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.