EXTRA
VIRGIN PINE NUT OIL IS A POWERHOUSE OF HEALING AND HEALTH-PROMOTING
NATURAL COMPONENTS FROM THE "TSAR OF ALL TREES" - THE SIBERIAN
PINE
The powerful healing
and health-promoting properties
of extra virgin pine nut oil have been known in Russia and Europe
for a long time. Ever since the 16th century Russia has been exporting
Siberian pine nut oil to Sweden, England, and other European countries.
Dr. Peter Pallas, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
has written the following about pine nut oil in 1894: "In Switzerland,
they use our pine nut oil in pharmacies. The oil is prescribed
to people suffering from gastric ulcers.
It is also used to treat respiratory disorders, as well as burns
and other skin problems."
Plantings of Siberian pines were popular
in Russian monasteries, where the oil was used by monks as food
and medicine. Russian Orthodox monks have to follow a very strict
dietary regimen, which prohibits them from consuming any products
of animal origin (including meat, dairy, or fish) for more than
200 days out of every year. At the same time, every monk has a
lot of daily obediences, many of them requiring hard physical
labor. For many centuries, Russian monks have used pine nut oil
to boost their stamina and get the energy required to get through
their work-filled days.
In late 16th century, one of the largest and most famous man-made
plantings of Siberian pines was started at Tolgsky Monastery,
located on the river named Tolga near an ancient Russian city
of Yaroslavl. Because of the amazing longevity of Siberian pines,
this wonderful "cedar garden" (in Russia, Siberian pines are also
often called "Siberian cedars") is still very much alive, and
some of the trees (many of which are more than four hundred years
old!) continue to produce the hard-shelled, fragrant kernels from
which extra virgin pine nut oil is made.
The monastery, frequented by the family of the last Russian Tsar
Nicholas II, is still a prominent center of Russian Christianity
and a place of breathtaking natural beauty.
The beautiful Siberian pine (Pinus Sibirica)
is truly a miracle of Nature. A typical Siberian pine is about
100 to 150 feet tall, reaching five to seven feet in diameter.
The seed-bearing cones would only grow at the top 4 to 5 feet
of the tree's total height. Siberian pine grows very slowly, and
its average life-span ranges from 300 to 550 years, sometimes
reaching up to 800 years.
Pine nut oil has been widely used by Russian doctors
internally for the treatment of peptic ulcers
and gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), as well
as a metabolism enhancer and
digestive aid. They also applied it externally to treat burns
and bruises and improve skin conditon, and used it for therapeutic
inhalations, baths, and massages. In recent decades, extra virgin
Siberian pine nut oil has drawn a lot of attention from scientists
and researchers. The latest studies explain
the health benefits of the oil from the standpoint of modern science.
Regular use of pine nut oil provides the body with many vital
nutrients, including good fats, amino acids (building blocks for
proteins), fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants, as well as essential
macro- and microelements.
Extra virgin Siberian pine nut oil is a rich source
of natural antioxidants, such as
vitamin E, carotenoids (including beta-carotene, used by our bodies
to produce vitamin A), niacin (vitamin PP), magnesium, copper,
iron, zinc, manganese, and sulfur-containing amino acids. Lately,
the problems of lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant status
of our bodies have become a focus of major attention. Many metabolic
and other physiological processes in the human body lead to the
production of so-called "free radicals".
These very active, chemically aggressive molecules take part in
the accumulation and biotransformation of energy, detoxify and
neutralize certain harmful substances, and participate in the
functioning of the immune system. |
