lhc mid 1800\ .

A C A IThe i t t l c bcny lha l co ! d . th s Br .z i . r born nrpcr

f ru i t l . rded i f t rc U S n i (he md 'a ! !h t r . Thean( . ! . ! , an t ox idar t , .nd .mi fo a (d r i .h .q i i sa5q t r \ , n . - n ' o . ^ a L t a , r l | t r l " D O . . a

i .ooped !p by be .u t ! b rands ke K eh l '5

t " .

9 8 I T O W N & C O U N T R Y

"I PROMISE YOU I CAN MAKE SKIN CREAMS THAT

WILL MAKE ANY 5o-YEAR-OLD WOMAN LOOK LIKE

A 3o'YEAR-OLD. I CAN MAKE THE WHOLE WORLD

I,OOK LIKE A TEENAGER."

r . ! . r . \ i . tn . l . ! t r r !

I n r l n p i r . ! l r r l r ) . r n l e r e x n l l r ! l r f i n i . l. 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 r r l ,n r \ o l ve i r ) l r i . l . r h . . l i \ d r ) f r l c r l l . . r l. ! . r ( ) l \ . [ rL , r Lo r r ! ! i te b o ( t a ] . t

. r f l l

E7 t t , ,11 , , " , ' , , , l r ,e ronr ro !n .1 . Do j r .on ,nor ! ro !nn.7

| . lnLr . sk i r t . ,qo , f ( l $ , , c ! . . . !dere . . rj . u , L n , r q n t , . l t h

i r b . . r n r N , r l o \ l a l

l l \

_ d i . L p , , x L . l h \ m i f . l o t r o . h , r l e l t o ( , . , ,

j A N l - l A R Y z o r z 9 9

The Groves of Eternal Youth

I c o N T T N U E D F R o M p A c E e B l

ages. There wcre somc signs the men were intheir fiftics, but thcir skin was smooth andtanned, the wrinklcs shallow and fine. Therewas something Shangi-l-a-islr about thrs sccnc:the mery, ageless workers with their sea buck-thom juice, the snowcapped mountains, the in-digo sky. Eternalyouth in a glass ol'juice.

On thc way back to Leh, we stopped attlre myste ous chortens of Shey. We had justpassed the Dalai Lama's summer residence.'lheu4ritewashed c,4orleir leached to the base oftl.renearby mountains, weather-wom and mute.A magnificent placc, Klunna leminded ne,a place that produces unique things-a placeunlike anywhere else. We were r4,ooo feet up,and I was bleatlring with difliculty, not surpris-ing as I suffer fi'om chronic bronchitis. Khaanaclaimed that he could cu'e even my bronchitisrvith sea buckthorn.

As we lounged in the shade ofa psychedelic'Iibetan

gate swarming with images ofgods anddemons, ICralna told me of his first encountern ith the miracle fi'uit of the Himalayas. "I was16 and I went to stay with a tribe called theYimchunger in a place called Nagaland. It is alsoin the Himalayas, but on the other side, in tlreeast. I stayed in a Yimchunger vil)age because Ihad a Yimchungel girlh'iend, you see. They aremajority Baptists in that place, more than Mis-sissippi, tley say. But by God they are amorouslIti theirdiet."

It was the eally r96os, and Nagaland r,r'asa wild and remote place. (lt lies on the bolderof Burma and is the easternlnost province ofIndia.)

'lhe _voung Khanna, whose parents were

academics, was deJightedly out of his element.IJis girlfriend, meanrvhile, told him that allthe villageis ate a yellorv berry that preventedthem lirrm gctting sick. Sheclaimedthat no one1ud died in her village in 4oyears.lt couldnt betrue, but he nevertheless noticed that nobodyseemcd to have any ailrrents.

"l looked around rne, and I could not believeit. It was lil<e some kind of paradise. Perlupsit was the healtlry mountain cljmate, but tlrenagain, perhaps it was something they were eat-ing. OI both. They told mc tiat they ate every'thinq. lhey said, 'lf an insect eats it, we eat it.'I soon lound that they were eating sea buci(-thom. In folk medicinc it has been well loownfor centurics. That rvas my fiI-st encounterrvith sca buckthorn, and I nevei'fbrgot it. I wasstmck lry hou, incrcdiblc theil skin was

Khanna's carccr thcn tcrck some unexpectedturns. He ran a lucrativc lottcry for a while,

T O W N & C O U N T R Y

then irrported alcobol into a ferv "dry" stateslike Nagaland. He madc millbns buildingbridges. All along, howeve4 he u'as interestedir tladitional medicines. In 1968 he foundedhis herbalisc colnpany Mantra. Bctween thatyear and l99q when he moved his family toDelhi, he lived ahrost entirely in the Himala'yan rcgions, in Amnachal Pradesh, Assam, andLadakh. When his mother died, Kharna be-came evelr nrore passionate about traditionaltherapies rooted in Hinralayan plants.

"l went around collccting plants and he.bslike some madman," he told me. "ln the backofmy mind was the idea I couJd do sonrethingfor the human racc that was not just mal(ingmoney. I wanted to make medicines that drewon ancll wisdon but were backed up by sci-ence. I kept comrrrg;rcrlrr sca huckthom.

'lhe plant's ploperties have now been wcll

described in clinical literatrLle, and they par'tially corrobonte, ol at least do not invalidate,the krowledge of

'fib et's amchis. 1Jne oil in par -

ticular contains high levels of vitamin C, about15 ttmcs a\ much r. oranee. lrtd .ornetinrer a.nuch as rg5o milligrams pr roo gram$ as wellas remarkable concentrations of vitamin E,carotcnoids, ald flavonoi&. Sea buckthorn alsocontains omega fatty acidg especially omega-7which is found in yoguft, macadauria nuts, andwhole milk.

In fact, it contains more omega-Z than anyother known edible substalce, ald it was tbisunusrnl quality that was heralded by televisiondmtor Mehnet Oz, who recently featur€d seabuckthorn on his show. Dr. Oz showed l.ris au-dience two black mice, one nonlal in size andone g'otesqueJy obese; they had been fed anidentical diet. The normal mouse had also beengiven sea buckthorn oil. "lt also," he added coy-ly showing how it could be used as a skin oil,"keeps you young and beautiful."

C)mega-7 is a non-essential fatty acid,mcaning that ,vour body doesn't need to ac-quirc it flom a dictary source. (Non-essentialfatty acids are naturally syntllesized in thebody.) But lecent rcsearch at tbe HarvardSchool of Public Health has shown that itsbenefits may nevertheless be considerable.'lhe

study suggested that omega-7 reducesthe lerelr of rnflammarorl chcmical. produced by the body and thtLs reduces levels ofcardiovascular risk, livcr disease, and diabetes.It also seems to rejuvenate skin because palm-i to le ic acrd-wh ich . in fac t , i s r p rominentconr fonenr o l sk in inh ib i r r the fo lma l ionof li'ee radicals in thc tissuc. (As early as I986,Russian doctols used sca bucktholn oint-rnents to treat victin-rs of radiation injury at

Chernobyl.) Its weight'loss pou'ers, holvever,seen more diflicult to explain.

"Weight loss may or may not be the biggestselling point," Khanna said one night as lve satin the restaurant ofthe Omasila Flotel, shiver-ing in overcoats and woolly hats because therewas no heat. (Tibetans, I remarked, seemedcompletely insensible to the cold, even when itwas minus-9 outside. Was that another benefitof eating sastalulu berries?) "l thinh the big-gest thing will be its effect on the human skin.1he skin is the body's biggest organ, and it! thcor gan we can see most easily. I make my ownhigl.r-concentration sea bucl<thorn skin prod-ructs hele in India. ard Icrn teJJlou Ipromi'cyou I can make skin creams that will makearry 5o'year'old woman look like a 3o'year'old.\ou.hould.e( mJ wift. m1 drughrer'.. Thclare on m.v regirne and they ltnk like teenagers.I can make you IooJ< like a teenagcr I can mal<ethe whole world look like a teenagcr"

That lemains to be seen. Americai healthI'ads do come and go. But for a few days I usedthe ploducts myself. ln the heezing hotcl bath-room I slathered on copious amoLLnts of scabuckthom anti-aging cream, hair conditjoneland serum oil. I drank the male leaftea. When Ifose at dawn, my face looked shiny and slightlyinsane in the bathr oonr rnirror But my hair hadimp|orcd. rnd rnr rlt in had raken.n a curi.ru.but unmr'rakabll g.rlden glonr' l lre surfacc wr.nore elastic, more unblemished. I was unrea-sonably and childishly delighted.

Still, I wondered if my own vanit-v had.rmfl.\ maJe rne wrrrr to helieve in thc mrgical powcrs ol sea buckthom. ObviouslliKhanna's products play on our widespreadrnab i l i r l to i ccepr the . in rp le . r fac t . , ' f rging. Evcn ifthe claims ofsea buckthorn prod-llcts turn out to be overblown, the villagers'contract with Sibu Beauty has brought in awelcone flow of cosmeceutical dollars. Andcntrepreneurs like Khanna and McMullin arethinking up new ways to utilize cvel,y husl(and leafand stem.

Before lcaving Leh, I rvent to visit a localamchi for a consultation. He was a middle-aged fellorv in a modest Western suit andrubber-soled shoes. Ile assured me that seabucl<thorn would indeed be an excellent curefol my chronic bronchitis. "The beautifulsl<ilw i l l on ly bc a s idc e f lec t . \one o f m1 pat i rn r :evercough, and that is because I give them sar-tahtlu," he said,looking me over thoughtfully"But I suspect you are ntore interested in thebeautiful skin. That is the way you Wcstern-ers are. As you grow old, all you think aboutis vouth."

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