Sea Buckthorn for Cholesterol
Sea buckthorn berry is safe to eat as a food, but human trials show it does not meaningfully lower total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, or triglycerides, so it should not be used to manage blood lipids. EU regulators have formally rejected its cholesterol and cardiovascular health claims.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
Four small-to-moderate randomized controlled trials (combined n约396) consistently found no significant effect on the standard lipid panel. An 8-week juice trial in healthy men (PMID 12088800), the largest cohort using 28 g/day freeze-dried berries (PMID 17593932), berry oil over 4 weeks (PMID 11120446), and a 13-week trial in overweight women (PMID 23945716) all reported neutral total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglyceride results. No meta-analysis, systematic review, or long-term cardiovascular outcome trial exists.
Regulators and major clinics reinforce this. The EU's EFSA has rejected sea buckthorn's blood-cholesterol and cardiovascular health claims because a cause-and-effect relationship was not established. The US FDA recognizes the berry only as GRAS, which is a food-safety status and not an efficacy endorsement, while the NHS, WHO, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Health, and the AHA/NLA do not list it among evidence-based cholesterol options.
One caveat is worth flagging: the single n=12 berry-oil study (PMID 11120446) noted a modest rise in fasting blood glucose alongside reduced platelet aggregation. This signal is statistically fragile but underpins a Grade F rating for blood glucose, so people with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, or those on anticoagulants should be cautious. Overall the evidence is graded Unverified / Counter-Evidence: sea buckthorn does not work for cholesterol.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.351
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — D 級條件未達 (需 E1-E3 negative；實際 E6)
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status