Rx: Mangosteen Juice to Quell Inflammation

By Hope Bentley, Natural Solutions magazine

When you cut your finger, bruise a knee, or catch the flu, inflammation acts as a friend, rallying the body’s immune system to defend against microbes and heal the injury or illness. But when the immune response never shuts off, that chronic low-level inflammation irritates the body and can raise the risk of diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. While researchers haven’t untangled all the mechanisms behind this yet, hyperactive immune cells can, for example, destabilize cholesterol deposits, setting the stage for heart attack, or they can destroy nerve cells in those predisposed to Alzheimer’s.

Chronic inflammation–triggered by everything from the typical Western diet of processed, sugary foods to irritated bowels, inflamed gums, and autoimmune disease–can be detected with tests that measure levels of C-reactive protein (an inflammation marker) and white blood cell counts. You don’t need a test, however, to take proactive steps against inflammation. A diet high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, spices like turmeric, magnesium-rich foods, olive oil, and omega-3 fatty acids all help douse the flames.

Another star “firefighter” is mangosteen juice. Native to tropical locales such as Thailand, the mangosteen fruit looks nothing at all like a mango (or a beer stein, for that matter). What sets this tangerine-size fruit apart are its high levels of xanthones, powerful antioxidants that have garnered growing attention from medical researchers. So far, they’ve isolated 220 types of xanthones–42 of which are found in mangosteen. Xanthones dampen inflammation by inhibiting the action of key inflammatory enzymes like COX-2 and 5-LOX. An in vitro study, presented in March at the American Chemical Society’s National Meeting found that concentrated mangosteen (specifically Mango-xan Antioxidant Recovery Formula made by Pure Fruit Technologies) reduced the activity of these enzymes by about 98 percent.

No one’s yet studied the effect mangosteen has on humans, but anecdotal evidence supports the anti-inflammatory claims, with “people who regularly take a mangosteen product reporting relief from chronic pain,” says Wayne Geilman, Ph.D., of Pure Fruit Technologies.

While custom laws prevent merchants from importing the entire mangosteen to the United States, you can buy several types of concentrates and purees in natural food stores. Some companies, like Genesis Today, offer pure mangosteen juice, while others, like Pure Fruit Technologies, Trace Minerals, and Dynamic Health Laboratories, offer blends of the fruit’s juice, flesh, and rind, which may pack more potency.

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Brain Injury - Mangosteen Testimony

Thanks to Karen for passing this along.

Hi Karen,

I am sending this email to tell you about my experience with using [mangosteen juice]. After being introduced to the juice by De Ann Dusak in Sept, I started drinking it Oct 1st. After my first 4 bottles I noticed that my high anxiety issues seemed less. I realized that the juice was making an improvement in my life. My anxiety issues were a direct result of a horrible accident that happened to my husband. October 1, 2006 my husband was on his Harley and got broad sided by an 82 yr old women with Macular Degeneration. He was flown by helicopter to Lee Memorial Hospital. He was in their Trauma Unit for three days. He sustained three broken vertebrae, a shattered right wrist, horrible road rash and a very serious traumatic brain injury. His body healed over the next two yrs. His brain injury was recovering according to the drs. schedule but there was a problem with his adrenaline. Brain injury sufferers are not able to control the effects of adrenaline. this is not something that goes away. What that means is that they can become angry, frustrated, confused, agitated and in general not very pleasant people. They also can not be in crowds. After two yrs of trying to find something that would help control the adrenal gland and "adrenal rushes" as they are called, I decided to have my husband try [mangosteen juice]. Within just a few weeks we noticed significant improvements. Today, after being on the drink for two months, my husband is much happier, and, seems to be able to tolerate crowds for a few hours at a time. This is amazing!

Recently my 78 yr old father suffered a mild heart attack that caused him to black out, fall and hit his head on the corner of a desk. I convinced my mother to put both herself and my father on the drink. After just one week she said that she has noticed that she is much calmer and that my father, after 4 weeks in a rehabilitation center and now home is much calmer. He has been on the juice for 7 days! When he came home from the rehab center he was terribly agitated, frustrated and in general very angry. My mom says he's mostly pleasant to be around with only occasional bouts of frustration or agitation. This is a tremendous thing!!! They will be consuming [mangosteen juice] for a long time to come.

I wanted to thank you and De Ann for introducing the product to me. I hope that my testimony will be of encouragement to anyone who has a loved one with a traumatic brain injury. It's truly an amazing juice!

Cindy Sheahan

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products and information contained herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases or, medical problems. It is not intended to replace your doctor's recommendations. The information is provided for educational purposes only. Nutritional benefits may vary from one person to another. TheCompany, XanGo LLC, cannot and does not make any medical or therapeutic claims about their product, XanGo, nor may any XanGo Independent Distributor. The XanGo Mangosteen Juice is made with the whole Mangosteen fruit that is rich with over 40 xanthones, under an International Patent. Mangosteen and Xanthones have been researched for many years by independent scientists, researchers, and medical schools who have no affiliation with XanGo. Many of the abstracts of their papers can be found at www.pubmed.gov . Enter "Xanthones" into the search bar. Any personal mangosteen story or experience you hear or read about is not to suggest or imply that you or anyone else might have the same reaction or benefit. We merely say, "Try the Mangosteen Product made by XanGo and see what benefits you receive."

Go to www.myxango.com/mangosteennation for more information.