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mangosteen whole fruit juice?

1595 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Clare.T
My massage therapist said several of her fibro and lupus patients have had great results from this. Has anyone out there tried it????

I also saw fliers and testimonies about it at University of Michigan hospitals gynecological department!
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Mangosteen is typically advertised and marketed as part of an emerging category of novel functional foods sometimes called "superfruits"presumed to have a combination of 1) appealing subjective characteristics, such as taste, fragrance and visual qualities, 2) nutrient richness, 3) antioxidant strength and 4) potential impact for lowering risk against human diseases.

Among six exotic fruits, however, mangosteen was ranked lowest overall for these qualities.

The aril is the flavorful part of the fruit but when analyzed specifically for its nutrient content the mangosteen aril only meets the first criterion above, as its overall nutrient profile is absent of important content,it contains no pigmentation (correspondingly, no antioxidant phytochemicals in significant concentration) and there is no scientific evidence of aril constituents having any health properties.

Purée or juice from arils combined with exocarp phenolic extracts produces juice having purple color and astringency like the exocarp pigments, including xanthones under study for potential anti-cancer effects on mouse mammary tissue in vitro. As xanthone research is at an early stage of basic research, no conclusions about possible health benefits for humans are warranted presently.

However, a possible adverse effect may occur from chronic consumption of mangosteen juice containing xanthones. A 2008 medical case report described a patient with severe acidosis possibly attributable to a year of daily use (to lose weight, dose not described) of mangosteen juice infused with xanthones, as occurs in the manufacture of many commercial mangosteen juices. The authors proposed that chronic exposure to alpha-mangostin, a xanthone, could be toxic to mitochondrial function, leading to impairment of cellular respiration and production of lactic acidosis

This is from Wikipedia

Stephanie
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conflicting reports

I read that at Wikkipedia too but there's a lot of positive testimonials out there as well so I'm really wondering.

I know antioxidants in general seem helpful for a lot of ailments so its claims aren't totally off base. Also, I'm sure doctors and pharmaceutical companies wouldn't be in favor of cures or prevention because it'd cut down on their business.
:wink2:

Has anyone tried this?
I saw a special on Testimonials for infomercials, most of those people are being paid to say things, they are not scripted, but they are coached...most of them never even heard of the product, they just came for the screen test.

I prefer actual cliical studies before I use a product.

Stephanie
Ok, I'm just plain biased against anything that claims to be a "miracle" whether it's a drug, weight loss method, child rearing technique or aphrodisiac. A couple years ago a woman joined the chronic pain support group I was attending at that time. After the meeting, she followed me to my car and gave me a very hard sell for mangosteen juice.

If the stuff was really a cure, medical doctors would be telling us to drink it. They wouldn't have to come up with a pyramid marketing plan for it -- people would be beating down the door to buy it.

Maybe it's a healthy juice drink. So is orange juice, grape juice, and my personal favorite -- red wine.

If you want to drink mangosteen juice, at least find the most stable sales person and the lowest price. If your massage therapist is selling the juice ,I would be very wary about buying it from somebody already treating you.

Please, if anybody reading this has been cured, or even helped, by drinking a juice or eating some fruit or tea, let us know. Post your medical report, have your doctor post, let us know exactly what these potions did for you besides draining your pocket book.

Skeptically, Sunny
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I've been drinking mangosteen juice since a friend with arthritis, recommended it. I'm bad at taking it every day, but I notice that when I do, I feel better and less fatigued. The active ingredients are all juices. (My best friend, a pharmacist, recommended it,too) Cathy:)
Here's some more information about it:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/hm.html

love
Lily
People often 'feel better' whatever that means when they think that something will do them good whether pharmaceuticals or other products, placebo effect. It doesn't mean they are better by any clinical standards. That's why it's important to have a doctor who inspires faith and trust.

I think there's a stronger motivation to feel better when you have paid good money for the product as who wants to think they have been foolish enough to spend money on something useless. Even more so when you have been pressurised by people you know and don't want to let them down.
I don't believe anybody who stands to make a personal profit from selling a product of any sort, and I am even more sceptical when there are only anecdotes praising it and none saying it has no real effect on the disease.
We can't be sure if the people really had the disease they say they had and we don't know about the future progress of their ailments.
It's really funny how many of these miracle natural health products come from isolated parts of the world with the populations living in abject poverty and short life spans and high mortality rates from illnesses we can easily treat and would hardly think twice about, " used for centuries, wisdom of the ancients" etc etc. My eye.
If the claims were really true, these populations would be the healthiest in the world. It defies common sense.

:lol:

Clare
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