Mangosteen

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi

> A friend of mine recommended mangosteen and their liquid vitamins for

> my 13 yo AS ds. She said they work on leaky gut, allergy, ADHD,

> depression, bowel problems and many others. Has anyone heard of these

> supplements. My big concern is that the vitamins/minerals have some

> metals in them(iron,copper ect).

Those are essential elements. Iron and copper are both required for

body functioning. Some kids are too high in iron, most kids are too

high in copper. How much of each does this contain? Does it contain

zinc to balance the copper? Is your child high or low in iron or

copper or any of the other required elements?

Dana

[Guest guest]

There are several mangosteen products out at the moment. These

products contain plenty of antioxidants from fruits, which is

basically good for anyone's health. Some products contain additional

ingredients such as aloe vera. So look at different ones and compare

ingredients.

If you or your child have difficulty processing fruits, salicylates,

or phenols, you might want to take No-Fenol enzymes with it.

They are basically a more concentrated natural fruit juices. Since

many kids have don't get enough fruits and vegetables, and have poor

nutrition, a whole-food source of fruit juice would be beneficial.

However, you really need to compare the price of the mangosteen

products with that of other fruit juices. I don't think there is

anything 'magical' about mangosteen in particular. And some products

are MLM based, while others are not. MLM have their own can of worms

to deal with. This was investigated in this group awhile back, and

here is a write up of what I found.

If you do decide to try some, and it is one of the more expensive

ones, try looking on ebay...often some of the more pricey supplements

are sold there with a big discount. People have 'stores' there and

you don't have to bid on them if you don't want to.

http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtxanthone.htm

.

[Guest guest]

--Dana,

When my son was 2yo he was tested(required by ny state) for lead and

it came up high(we lived in a brand new house that we built and no

one could figure where lead could have come from) , It was retested

after 3 months and the doctor said it was ok. I let it drop. At the

time I knew nothing about AS or metals. He is now 13 and is high

functioning. He started on enzymes 2years ago and all problems were

minimal until he started puberty last year. Then OCD came full force

and he regressed. He has been on celexa for 2 months and is much

better but not to prepuberty level. I have mangosteen with vitamin

that looks good(contains A,C.D E B,b12,ECT) The mineral supplement

that comes with it contains small amounts of floride, sulfur,copper,

zinc,tin,alimony,titanium,,gold,platinum,silver,bromideand many

others. Being he was high in lead when he was little I am aprehensive

about giving him it Any thoughts

Lynnc

>

> > Hi

> > A friend of mine recommended mangosteen and their liquid vitamins

for

> > my 13 yo AS ds. She said they work on leaky gut, allergy, ADHD,

> > depression, bowel problems and many others. Has anyone heard of

these

> > supplements. My big concern is that the vitamins/minerals have

some

> > metals in them(iron,copper ect).

>

>

> Those are essential elements. Iron and copper are both required for

> body functioning. Some kids are too high in iron, most kids are too

> high in copper. How much of each does this contain? Does it

contain

> zinc to balance the copper? Is your child high or low in iron or

> copper or any of the other required elements?

>

> Dana

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynn: Just started enzymes myself so I cant help out, but Im in NY also.

Upstate (Orange County) Whereabouts are you? If you dont mind me asking.

My son had a rough time with puberty, when most of his real (negative autism

problems) started. But that was a long time ago and I didnt have the info I

have now. Eileen

>From: " Lynn C " <lcanna@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: mangosteen

>Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 17:37:52 -0000

>

>

>--Dana,

>When my son was 2yo he was tested(required by ny state) for lead and

>it came up high(we lived in a brand new house that we built and no

>one could figure where lead could have come from) , It was retested

>after 3 months and the doctor said it was ok. I let it drop. At the

>time I knew nothing about AS or metals. He is now 13 and is high

>functioning. He started on enzymes 2years ago and all problems were

>minimal until he started puberty last year. Then OCD came full force

>and he regressed. He has been on celexa for 2 months and is much

>better but not to prepuberty level. I have mangosteen with vitamin

>that looks good(contains A,C.D E B,b12,ECT) The mineral supplement

>that comes with it contains small amounts of floride, sulfur,copper,

>zinc,tin,alimony,titanium,,gold,platinum,silver,bromideand many

>others. Being he was high in lead when he was little I am aprehensive

>about giving him it Any thoughts

>Lynnc

> >

> > > Hi

> > > A friend of mine recommended mangosteen and their liquid vitamins

>for

> > > my 13 yo AS ds. She said they work on leaky gut, allergy, ADHD,

> > > depression, bowel problems and many others. Has anyone heard of

>these

> > > supplements. My big concern is that the vitamins/minerals have

>some

> > > metals in them(iron,copper ect).

> >

> >

> > Those are essential elements. Iron and copper are both required for

> > body functioning. Some kids are too high in iron, most kids are too

> > high in copper. How much of each does this contain? Does it

>contain

> > zinc to balance the copper? Is your child high or low in iron or

> > copper or any of the other required elements?

> >

> > Dana

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Eileen,

I used to live upstate NY in Catskill. I think it was Orange county.

How long did the puberty/AS regression last? Did you find anything to

make it easier? I will be visiting NY for christmas. My sister who

has AS lives there and she is also a special ed teacher. I miss the

NY school system. I am now homeschooling in NC. Services were much

better in NY. I will see my sister tomorrow and am praying for some

insight. Anything you would have done different in hind sight that

might help now would be appreciated.

Lynn

> Hi Lynn: Just started enzymes myself so I cant help out, but Im in

NY also.

> Upstate (Orange County) Whereabouts are you? If you dont mind me

asking.

> My son had a rough time with puberty, when most of his real

(negative autism

> problems) started. But that was a long time ago and I didnt have

the info I

> have now. Eileen

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynn: Catskill is about 30 minutes from me. Actually my son went to

school in Kingston for awhile. Which is further upstate and 1 hour by car.

Yes the school systems in NY are good but the BOCES system in Orange County

stinks, just cant handle Autism behaviors and he was pretty much kicked out.

He goes to a BOCES program in Rockland County now and it has been

wonderful, but he was also lucky enough to have a wonderful teacher and aide

for most of his 6 years there. My family is still in Rockland County and my

husband's is in Orange County. Anyway, yes the biggest thing I would have

done differently was listen more to my own instincts and not have taken no

as an answer from Doctors. My son went to one of the top Neuro's up until 2

years ago when our insurance changed. Although he was a wonderful doctor,

he most certainly had the old way of thinking and as I have said previously

I just stopped telling the " little things " going on as I started to feel

foolish. The Neuro he has now, when we started took note that we have

looked outside the realm at alternative therapies ex: AIT, Allergy shots,

Secretin, Visual Therapy just to name a few. These were considered outside

the realm when we did them. Anyway he gave me the impression that he was

all into that also, but sad to say he really isnt. He is big into

Pharmacology. So I thank God that I fell upon this (NEW!!!) way of

thinking. The best advice I can give is to really follow your own instincts

and we are very lucky to have this Board as a support. There was no such

thing years ago. Believe me I thought I was on top of everything. At least

what was offered at the time. Puberty!!!!! Well this is when we had to

finally medicate . We tried SSRI's which only made his condition worse.

Finally ended up with the Risperdal and then took awhile to find the right

dose. I would have to say a good 2 years of ups & downs. I was the mother

that would never never medicate my son and here I was doing just what I said

I would never do. Boy did I feel like a failure. This was a very very

tough time for him and me, we had many battles. He got quite physical and

restraining him so he would not hurt himself was a challenge. Now I come

from a strong thick headed backround so even though medication was needed I

was not going to let this disorder run our lives (even though it did). So

if I had to get down on the floor and hold him until the rage subsided then

that's what I did. I have learned to let the little things go and set

different priorities. I now try to correct the big things and let the OCD

problems go as they are not hurting anyone. It's hard to write as I dont

want to give the bleak black impression that it sounds like. Things were

hard but we got thru them and I love him sooo very much and another thing I

did was laugh alot. I seemed to be able to find humor in almost everything

he did and does. My mom said out of her 15 grandchildren (my son has the

best sense of humor of all of them, because he can laugh at himself). Have

a wonderful holiday. And I am quite impressed with your sisters

accomplishments. My 22 year old daughter is now teaching 3rd grade and she

just loves it. Eileen

>From: " Lynn C " <lcanna@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: mangosteen

>Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 03:29:47 -0000

>

>

>Eileen,

>I used to live upstate NY in Catskill. I think it was Orange county.

>How long did the puberty/AS regression last? Did you find anything to

>make it easier? I will be visiting NY for christmas. My sister who

>has AS lives there and she is also a special ed teacher. I miss the

>NY school system. I am now homeschooling in NC. Services were much

>better in NY. I will see my sister tomorrow and am praying for some

>insight. Anything you would have done different in hind sight that

>might help now would be appreciated.

>

>Lynn

>

> > Hi Lynn: Just started enzymes myself so I cant help out, but Im in

>NY also.

> > Upstate (Orange County) Whereabouts are you? If you dont mind me

>asking.

> > My son had a rough time with puberty, when most of his real

>(negative autism

> > problems) started. But that was a long time ago and I didnt have

>the info I

> > have now. Eileen

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

> --Dana,

> When my son was 2yo he was tested(required by ny state) for lead and

> it came up high(we lived in a brand new house that we built and no

> one could figure where lead could have come from) , It was retested

> after 3 months and the doctor said it was ok. I let it drop.

You say " it was tested " . Do you mean your house, or your son?

I would recommend you test your child for metals, at least for lead

again. Info here

http://www.danasview.net/metals.htm

At the

> time I knew nothing about AS or metals. He is now 13 and is high

> functioning. He started on enzymes 2years ago and all problems were

> minimal until he started puberty last year. Then OCD came full force

> and he regressed.

Many parents report OCD is related to virus issues.

> that comes with it contains small amounts of floride, sulfur,copper,

> zinc,tin,alimony,titanium,,gold,platinum,silver,bromideand many

> others. Being he was high in lead when he was little I am aprehensive

> about giving him it

I would not recommend this, just based on your list above. Fluoride

is a neurotoxin. Many kids don't tolerate sulfur [phenol issues], I

don't know what is " alimony " unless you are divorced LOL, and gold and

the other things you list after it are not essential elements.

Dana

[Guest guest]

Eileen,

It is so nice to hear from someone with an older child. I can relate to so much

of what you say because I now have a teenager. So far puberty has been kind of a

good thing for us. Maybe that is the difference between girls and boys.

There is so much more information and support available now. It really does make

it easier.

Re: mangosteen

>Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 03:29:47 -0000

>

>

>Eileen,

>I used to live upstate NY in Catskill. I think it was Orange county.

>How long did the puberty/AS regression last? Did you find anything to

>make it easier? I will be visiting NY for christmas. My sister who

>has AS lives there and she is also a special ed teacher. I miss the

>NY school system. I am now homeschooling in NC. Services were much

>better in NY. I will see my sister tomorrow and am praying for some

>insight. Anything you would have done different in hind sight that

>might help now would be appreciated.

>

>Lynn

>

> > Hi Lynn: Just started enzymes myself so I cant help out, but Im in

>NY also.

> > Upstate (Orange County) Whereabouts are you? If you dont mind me

>asking.

> > My son had a rough time with puberty, when most of his real

>(negative autism

> > problems) started. But that was a long time ago and I didnt have

>the info I

> > have now. Eileen

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

This is one of a number of so-claimed " superfruits " that are out there

on the market. Others include goji, acai, and noni. Personally, I think

that ALL of them are good as far as they go -- and some of them have

been shown to have anticancer properties in vitro -- but I would

skeptical of the claims of marketeers -- many of which tend to be

unverifiable, or can be attributed to placebo effect, OR simply to

actual positive effects of someone starting to do SOMETHING good for

themselves -- and, especially of them being a magic bullet.

Personally, for the same amount of money that a month's supply of the

network marketed products cost, I would (and do) take amrit, a rather

remarkable ayurvedic fruit concentrate (available from mapi.com). ALSO,

as previously mentioned, I eat dried goji berries, available at health

food stores at rather reasonable price, for breakfast.

Hope this helps.

RB

P.S. I've tried a couple of the network marketed products and wasn't

" blown away " .

P.P.S. If interested in " heavy-duty " anticancer supplements, they have a

veritable encyclopedia at <http://cancer-prevention.net/> .

        Posted by: " Ray Simons " pascendi@...

pascendi1935   Date: Thu Mar 8, 2007 10:25 pm ((PST))

Dear Group,

A friend intoduced me to a product called mangosteen today. There are

many and varried claims for this product. If there is anyone on this

list who has actual knowledge about this product and would be willing to

share it with me I would sure appreciate it especially any information

about it's effect if any on cancer. Please understand that I am not

trying to sell anything nor do I claim any knowledge about this product.

I am only seeking valid information.

Thanks,

Ray Simons

[Guest guest]

RB: Can you tell me what positives you have seem from taking the

amrit, I guess it is a high antioxidant for sure. Just curious of

results or benefits? Frann

>

> I would (and do) take amrit, a rather

> remarkable ayurvedic fruit concentrate (available from mapi.com).

ALSO,

> as previously mentioned, I eat dried goji berries, available at

health

> food stores at rather reasonable price, for breakfast.

>

> Hope this helps.

>

> RB

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh, to one degree or anther, all the types of things they talk about at

mapi.com: Increases energy, clarity, smoothness, welll-being. I get a

nice boost whenever I take it -- to start my day in the morning (along

with some goji) and at bedtime (improves quality of sleep). Wouldn't be

without it! And, as they point out in " The Answer to Cancer " , by Sharma,

et. al. (which covers ayurvedic approaches in general), good

anticancer/cancer preventative broad spectrum antioxidant.

        Posted by: " fmschwegler " fmschwegler@...

fmschwegler   Date: Fri Mar 9, 2007 3:25 pm ((PST))

RB: Can you tell me what positives you have seem from taking the

amrit, I guess it is a high antioxidant for sure. Just curious of

results or benefits? Frann

I would (and do) take amrit, a rather

remarkable ayurvedic fruit concentrate (available from mapi.com). ALSO,

as previously mentioned, I eat dried goji berries, available at health

food stores at rather reasonable price, for breakfast.

Hope this helps.

RB

[Guest guest]

One of these fruits, I think Goji, had some good studies done but only

on the fruit itself, not the juice. I have a friend who sells Noni

and her customers have had excellent results for various things. I

take a mixture of whole foods like goji and acai (blended rather than

juiced so it is thick) with sea minerals, ginseng and maitake and some

other goodies added. I feel good with it and did notice a difference

in energy levels but then my body really likes mushrooms and ginseng.

Maitake is an excellent mushroom for cancer and viruses. I don't get

colds or flues when drinking this even when everyone around me

(including my stubborn family, lol) is sick.

Sharon

>

> This is one of a number of so-claimed " superfruits " that are out there

> on the market. Others include goji, acai, and noni. Personally, I think

> that ALL of them are good as far as they go -- and some of them have

> been shown to have anticancer properties in vitro -- but I would

> skeptical of the claims of marketeers -- many of which tend to be

> unverifiable, or can be attributed to placebo effect, OR simply to

> actual positive effects of someone starting to do SOMETHING good for

> themselves -- and, especially of them being a magic bullet.

>

> Personally, for the same amount of money that a month's supply of the

> network marketed products cost, I would (and do) take amrit, a rather

> remarkable ayurvedic fruit concentrate (available from mapi.com). ALSO,

> as previously mentioned, I eat dried goji berries, available at health

> food stores at rather reasonable price, for breakfast.

>

> Hope this helps.

>

> RB

>

> P.S. I've tried a couple of the network marketed products and wasn't

> " blown away " .

>

> P.P.S. If interested in " heavy-duty " anticancer supplements, they have a

> veritable encyclopedia at <http://cancer-prevention.net/> .

>

>

> Posted by: " Ray Simons " pascendi@...

> pascendi1935 Date: Thu Mar 8, 2007 10:25 pm ((PST))

>

> Dear Group,

> A friend intoduced me to a product called mangosteen today. There are

> many and varried claims for this product. If there is anyone on this

> list who has actual knowledge about this product and would be willing to

> share it with me I would sure appreciate it especially any information

> about it's effect if any on cancer. Please understand that I am not

> trying to sell anything nor do I claim any knowledge about this product.

> I am only seeking valid information.

>

> Thanks,

> Ray Simons

>

[Guest guest]

Iknow that noni is anti-imflamitory. That is why it works toward cancer and it

has bromalie which helps remove the toxins.

But you can't count on just one thing. My brother tried the noni and it helped

but he could keep drinking the amount of Noni that is needed. Like one 32 oz

bottle for 4 days then cut in half for 8 days then cut it the amount in half

once more and keep drinking until cured.

If you stop the tumor will grow double in size quickly. But you can start

drinking it again for. Quick responds.

But I. Would not totally count on noni alone. It does work great for keeping

blood levels normal too

My brother couldn't eat for 3 weeks before starting noni so I do know it

extended his life he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

I am sure other juice may help but even being a distrubtor its costly maintain

the cost.

Cantron is very cheep compaired to most treatments.

I still drink about 2 to 4 oz of NONI a day

Blessings

Debbie---

[Guest guest]

There seems to be more and efficient ways to combat cancer that have been

apparently successful to rely upon yet another expensive MLM product that often

draws away much needed money from potentially better protocols.

I suppose if the $$$$ are not a question one can add these products but to rely

upon them?

Joe C.

[Guest guest]

Could we please leave out the references to MLM when discussing

products? Enough already! It's just a form of marketing! " ...yet

another expensive MLM product... " lumps all MLM products into

the " bad " category. This could keep some people from even trying

various things.

Does cheap make it more effective? Is it always more expensive?

SOME network marketers do get carried away with talking about their

products. Most don't. They are warned constantly by their companies.

Also, I've heard some things from employees of vitamin shops as well.

All well meaning of course.

And, for the most part, the products are available in some form or

another at a retail store or online. Does getting them through a

distributor make any difference?

Please just talk about the product and leave the MLM bashing out of

it. The reason this site is so good is because we can read all kinds

of other opinions. They are JUST OPINIONS. Yet very very helpful.

Everyone must take responsibility for making up their own mind.

Appreciatively,

a

[Guest guest]

It could be that most people have had problems dealing with MLM's and that

is their opinion.

Bruce Guilmette, PhD

Author: THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN JUST LIVING, A Personal Story About

Cancer Survival

Survive Cancer Foundation, Inc.

http://survivecancerfoundation.org

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day

has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:34 (NIV)

From: ladypavla

Could we please leave out the references to MLM when discussing

products? Enough already! It's just a form of marketing!....a

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

So I hear about a product and exhaust myself looking in stores for it?

Stuff carried by MLMs is not in stores and if it is any good, then we

need to know where to find it. To me, this is just part of the

information about a product. I don't see any problem with saying

something is MLM, or giving an idea of the price. It is great to know

if something is in your budget before you spend you time trying to find

it, just to discover that you can't afford it.

Bright Blessings,

Kim

ladypavla wrote:

> Could we please leave out the references to MLM when discussing

> products? Enough already!...a

>

[Guest guest]

A Friendly Skeptic Looks at Mangosteen By Dr. Ralph Mossfrom CancerDecisions.com Newsletter When I wrote Cancer Therapy in the early 1990s, I had the bright idea of putting my mailing address in the book in the hope that some readers would send me information on new treatments. Little did I imagine that such communication would become a torrent of proposals. Today, hardly a day goes by without my being made aware of some new "cure." Would that a fraction of these

panned out as well as proponents claimed! One of the latest in this long line is an exotic fruit drink called mangosteen, or XanGo™. Mangosteen should not be confused with mango, an entirely different plant. It is part of a group known as the Guttiferae, a family of mainly tropical trees and shrubs that secrete an acrid yellow resinous juice. Mangosteen's scientific designation is Garcinia mangostana (Campin 2004). It is reputedly named after a French explorer, Jacques Garcin (1673-1751). In Europe and North America, the most recognizable member of this family is the popular herb, St. 's wort. No one knows exactly where and when the mangosteen was first cultivated. One botanist, F. Morton, believes it originated in the Moluccas and the Sunda Islands. Yet there are also wild mangosteen

trees in the forests of Malaya. Some experts say the trees were first domesticated in Thailand or Burma. But in the 19th century, botanists brought seeds to Europe and America. Valiant attempts were made to cultivate the 18-foot high trees in Africa, the Caribbean and central America. But the plant is considered "ultra-tropical" and sensitive: nursery seedlings die at 45º F. In fact, there are few if any mangosteens growing in the continental US. A lone American tree in Florida was said to have yielded a single fruit...and then died. That was the beginning and end of the American mangosteen "industry." But attempts continued to bring mangosteen to Europe and America as a food. "Despite the oft-repeated Old World enthusiasm for this fruit," says Morton, "it is not always viewed as worth the trouble to produce. In Jamaica, it is regarded as nice but overrated; not comparable to a good field-ripe

pineapple or a choice mango." The mangosteen fruit is the size of a small apple, purple colored, with a hard rind. Inside there are typically five to seven seeds surrounded by a sweet, juicy cover (or aril). The pulp, which is said to resemble a pineapple or peach in taste, is reputed to be a very delicious food - in Asia it is sometimes called the queen of fruits in honor both of its flavor and its economic importance. Uses in Traditional Medicine For many years dried mangosteen fruits have been shipped from Singapore to Calcutta and then on to China for medicinal use. As to its many uses in folk medicine, here is what botanist Morton has written: "The sliced and dried rind is powdered and administered to overcome dysentery. Made into an ointment, it is applied on eczema and other skin disorders. The rind decoction is taken to relieve diarrhea and cystitis, gonorrhea and gleet [a watery discharge, ed.] and is applied externally as an astringent lotion. A portion of the rind is steeped in water overnight and the infusion given as a remedy for chronic diarrhea in adults and children. "Filipinos employ a decoction of the leaves and bark as a febrifuge and to treat thrush, diarrhea, dysentery and urinary disorders. In Malaya, an infusion of the leaves, combined with unripe banana and a little benzoin is applied to the wound of circumcision. A root decoction is taken to regulate menstruation. A bark extract called 'amibiasine', has been marketed for the treatment of amoebic

dysentery." Morton also writes that "[t]he rind of partially ripe fruits yields a polyhydroxy-xanthone derivative termed mangostin, also beta-mangostin. That of fully ripe fruits contains the xanthones, gartanin, 8-desoxygartanin, and normangostin. A derivative of mangostin, mangostin-e, 6-di-O-glucoside, is a central nervous system depressant and causes a rise in blood pressure." A more complete listing of constituents is given at ethnobotanist Dr. Duke's informative and useful Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases (Duke 2004). We can conclude then that mangosteen has many uses in folk medicine, and as such, it can join a fairly long list of plants that can be considered as promising sources of new medicines. XanGo™ on the Go In this age of frenzied commercialism, entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for ways to make it big in the natural medicines market. Under such conditions, however, new medicines of botanical origin cannot be developed or tested in an orderly way. A common feature of the way in which natural medicines such as mangosteen are promoted is the use of network marketing. This involves the retailing of products through the use of independent distributors. These distributors are then encouraged to build and manage their own sales force by recruiting, motivating, supplying, and training others to sell products. Compensation in such arrangements includes the distributor's own sales as well as a percentage of the sales of his or her entire "downline" (i.e., all those people signed up by

an individual, who in turn go on to become salespeople). The term network marketing is virtually synonymous with the older but now somewhat disreputable term 'multi-level marketing' (MLM). Network marketing turns mere consumers into determined marketers who aggressively sell their product, often to their own friends, relatives and neighbors. The more people they can recruit into the growing network the more money they themselves make. A sophisticated marketing blitz, including books and pamphlets, seemingly objective newsletters, press releases and chattering websites, inflate the importance of a product, creating a buzz that only dies away when the huge supply of potential customers and salespeople is finally exhausted. Or when, as it has on occasion, the government finally steps in. But the essential requirement for a successful MLM operation of this sort is a kernel of promising-sounding

scientific evidence, coupled with a credible and compelling story, a compliant doctor willing to underwrite the concept, and finally some patients (who may themselves be distributors) willing to testify that the product led to astounding cures. Aloe vera, colloidal minerals, gingko biloba and ginseng were all popularized in this way. But perhaps the most memorable example of a network marketing stampede is noni juice, a once totally obscure Polynesian fruit that became the basis of a huge industry. Tahitian Noni International, formerly called Morinda, last year claimed to have passed the two billion dollar sales mark! This is the sort of performance that makes get-rich-quick artists drool. The techniques of network marketing, honed through decades of trial and error, are now being used by a Utah-based company to position

mangosteen as the latest "miracle cure" craze. The price of their XanGo mangosteen juice is currently $37 per bottle (or four for $100). You have to ask yourself: who on earth would pay that much for a bottle of fruit juice, no matter how delicious it might be? The reason the marketers can succeed in selling juice at this price is obvious: when people are suffering from medical conditions for which there does not appear to be much hope, or for which the orthodox medical recommendations are too toxic or expensive, they will actively seek alternatives. And then someone, oftentimes someone they trust, such as a friend or neighbor, convinces them to give some new product a try. Products such as mangosteen exploit humanity's understandable desire to discover simple and painless solutions to intractable problems. Now that the commercial ball is rolling an increasing number of mangosteen brands are

reaching the market. But for the time being the market leader is XanGo™ (www.myxango.com). A visit to their website triggers an audio webcast from a very pleasant sounding young lady, who assures us that "by integrating the Internet, teamwork, and personal mentoring, MyXanGo.com provides you a vehicle to improve the areas of your life that are most important to you, and we do it for FREE." I listened in amazement to her polished spiel and the brazen intrusiveness of this message. I was particularly amused when she said, "You should know that this message is not about selling." Right. "It's not about false claims and outlandish statements." Sure. "It's about sharing facts to help you decide if now is the right time in your life to consider XanGo™." Really. The rhetoric gets even more effusive. A March 2004 press release

from one seller proclaims: "Mangosteen is now on an unstoppable march to conquer the world" (Goss 2004). Put this way it sounds rather ominous…almost like a cross between Osama bin Laden and the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Xanthones As stated, one requirement for a successful network promotion is that there be at least a kernel of scientific truth around which exaggerated claims can be assembled. As with noni juice, mangosteen is not entirely without scientific documentation. The problem, as usual, is that the claims for mangosteen are inflated till they far outpace what has been established through careful experimentation. Some mangosteen promoters have mined Duke's famous ethnobotanical database

for confirmation of their product's value. And, indeed, Dr. Duke confirms that the plant contains several interesting components. But so do thousands of other plants in his voluminous database. For most of the chemicals contained in this fruit (such as beta-mangostin, catechins, cis-hex-3-enyl-acetate, gamma-mangostin, gartanin, garcinones) the database lists NO particular biochemical activities. Only the compound called "mangostin" seems to have some scientific backing for its antibacterial, antiseptic and fungicidal properties (Recio 1989). Yet scores of mangosteen websites now cite Duke's database as scientific justification for this product. In reality, Dr. Duke has absolutely nothing to do with any mangosteen distributor and is not particularly enthusiastic about the product. Much is made of the xanthone connection. According to the MyXanGo.com website: "There are over 200 xanthones in

nature. Each xanthone can have specific effects on the body. What's remarkable about the mangosteen is that there are over 40 xanthones identified in the pericarp, or rind, making it the single most xanthone-rich source in the world….Only six of the xanthones have been studied in depth. While we don't know fully why the mangosteen works on such a wide variety of physical conditions, we know it has to do with being the world's most potent source of xanthones. Each xanthone has its own effect, and when combined, they take on a synergistic quality that supports the health of the entire body." But all of this is speculative. It is undoubtedly true that there are many xanthones (a kind of antioxidant) in mangosteen. In fact, according to the Merck Index (11th Ed., p. 5613) the first scientifically defined substance to be derived from mangosteen was the xanthone mangostin. This was isolated by a German

scientist named Schmid in 1855. In 1979, mangostin was found to have significant anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer effects in rats (Shankaranarayan 1979). Yet although mangosteen's xanthones have been known for almost 150 years, there are still only 19 PubMed articles on these xanthones and none of these articles concerns the use of xanthones in the actual clinical treatment of human disease. So I would say the jury is still out on their effectiveness in treating anything. The main XanGo website also claims that the antioxidant ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) value of mangosteen is the highest of all edible plants. "It is so potent that literally I know of nothing else in the supplement market that can possibly come even close to it," says J. Frederic Templeman, MD, a Georgia family practitioner who is interviewed at the MyXanGo website. Many other XanGo-promoting websites repeat the

claim that while the previous champion, prunes, have an ORAC value of 7,000 per ounce, mangosteen has an ORAC value of 17,000 to 24,000. Yet XanGo sites claim that "a new champion" has been born in the worldwide contest for ORAC supremacy. But where in the scientific literature is the ORAC value of XanGo published? The source of these numbers is hard to track down. For instance, the Sunsweet prune website states that 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of prunes have an ORAC value of 5,770. While the ORAC values for most fruits and vegetables have been determined by standard laboratories and published in scientific journals, this is not so for mangosteen. I have not seen independent confirmation of these confidently promulgated claims. However, even if we assume for the sake of argument that the figures cited are indeed accurate, it must be pointed out that merely having an astronomically high ORAC value does

not in and of itself confer any particular advantage. Not all antioxidants that are confirmed as present in the laboratory can be absorbed by human beings. And there is a limit to how much we can benefit from an increased intake of antioxidants. According to Dr. Prior of the US Department of Agriculture Research Service at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, "a significant increase in antioxidants of 15 to 20 percent is possible by increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, particularly those high in ORAC value." However, in order to have a significant impact on plasma and tissue antioxidant capacity one can only meaningfully increase one's daily intake by 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units. Any greater amount is probably redundant. That is because the antioxidant capacity of the blood is tightly regulated, says Dr. Prior. Thus there is an upper limit to the benefit that can

be derived from antioxidants. Taking in 25,000 ORAC units at one time (as reputedly occurs with mangosteen) would be no more beneficial than taking in a fifth of that amount: the excess is simply excreted by the kidneys. Marketers of the drink have widely claimed that XanGo has exceptional health-giving properties based on its very high ORAC score. (ORAC stands for oxygen radical absorbance capacity - a measure of the antioxidant value of a substance.) But having a high ORAC value does not necessarily confer any health advantage. According to Dr. J. Frederic Templeman, a Georgia family practitioner who has written a small book on mangosteen, and who is widely quoted by XanGo marketers, if you take these antioxidants "you aren't going to probably have a heart attack as fast as someone who doesn't take them" and consuming

them could therefore constitute "literally the difference between life and death." Although I myself have written a book on the subject of the benefit of antioxidants (Antioxidants Against Cancer), I would say it is a tremendous stretch to claim that antioxidants are predictably going to save anyone's life. Good health is achieved through a combination of many factors, hereditary as well as environmental. Effects on Cancer At the XanGo website, a company spokesperson interviews Dr Templeman on the subject of mangosteen's beneficial effect on cancer. They both agree that a single test tube experiment is proof of the anticancer value of the juice: Dr. Templeman: "That's striking." XanGo spokesperson: "It's incredible." At various other websites devoted to XanGo (and there are now over 21,000 of them!) we read in glowing terms about both the supposed quantity and quality of scientific research on this previously obscure fruit. Reality Check So it is high time for a reality check. Has mangosteen really been thoroughly studied in terms of its effect on cancer and a host of other diseases? Or is this simply a wild extrapolation driven by strong commercial motives? Dr. Templeman refers to 44 scientific publications on this topic but there are just 29

articles on the topic of Garcinia mangostana in PubMed, the US National Library of Medicine database of 14+ million citations. A total of four of these studies relate to cancer. In one test tube experiment it was shown that a xanthone found in mangosteen kills cancer cells as effectively as many chemotherapeutic drugs. It also appears (on the basis of limited data) that compounds found abundantly in mangosteen can inhibit the harmful 1 and 2 enzymes, and can also induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) in aberrant cells (Ho 2002). Mangosteen thus joins a fairly long list of naturally derived compounds that might potentially have some anticancer activity. These 29 articles do not constitute a wealth of data. For example, by contrast, PubMed lists over 2,300 articles on the topic of vitamin C and cancer, 125 of which refer to clinical trials. There are a similar number of studies on vitamin

E and cancer. There are 835 studies of melatonin and cancer, and a truly impressive 16,000 on polysaccharides and cancer, including 536 clinical trials and 277 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Yet, we're to believe that four test-tube experiments constitute - to quote the aforementioned Dr. Templeman - "mountains of evidence" on the benefits of XanGo. According to the promotional website of one of XanGo's many "independent distributors" at http://bjsbytes.com/Xango/Questions.htm: "...much of the science behind xanthones is predominantly available to those in the medical community until recently. Many of the clinical studies on xanthones have been done in universities and testing facilities throughout Asia and have recently

started to catch the attention of Western researchers." But is this true? Reputable researchers the world over, including those in Asia, publish in PubMed-listed journals. For example there are over 63,000 articles on cancer in PubMed in the Japanese language. Yet despite the website's misleading talk about "clinical studies," PubMed does not contain a single clinical trial of mangosteen in the treatment of cancer, or any other disease. Perhaps these promoters don't realize that a clinical study is not something done in a laboratory, but a study that by definition is carried out on living patients. Laboratory studies on cell lines or even animals do not qualify for the title 'clinical study'. Thus, despite what you may read at any one of those 21,000 promotional

websites, very little scientific evidence exists concerning mangosteen's anticancer activity in humans. In my opinion, what we have here is simply an overpriced fruit drink. Fruit drinks are often healthful beverages. But the only reason I can see that the promoters of mangosteen can get away with charging $37 for this product is that they are playing on patients' hopes and fears in a cynical way. Without the health claims, open or implied, the product could only be sold for at most $5 or $6 (which, for example, is the cost of antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice). The mangosteen phenomenon is a reprise of the aloe vera, gingko biloba, and especially the noni juice story, complete with exaggerated claims for the health benefits of an exotic fruit. It should come as no surprise that both the

President and the Chief Financial Officer of Xango once worked for Morinda (now called Tahitian Noni International). Compounds found in plants have long been of great interest to cancer researchers. We must never forget that about one-fifth of all chemotherapeutic agents (including Vincristine, Vinblastine, Etoposide, Teniposide, and Taxol) are ultimately derived from plant sources. Many of these took a long time to pass through the regulatory process, since serious research into botanical medicine often goes begging for financial and intellectual support. Starved of funds in this way, the riches of the natural world are often neglected by mainstream science, only to be plundered by less scrupulous organizations. The patient loses twice - by not having the fruits of serious research and by being deceived by slick operators posing as friends and benefactors. Some may even opt for unproven miracle

juices in lieu of more certain therapies that might save their lives. When it comes to cancer, we truly live in a topsy-turvy world. Suzi List Owner health/ http://360./suziesgoats What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

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