The Functional Five

Scientifically Supported Health Benefits of Aronia, Ginger, Turmeric and Sea Buckthorn

1. Arterial stiffness and endothelial function

In a 12-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 102 middle-aged men and women, aronia (poly)phenol supplementation lowered pulse wave velocity by 0.24 m/s. [1] A second 12-week trial in 66 healthy men found flow-mediated dilation improved on both aronia extract and whole fruit powder, by 1.2 and 0.9 percentage points. [2]

2. Inflammation markers — four plants, one direction

All four plants have been tested against the same markers of low-grade inflammation. A 2025 systematic review of 18 human studies on aronia reported reductions in C-reactive protein, TNF-α and IL-6. [3] A dose-response meta-analysis of 29 randomised controlled trials found ginger reduced the same three. [4] A meta-analysis of 23 randomised trials found curcumin reduced high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, more strongly at doses below 2,000 mg a day than above. [5] And in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 233 completing participants over 90 days, sea buckthorn berries lowered serum C-reactive protein significantly compared with placebo. [6]

3. Joint comfort

An umbrella meta-analysis of eleven meta-analyses found that standardised curcuminoid supplements reduced pain and improved function in osteoarthritis. [7] In the largest single trial, 367 patients with knee osteoarthritis took 1,500 mg of Curcuma domestica extract daily for four weeks; it performed as well as 1,200 mg of ibuprofen, with fewer gastrointestinal side effects. [8] For ginger, a meta-analysis of five placebo-controlled trials in 593 people found modest but significant reductions in pain and disability at 500–1,000 mg daily. [9]

4. Nausea

The European Medicines Agency granted ginger rhizome well-established use status in May 2025 for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in motion sickness, at 1–2 g taken one hour before travel. [10] In pregnancy, a meta-analysis of 12 randomised trials in 1,278 women found nausea symptoms significantly improved compared with placebo. [11]

5. Gastric emptying

In a randomised, double-blind crossover trial, ginger shortened the stomach's half-emptying time from 16.1 to 12.3 minutes. [12]

6. Eyes, mucous membranes and omega-7

The best human evidence for sea buckthorn concerns mucous membranes. In a placebo-controlled, quadruple-masked trial, 100 adults with dry eye symptoms took 2 g of sea buckthorn oil daily for three months through the winter. The supplemented group showed significantly less of the seasonal rise in tear film osmolarity and reported less symptom intensity. [13] A companion paper traced the effect to changes in tear film fatty acids. [14] The fatty acid behind it, palmitoleic acid, occurs naturally in human sebum and in the lipid layers that keep membranes supple; sea buckthorn pulp oil is the richest common plant source, at 30–35% of its fatty acids. [15] [16]

7. Blood lipids

A 2025 GRADE-assessed meta-analysis of seven randomised controlled trials of aronia found LDL cholesterol fell by 4.77 mg/dL. [17] A dose-response meta-analysis of 64 randomised trials of curcumin found reductions in total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, although the authors rated the overall evidence quality as low. [18] A 2022 meta-analysis of 15 randomised controlled trials found sea buckthorn reduced triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol and raised HDL cholesterol, with the effect concentrated in people whose lipids were already abnormal. [19]

8. Gut microbiota

Both aronia vascular trials above tracked the gut microbiome, and both found it shifted; the larger reported increased microbial gene richness and increases in butyrate-producing species. [1] [2] Sea buckthorn has been measured doing something similar: in a 90-day trial, 90 g of sea buckthorn puree daily enriched nine butyrate-producing bacterial genera. [20]

Why these four together

No trial has tested these four as a set. The case for them is complementary coverage: aronia's evidence concerns blood vessels and the gut, ginger's the stomach, turmeric's the joints, sea buckthorn's the eyes and mucous membranes — and all four have been measured moving the same inflammation markers, through four unrelated families of compounds. Most of the trials above used standardised extracts, oils or powders at doses well above what a single 60 ml shot provides.

Serving

One of the five shots contains honey, which should not be given to infants under 12 months.

References

1. Le Sayec M, Xu Y, Laiola M, et al. The effects of Aronia berry (poly)phenol supplementation on arterial function and the gut microbiome in middle aged men and women: results from a randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2022;41(11):2549–2561. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2022.08.024 · PMID 36228567
2. Istas G, Wood E, Le Sayec M, et al. Effects of aronia berry (poly)phenols on vascular function and gut microbiota: a double-blind randomized controlled trial in adult men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;110(2):316–329. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqz075 · PMID 31152545
3. Sarıkaya B, Kolay E, Guney-Coskun M, Yiğit-Ziolkowski A, Aktaç Ş. The effect of chokeberry on inflammation and oxidative stress: a systematic review. Nutr Rev. 2025;83(6):1083–1098. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuae143 · PMID 39499790
4. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of ginger supplementation in adults: a GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Inflammopharmacology. 2025. doi:10.1007/s10787-025-01994-6
5. Effects of curcumin on C-reactive protein: systematic review and meta-analysis. Phytother Res. 2021;35(10). doi:10.1002/ptr.7284 · PMID 34586711
6. Larmo P, Alin J, Salminen E, Kallio H, Tahvonen R. Effects of sea buckthorn berries on infections and inflammation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008;62(9):1123–1130. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602831 · PMID 17593932
7. Efficacy of curcumin in osteoarthritis: umbrella meta-analysis of 11 meta-analyses. Phytother Res. 2024. doi:10.1002/ptr.8153
8. Kuptniratsaikul V, Dajpratham P, Taechaarpornkul W, et al. Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts compared with ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Clin Interv Aging. 2014;9:451–458. doi:10.2147/cia.s58535 · PMID 24672232
9. Bartels EM, Folmer VN, Bliddal H, et al. Efficacy and safety of ginger in osteoarthritis patients: a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2015;23(1):13–21. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2014.09.024 · PMID 25300574
10. European Medicines Agency. European Union herbal monograph on Zingiber officinale Roscoe, rhizoma. Final, Revision 1, 7 May 2025.
11. Viljoen E, Visser J, Koen N, Musekiwa A. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting. Nutr J. 2014;13:20. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-20 · PMID 24642205
12. Hu ML, Rayner CK, Wu KL, et al. Effect of ginger on gastric motility and symptoms of functional dyspepsia. World J Gastroenterol. 2011;17(1):105–110. doi:10.3748/wjg.v17.i1.105 · PMID 21218090
13. Larmo PS, Järvinen RL, Setälä NL, Yang B, Viitanen MH, Engblom JRK, Tahvonen RL, Kallio HP. Oral sea buckthorn oil attenuates tear film osmolarity and symptoms in individuals with dry eye. J Nutr. 2010;140(8):1462–1468. doi:10.3945/jn.109.118901 · PMID 20554904 · NCT00739713
14. Järvinen RL, Larmo PS, Setälä NL, Yang B, Engblom JRK, Viitanen MH, Kallio HP. Effects of oral sea buckthorn oil on tear film fatty acids in individuals with dry eye. Cornea. 2011;30(9):1013–1019. doi:10.1097/ICO.0b013e3182035ad9
15. Yang B, Kallio HP. Fatty acid composition of lipids in sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) berries of different origins. J Agric Food Chem. 2001;49(4):1939–1947. doi:10.1021/jf001059s · PMID 11308350
16. Guo X, Zhuo L, Feng Y, Lin M, Le TN, Zhao M, Cai H. Bioactive components and functional applications of sea buckthorn: a review. Food Sci Nutr. 2026;14(8). doi:10.1002/fsn3.72289 · PMID 42643549
17. Karimi M, Javadi M, Hamzavi SF, et al. Effects of chokeberry products on cardiometabolic indices in adults: a GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. Nutrire. 2025;50(2):53. doi:10.1186/s41110-025-00359-x
18. Effects of curcumin on lipid profile: GRADE-assessed dose–response meta-analysis of 64 RCTs. Complement Ther Med. 2023;76:102955. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102955 · PMID 37230418
19. Geng Y, Wang J, Chen K, Li Q, Ping Z, Xue R, Zhang S. Effects of sea buckthorn on factors related to metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytother Res. 2022;36(11):4101–4114. doi:10.1002/ptr.7596 · PMID 36043374
20. Chen K, Zhou F, Zhang J, Li P, Zhang Y, Yang B. Dietary supplementation with sea buckthorn berry puree alters plasma metabolomic profile and gut microbiota composition in hypercholesterolemia population. Foods. 2022;11(16):2481. doi:10.3390/foods11162481