Grapes have been used by European and Middle Eastern folk healers for years for their powerful medicinal properties. Scientists have found that the grape seed has the most concentrated form of health benefits from the grape. Grape seed extracts have been shown to improve immunity and prevent cancer.

Every part of the grape plant has been used to improve health. Grapevines have been made into special ointments that were used to treat skin and eye diseases. Grape leaves were used to improve healing time of painful injuries and inflammatory conditions. Unripe grapes were classically used to help the body fend off sore throats, and dried grapes (raisins) have been used to help with constipation and healthy bowel movements.

Grape seed extract has incredible antioxidant power:

Grape seed extract has an incredible antioxidant potential with its flavonoid phytonutrients. These polyphenols include resveratrol and unique oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes (OPC's). The most potent form is in grape seed extract, as it contains 95% OPC's, which is more than any other antioxidant extract.

OPC's help the body produce glutathione, which is the master antioxidant that protects DNA and strengthens the immune system. They also increase intracellular vitamin C levels and strengthen capillaries and thus improve blood oxygen circulation throughout the body. These antioxidants also act to protect soft tissue collagen in the joints and skin from free radical damage and premature aging.

The powerful free radical scavenging effects of grape seed extract protect the skin from UV radiation damage, the blood vessel walls from inflammatory stress and the brain from low oxygen states. Due to the benefits that grape seed extract has on these systems, it has been shown to reduce the risk of skin cancer, improve blood pressure and protect against dementia.

Grape seed extract and cancer:

Many studies have shown the benefits of grape seed extract on slowing cancer growth and initiating cancer cell death. Researchers at the University of Kentucky found that the antioxidants in grape seed extract triggered the death of 76% of exposed leukemia cells by turning on a protein known as "JNK" that regulates cancer cell pathways.

Other studies have shown that grape seed extracts help the liver to detoxify from radiation induced poisons and chemotherapy. In addition, they help the liver to detoxify bad estrogenic molecules. By helping the body eliminate these toxic substances, grape seed helps reduce the growth of breast, stomach, colon, prostate and lung cancer cells.

Mangosteen Health Benefits

When you first hear about how Mangosteen benefits people on a variety of health conditions, you may be shocked by the number of health-enhancing properties this exotic fruit provides.
Doing your own research on this amazing fruit for the health benefits it may provide your family and friends is time truly well spent. As you take a closer look at Mangosteen, you'll find solid scientific evidence behind the fruit's many healing properties.

Medical Practitioners Tout the Benefits of Mangosteen

Experienced health professionals - who understand why it helps their patients and how it heals their bodies - have written extensively about the health benefits of the Mangosteen fruit.
Some of these health practitioners, who have experienced the benefits of this fruit in their own lives and in their patients', have these to say:
"Mangosteen provides powerful support for every organ system in the human body. This fact is being confirmed on a daily basis by clinical experience... I am convinced that Mangosteen will, without a doubt, be the most successful food supplement ever."
- J. Frederic Templeman, M.D., a primary care physician for more than 20 years and board certified in both the United States and Canada.(1)
"Mangosteen... is able to reverse most of the ailments of modern man."
- Kenneth J. Finsand, M.D., a practicing chiropractic physician for nearly 30 years who specialized in functional medicine throughout his medical career.(2)
"Mangosteen provides huge health benefits for every organ in our bodies."- Sam Walters, N.M.D., a family practitioner trained as a specialist in both traditional and natural medicine, with more than 30 years of comprehensive practical experience in the medical profession, and formulated nutritional products for companies and institutions including the NASA Space Center for the austronauts.(3)

Why does Your Health Benefit from Mangosteen?

What makes Garcinia Mangostana L. so versatile in addressing so many health issues and in promoting health in so many ways?
Mangosteen contains more than 40 biologically-active, natural chemical compounds called Xanthones. While all these Xanthones have similar molecular structures, each one has its own unique chemical composition that permits it to perform a specific function.
Alpha-mangostin, for example, is a very potent antioxidant. Gamma-mangostin is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Garcinone E is a strong anti-tumor agent.
These and the other Xanthones found in the Mangosteen provide a virtual medicine chest of natural healing compounds that address a wide variety of health issues.

Mangosteen's Many Uses

Medical professionals have become very good at treating diseases, but we know they don't have all the answers.
There also are times when they have used a drug or treatment that later was found to have done more harm than good, or that have done enough damage which far outweighed the benefits the drug or treatment provided. Drugs like Vioxx, Celebrex and Phen-fen are a few that come to mind.
Here's a simple question: Why use drugs --- with their harmful and sometimes fatal side-effects --- when fruits can do the job?
Natural remedies provide health benefits without the harmful side-effects of drugs.
But some who hear or read about the many health benefits of Mangosteen for the first time may be inclined to say that it's just too many and too good to be true for one exotic fruit to be able to provide them all.

Modern Science Agrees With Traditional Asian Healing

Centuries of Mangosteen use has helped Southeast Asians maintain or regain their health and cure their diseases. Traditional Asian healers use the fruit to stop infection, treat inflammation, and increase one's energy, among others.
Modern scientists and a growing number of health practitioners now agree on the medical benefits of Mangosteen. They have found that the fruit is helpful in preventing and possibly even stopping a wide range of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.
Those who have taken the time to do their own research on the validity of each health benefit of Mangosteen will find that there is real and solid science behind the "Queen of Fruits", so-called because of Queen Victoria's reported preferrence for this exotic fruit centuries ago.

Xanthones in Mangosteen

Our immune system tries to keep trillions of cells in our bodies protected from disease-causing toxins, free radicals, viruses, bacteria, fungi and other harmful agents.
At times, though, our immune system gets overwhelmed. Our bodies get sick, often because of free radical damage.
A free radical is an unstable atom with an unpaired electron. When a free radical comes in contact with a stable atom, it steals the electron it needs from the stable atom. This leaves the once stable atom irreparably damaged and prone to succumb to disease.
Antioxidants counteract free radicals. They have an extra electron that they can share with free radicals. Because of this ability, they are able to prevent free radicals from attacking healthy atoms or cells.
Mangosteen contains powerful antioxidants and immune system boosters called Xanthones, natural chemical compounds which were proven to possess a variety of potent medicinal properties.
Xanthones occupy a special place in the Mangosteen's arsenal of healing compounds. They have been shown to have more potent antioxidant activity than vitamin E, one of nature's most powerful known antioxidants.
A laboratory test known as ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), for example, showed that an ounce of Mangosteen juice provides 20 to 30 times more capacity to absorb free radicals than an ounce of most fruits and vegetables.

Mangosteen’s Other Natural Compounds

Mangosteen also contains other potent natural compounds like catechins, polysaccharides, quinones, stilbenes and polyphenols.
Catechins were discovered to be five times more potent as antioxidants than vitamin C.
Polysaccharides are highly potent anti-cancer and anti-bacterial plant compounds. They help block a mutated cell's ability to stick to healthy cells to help stop the spread of cancer, and are specially effective against intracellular bacteria.
Quinones are known for their anti-bacterial properties and also are strong oxidants.
Stilbenes in plants defend these plants against fungi. Interestingly, stilbenes also maintain their anti-fungal properties even when ingested. They also are strong antioxidants.
Polyphenols were found to be far more more potent as antioxidants than vitamin E, considered one of the most powerful known antioxidants.

Long List of Mangosteen Healing Properties

To sum it all up, here's a partial list of the 200-plus, mind-boggling Mangosteen medicinal benefits and properties from the catalog of prominent ethnobotanist, Dr. James Duke.

• Anti-aging - helps prevent aging
• Anti-allergenic - helps prevent allergic reactions
• Anti-arthritic – helps prevent arthritis
• Anti-atherosclerotic - helps prevent the hardening of the arteries
• Antibiotic - prevents or modulates bacterial infections
• Anti-calculitic - helps prevent kidney stones
• Anti-cataract - helps prevent cataracts
• Antidepressant – helps with depression
• Anti-diarrheal – helps with diarrhea
• Anti-fatigue - helps relieve fatigue
• Antifungal - prevents or modulates fungal infections
• Anti-glaucomic - helps prevent glaucoma
• Anti-Inflammatory – helps with inflammation
• Anti-lipidemic - helps lower blood fat
• Anti-neuralgic - helps in nerve pain
• Anti-obesity - helps in weight loss
• Anti-osteoporosis - helps prevent the loss of bone mass
• Antioxidant-rich – rich in antioxidants
• Anti-oxolytic - anti-anxiety
• Anti-Parkinson – helps with Parkinson's disease
• Anti-periodontic - helps prevent gum disease
• Antipyretic - helps lower fever
• Anti-tumor and cancer-preventive
• Anti-vertigo - helps prevent dizziness
• Antiviral - prevents or modulates viral infections
• Cardio-protective - helps in the protection of the heart
• Hypoglycemic - helps stabilize blood sugar
• Hypotensive - helps lower blood pressure
• Immunostimulant – helps the immune system fight infection

This exotic fruit, used in traditional medicine for centuries, contains some of the most potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-fungal compounds in nature.
Independent scientific research studies and clinical experience all show the remarkable health benefits of Mangosteen.