I would like to mention, well within the guidelines, that any product that claims to cure man AND beast of multiple problems is usually over-rated. I've seen ginko, Tahitian noni, and other "natural cures" see their brief moment of glory ... now it's mangosteens.

Just skip the commercials and eat LOTS of fruit of all kinds and you will save money and be in good health too. :)

I did some research and found the entertaining link posted below:
"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 ominousalmost like a cross between Osama bin Laden and the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."

Ok to be fair there is a lot of information both supporting and denying any benificial health effects. Just like any product. This is NOT a comercial, but sharing what I myself and my family members have found to be tremendously helpful.
you may not think it's such a big deal to be able to bend over and pick the newspaper up off the floor, but when you have NOT been able to do it for several years and now you can again..... well THATS SOMETHING. Thinking that it may be time to put a beloved dog down because he can hardly get from a laying postion to a standing postion to go outside, then several weeks later see him trying to chase squirrels, don't tell me that isin't something wonderfull too! I am not an expert but I know what I have seen, all I understand is it has something to do with natural anti inflamitories and cox 2 inhibitors. I really dont care HOW it works.I am just sharing with you that for us it DOES!That is what this forum is about right? Oh and it seems to work for many others too, you all can form your own oppinions. http://www.journey2freedom.com/mangosteen/mangotestimonial.html#copd
Lisa

Lisa,
With these products that claim to heal whatever it may be, it is also possible that the placebo affect is working for you. You want it to work, believe it will work, and it does, but there is nothing in the product that is really making it work for you.
Many a medical study has shown this affect repeatedly. If you believe it works for you, then great, but be careful that it isn't doing you any harm that you aren't aware of either now or in the futue. Remember that supplements are not FDA approved or regulated until after the fact and there are serious problems occurring.

Like littleonefb, the placebo effect first springs to mind when I read about the claims of a product like this. Studies have even shown that even some advanced cancer patients who took a placebo had almost as much pain relief as from a narcotic painkiller. That's a powerful testimony to the power of mind over matter -- "ah, thanks to the pill I just swallowed, I'm going to feel much better now".... and so they do.

Yet, when I read testimonies of people who take products like this and say "I tried everything else and nothing worked until I tried this", I tend to dismiss the placebo effect since the person didn't experience it with all the products he/she took before this one. That is not to say this product works, just that the placebo effect didn't kick in until this particular product was taken.

The bigger concern is lack of FDA testing and approval. But then again, that's not to say the product doesn't work.

Case in point: Back in the 1940s my grandfather was severely burned in a fire at the oil refinery where he worked. My mom remembers his 3rd degree burns. At the time, in the small southern CA town in which they lived, a family created a product called "hydrosulfasol" which was an extremely effective ointment for treating burns. Some of it was given to the hospital and was used to treat my grandfather's burns. He was released from the hospital sooner than most people with that type of burn. His burned skin wasn't normal after that, but he was not left with the typical disfiguring scars that are normally caused by 3rd degree burns.

Fastforward to about 15 years ago, I became curious about this product that seemed to be so extremely effective for my grandfather but was never mass-produced. I was able to contact the daughter of the people who made it at that time. She told me she went "all the way to the top" to try to get it marketed, but the FDA and other agencies wouldn't even glance at it. Nevertheless, it is still available and used to treat burns, though not commercially available. For example, I was able to reach the woman I spoke to by calling the city hall of the small town, where the phone was answered by the fire chief (I told you it was a small town :-). He knew about hydrosulfasol and told me about his own experiences in treating minor burns where the sore heals up in a matter of a day or two. In fact the woman I spoke with said she burned her finger on a hot wire, dabbed some hydrosulfasol ointment on it, and after a day or two there wasn't even a sign the burn even occured. She referred me to another woman who was working to get it marketed, and thought maybe she and I could work together. That woman was the widow of a man who invested in the product and had the same desire that I did -- however, she also had a lot of money and her interests weren't purely philanthropic, as she wanted to get it marketed to make money. She was unwilling to share secrets with me, and I backed out.

So, sometimes there are highly powerful products that DO work just as the maker claims, but the FDA won't test it and therefore it never becomes known. Just think how many burn survivors would have had a better and faster recovery if the FDA had been willing to take a look. I know first-hand the background of that story (it was written about in my mother's high school yearbook) and my mother's testimony about it (she is a retired nurse). I believe it worked. How many other such products abound?

Jen

Thanks for that story Jenn! And for the concern littleonebf. I dont think this is a placebo effect, my prescription medication did not work this well for me, and my dogs could not possibly have a clue that I am giving them something to make them feel better.
As for FDA approval, It's just a 100% natural fruit juice, I dont think there is anything to approve? I really cant think there would be anything that may be damaging to me! I guess people that are allergic to fruits may want to avoid it.
I just wanted to share something that has REALLY helped!
Thanks for the kind words.
Lisa

Lisa, thank you for sharing about it. I will give it some thought. Hubby has osteoarthritis in both shoulders and I am starting to feel stiffness in the joints of my hands, especially my right hand which I use a lot for gardening. I believe diet plays a big role and there are foods/nutrients/plants still yet to be discovered that might hold the key to a cure for something.

Jen

the mangosteen fruit has been used around the equator for hundreds of years medoicnially. There is a great amount of actual medical research available. This is not a fly bynight product made from a formula/recipe by man.
God gave herbs/plants for medicine at the beginning of time. Satan perverted that like he has tried to do everything else. Research the word "pharmechia"
The truth is the pharmaceutical companies are not looking real cures, but means to control us w/ pills w/ bad side effects for which they provide another pill or two exorbitantly priced help.
A year ago, 4 stents took up residence in my heart. Medications were $500 a month. I am now 66, & on medicare w/ no health insurance. I opted for alternative medication to clean out my blood veins. It worked, and lowerd my cholesterol.
We also take other alternative products, sold by people because they work w/ NO bad side effects.
The pharmeceutical companies buy true cures from the inventors and destroy them to protect their intersts in gouging us of our hard earned money w/ high prices, meds w/ bad side effects that have been known to kill people. Read Kevin Trodues (sp)book on that subject. Very alarming. And, our government backs them. They also want to do away w/ all vitamins unless prescribed, and make it illegal to grow your own medicinal herbs.

I am a health care giver for the elderly, 12 years experience & great references.

Vangy likes to play in the dirt and be healthy.

Thanks Vangy, you are correct, the fruit is not a NEW cure all, just something WE have not heard of untill recently. I took a brochure to a Chineese restraunt whos owners I have known since I was a child and they knew all about it, said they grew up with it, they actually told me more about it than I knew! They were happy to be able to have it back in their lives.I sure wish more people would take a serious look at it, I can tell you it HAS change lives, mostly the lives of those that have been living with cronic pain. You are also correct that there are those that will discredit these natural fruit products that have medicinal porperties because most of them can not be grown here and therfore the FDA can not profit from them, much of the negative propaganda has been started by US drug companies. The reason being why would anyone take a synthetic drug with damaging side effects when a FOOD will do exactly the same thing???
Lisa