Our Founder's Story

I was born in a small village in the foothills of the Himalayas. My father was a professor and my mother was a teacher. When I was young my mother became very sick. I carefully watched as ayurvedic doctors and herbalists worked with my mother to make her well. Thus I experienced first hand the amazing effect Ayurveda had on her recovery.

Ayurveda is a form of healing that was introduced in modern India thousands of years ago. The term Ayurveda means "knowledge of life" and is also known as the "science of life". This method of healing focuses on establishing and maintaining a full balance of health by treating the whole person rather than focusing on individual symptoms. The ayurveda principle is based on principles of wholeness and balance. According to Charak, the ancient ayurvedic scholar, life is comprised of five essential parts - a combination of mind, body, senses, emotions and the soul. Balance is the most important philosophy of ayurveda. Those who practice ayurveda believe that perfect health is a state where body, mind and spirit are balanced. When these systems are balanced the body can function at optimal levels and experience perfect health.

The experience of watching Ayurvedic doctors heal my mother led me to graduate in science. I then proceeded to study herbs to learn the practical knowledge of health. I have since travelled the Himalayas and studied herbs for the past 35 years, and more specifically tribal folklore medicine for the past 25 years.

When I was about 20 years old I spent some time in a Himalayan village located at an altitude of about 9500 feet. One day I asked a young woman what the village customs were when someone died. Her reply intrigued me. She indicated that no one dies in that village. I asked her what she meant by that, and her reply was the same - simply that no one dies. I asked the young woman to take me to her mother - to her I directed the same question. The mother replied that a few years ago her great uncle had died after falling off a cliff, but that was a rarity. As I questioned her further it became clear that people in that village did not become sick and die. I wondered out loud how this could be possible and the mother told me about the seabuckthorn fruit. This small fruit, she said, grew abundantly in the rugged mountains surrounding their village, and was consumed by the people both as a fruit and in their water. Remarkably in 30 years no one in the village had died of illness or disease. This is sea buckthorn - the secret of the Himalayas.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food - Hippocrates.

Sea buckthorn, known as the 'beauty berry' across Europe and Asia, grows wild in the upper altitudes of the Himalayas. This miracle berry contains 190 bio-active compounds that revitalize and protect skin, nails and hair. It is rich with powerful antioxidants, fatty acids and Omegas 3,6,9 and the rare Omega 7 (of which it is the richest-known food source).