My coworker at work brought in a drink made with mangosteen supplements, and she was selling a 25 fl oz bottle for $30 (her price). She also provided me with details and the following 22 arguments in favor of mangosteen juice:
- Prevents hardening of the arteries
- Protects the heart muscle
- Anti-Parkinson, anti-Alzheimer and other forms of dementia
- Anti-depressant
- Prevents and arrest fungus
- Prevents bacterial infections
- Viral fighters and prevention of infections
- Prevents fum disease
- Anti-diarrheal
- Lowers fevers
- Eye care-prevents glaucoma and cataracts
- Pansystemic – a synergistic effect on the whole body
- Energy boosters – anti-fatique
- Anti-aging
- Weight loss (wooo, I’ll drink to this!)
- Lowers blood fat (what the heck, I didn’t know there is fat in our blood!)
- Anti-tumor benefits
- Cancer: Mangosteen helps in the prevention of cancer with its powerful anti-oxidants.
- Lowers blood pressure
- Numerous references to “Immunostimulants”
- Blood sugar lowering
- It tastes good
My first thought was holy smokes! Who on earth would purchase that? Mangosteen – what is it? I have no idea what it looks like and have never heard of it.
Following more investigation, it was discovered that the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree that is thought to have its roots in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree can reach heights of 7 to 25 meters. When ripe, the edible fruit is a deep ruby purple color. In Asia, the durian (Durio spp.) is referred to as the “King of Fruits,” whereas the mangosteen fruit is referred to as the “Queen of Fruits.” It has a family tree with other edible tropical fruits including button and lemondrop mangosteen.
The fruit’s outer shell is normally 4-6 cm in diameter and is quite rigid. When the shell is broken, a white, meaty fruit with a diameter of 3–5 cm is revealed. There may or may not be pits in the fruit segments, depending on their size and degree of ripeness. The quantity of petals on the shell’s underside correlates directly with the number of fruit pods. A mangosteen typically contains 5 fruits, rounded up.
I’ve consumed a variety of exotic fruits throughout my life, including the durian, the King of Fruits, but I’ve never seen or tried the Queen of Fruits. I drank the mangosteen juice that I had purchased from my coworker in the $30 bottle. For the rest of the day, I do feel more energized, and I’ll have to let you know soon if it will actually help me lose some weight!
