The Mangosteen Scam
June 29, 2008 by Dr. Nicole Sundene
Filed under American Sickcare System, Antioxidants, Fruits and Veggies, Herbal Medicine, Kitchen Cost Cutters, Kitchen Cures, Kitchen Myth Busters, Kitchen Sink, Product reviews
By Dr. Nicole Sundene
If you think a $40 dollar bottle of juice is going to cure all that ails you, then I have a mountain to sell you right here in Washington State!
The mountain typically retails for forty billion dollars.
However, if you simply join my pyramid scam, become a distributor, and enroll all your friends and family in my program, then I will generously allow everyone the use of Mt. Rainier for the LOW LOW price of just forty bucks a week. Research shows that mountain climbing is a cure all, as exercise is associated with weight loss, reduced anxiety, improved mood, lowered blood sugar levels, reduced cholesterol, and increased bone mineral density.
Climbing mountains will also likely stimulate your immune system, prevent heart disease, cure constipation, and generally give you a more positive outlook on life! Please contact me if you are interested in making this life saving purchase and enrolling in my program or becoming a distributor!
I’m sorry, but if one more person emails me about mangosteen, I think I will scream.
Mangosteen is a Southeast Asian fruit that is proclaimed to have high antioxidant levels and thus “amazing healing properties”.
First of all from a botanical standpoint, ALL fruits contain HIGH antioxidant levels because unlike the leaves of the plant that utilize the sun’s harsh UV rays to make sugar, the fruits lack the cellular biology needed to engage in photosynthesis. Without antioxidants, the fruit of the plant would shrivel in the sun and die.
The ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) measures the antioxidant capabilities of foods to quench unstable disease causing molecules in the body called “free radicals”. Consistently topping the ORAC charts as the healthiest antioxidant sources are pomegranates, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, and prunes. After hours of research, I have yet to see actual independent laboratory confirmation on the supposed “high ORAC score of mangosteen”.
Furthermore, our commonly consumed high antioxidant fruits can be picked up locally for the most part, and are dirt cheap in comparison to a bottle of mangosteen juice, or other tropical fruit hype like acai and noni juice.
Common fruits are healing enough.
You do not need a fruit from South East Asia preserved in syrup to do this for you, when the same “magical healing properties” are probably growing in your own back yard.
Mangosteen retailers claim on their websites that mangosteen reduces inflammation, heals the digestive tract, cures arthritis, prevents and treats cancer, cures a variety of skin ailments, and much more.
Well you know what?
So do a lot of fruits and vegetables! Why do you think I started Kitchen Table Medicine? Because I wanted to promote the healing foods that grace our kitchen tables.
Let’s take garlic for instance, garlic has been proven to be anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, and lowers blood pressure- amongst many other fabulous therapeutic properties noted in the article “The Many Uses of Garlic”.
Now what if garlic was persnickety and only grew well in one small region of the world?
What if some multi-level marketing company manufactured garlic in a pyramid scheme?
What then?
What if we all paid $40 a week for the healing power of garlic?
I think it is possible to classify mangosteen as BOTH hype and help. After reviewing the 73 research articles on www.PubMed.gov about the healing properties of mangosteen, formally known as Garcinia mangostana, I am not completely convinced that it is worth the $40 bucks a bottle. Yes,the xanthones in mangosteen clearly have medicinal properties. But, as a therapeutic agent, mangosteen is more expensive than most outrageously priced prescription drugs! To attain the necessary purported effects one would need to consume upward of $160-$200 a month of this juice.
As a naturopathic physician, I am hesitant to be overly excited about mangosteen for the following six reasons:
- Many fruits and vegetables exhibit similar healing properties.
- Mangosteen is extremely expensive as a result of multi-level marketing cost inflations. Quit trying to tell everyone that MLM saves them money! That is brainwashing. Even if you are a distributor, you are likely spending double the market value. In the case of mangosteen juice, it has to be quadruple or more, as mangosteen fruit purchased in Malaysia is pretty dirt cheap compared to the juice sold by MLMers.
- Inflammation is just a numbers game. Just because you are consuming antioxidants every day, does not necessarily mean that you are canceling out all the free radicals you are eating in your diet that come from fried and processed foods, fatty foods, and meats.
- I have yet to find any independent laboratory evaluations of Mangosteen such as what may be found at Consumer Labs. Without independent laboratory evaluation there is absolutely no guarantee that what is on the label is what is on the bottle. You could be drinking REALLY expensive prune juice.
- Juice or syrup is not an adequate delivery mechanism for a therapeutic agent. Diabetes is a national epidemic. People need less sugar, not more.
- Most juice manufacturers are making juice from the “whole fruit” when the healing components in the research are derived from the rind of the fruit. The white fleshy inner portion of the fruit has no known medicinal properties.
- You are not buying just mangosteen juice: it is typically a blend of other high antioxidant fruits such as apple, grape, blueberry, and raspberry juice. Manufacturers do not state on the labels how much mangosteen juice (if any) is included.
As a rule I never recommend any products that participate in multi-level marketing.
I am not saying that some may or may not be good, I just won’t promote them because I disagree with their marketing tactics. Usually the first sign that a product is poor quality, aside from being full of food coloring, is that it is sold through these pyramid systems. At the very best they are just decent products that are unreasonably expensive as a result of their over-inflated claims. At the very worst you are paying for high priced CRAP.
If products containing mangosteen have not been evaluated by an independent laboratory such as Consumer Labs, there is no guarantee that what is on the label is actually on the bottle. I follow the latest reports religiously and it seems that manufacturing standards in Asia are consistently of poor quality. Lead contamination being a predominant issue. In addition, Americans should support the American economy by purchasing products that are American home-grown, home-made, and manufactured.
I cannot discount that the xanthones in mangosteen likely have therapeutic properties, but I have to take a minute to be the nature cure voice of reason about this ridiculously overpriced juice. Until the price comes down and it does not cost someone nearly $200 a month to use as a therapeutic, this natural medicine in my mind is no better than an overly priced drug advertised during the Super Bowl.
Mangosteen needs to be bumped out of the limelight by blueberries.
Why?
Because BLUEBERRIES ARE A MUCH CHEAPER SUPER FRUIT! Blueberries have the biggest bang for your buck. Blueberries are delicious, they are a potent anti-inflammatory medication, they are fabulous for diabetics, the pigments protect your microvasculature with their high proanthocyanin content, they score high on the ORAC for their antioxidant properties, AND most importantly, they grow around us locally. Let’s not waste the environment that much more by promoting the gas guzzling shipping of foreign foods when we have local farmers that need our support right here in America.
If you really want to do what is best for your health, as well as the health of our country and our earth, then support your local blueberry, raspberry, cherry, grape, and plum growers.
With that being said, if you can afford a $40 dollar bottle of juice, and you think it makes you feel better, then by all means…drink up! Otherwise, if you are simply looking to reduce inflammation by increasing the consumption of antioxidants in your diet, then eat your fruits and vegetables, drink green tea, follow a Whole Foods Diet, remove arachidonic acid from your diet, and support the agriculture that grows around you locally by purchasing organic foods from farmer’s markets.
Better yet…grow your own!
There is no “magical bullet” people. If there was, I would be on it. Trust me.
Maybe I’m wrong about this, and mangosteen is all that and a bag of organic chips, if so I’ll gladly let one of you MLMers sign me up for a weekly bottle of mangosteen juice for the rest of my life!
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen table!
~ Dr. Nicole Sundene
Naturopathic Physician
www.KitchenTableMedicine.com
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Reminds me of Noni and some other “miracle tonics”. How is one to decipher between the good and the bad?
That was an excellent article about mangosteen that closely echoes my own views.
I too have grave reservations about anything that is distributed via mlm, even though some of the products look ok.
I also have to wonder how much the price is inflated, in order to cover the cut of each person in the pyramid?
There are so many great tips in this post. I can not imagine myself or anyone I know paying $40.00 for juice, but I know it happens all the time. Thanks for all the great information!
OooooH Dr. Nicole,
I love when you get on your soap box and tell all of us the truth about these “scams”. I’ve tried mangosteen juice (bought it at Costco for less than $40). I used up that one bottle, didn’t “feel” any better or worse, and decided it didn’t have any benefits I could measure.
I do agree, there are many other great “super foods” out there, such as blueberries.
Thanks for shedding the light!
Talk about timely information; my wife just asked me this morning if I should try Mangosteen juice. I am having a rather bad day with my arthritis and she is looking for ideas to help. I told her if the claims were anywhere near accurate a drug company would be buying-up mangosteens plantations and selling it themselves. Or, as we know they always try and do, try to find the “active agent” and concentrate it, or synthesize it for “Maximum” effect.
I prefer to attack my problem with more established means, such as eating blueberries and raspberries. Also using herbs like ginger and turmeric (proven to have anti-inflammatory properties). Also, using Yoga, Qi Gong, meditation and self-hypnosis. All of which have given me much relief. Sure I still have bad days, but don’t we all. I am still far better off than I was, and have significantly more tools than the Rheumatologist said I would have (”There is really nothing you can do. It is only going to spread and get worse”.). What a sorry excuse for a “physician”! I have Osteoarthritis and do not accept there is “nothing” that can be done! You show us with your articles that there certainly are possibilities!
Thank you so much for your work! Your efforts are truly appreciated!
Sincerely,
David A.
Wow, now that was a soap box!
I personally know some people who use and promote the Xango juice. They have told me of some of the benefits they have received from drinking the juice - no more arthritis, no more cold sores, etc. They are trustworthy people and I believe them. I don’t know about the compensation plan or what all the juice really does.
Aside from that I would say:
Eat your fruits and vegies. There are so many good ones out there.
I was in a direct selling program that was NOT MLM and was fantastic. Their products were so good that even though I am not promoting the products or the business any more I am still and will always be a customer with them They just have real products with real prices that really work. Everyone in the business wins - not just the people at the top. Best compensation plan and products out there. I still get a check for over $100 every month and I’m not even promoting their products anymore!
So, about that apple patch diet…..!!!!!
Hi Sunny Beach- I think that the best way to know if something is hype or not, is to stick with the things that have passed the test of time. The media works on people’s desire to find a “magic bullet” cure all for all their problems, so anytime something new comes out it will be way over publicized. The problem with this is that it typically leaves common sense behind in the dust.
Hi Lee- I have those same concerns and that is why I just have a strict “NO MLM” policy. I have seen some products that are very over-inflated compared to their equivalents. While some of course are not, and a great deal for people distributing them. I know I probably just offended a bunch of my colleagues with this article that engage in MLM, but this is my site for my opinions. LOL Take em or leave em!
Hi Maria- Glad you enjoyed the post. For those that can afford this expensive juice and find it helpful…I say keep it up! But, for the many that cannot and may get caught by the hype their are certainly less expensive alternatives. I mean even pomegranate juice is only $7 bucks a bottle!
Hi Barbara! Glad you liked the post. I am happy to see that you “smartly” went around testing the juice. I usually tell people to go ahead and try something for 3 months. If they don’t notice any difference, then it likely won’t be beneficial. Most improvements should be noted after a month though. Natural cures do take longer than prescription, so sometimes we have to be patient, but there is no reason you couldn’t do a test with a nightly bowl of blueberries!
Hi David A! Glad you enjoyed this post. Your wife is right that a high anti-oxidant beverage will prevent further destruction of your joints. You may be interested in also reading in the arthritis category about glucosamine and fish oil. Looks like you are using all my favorites for OA. Thanks for leaving your two cents!
Hi Jennifer- Yes, I do get on my soap box from time to time…I mean how can I not? LOL My goal with this was not to offend anyone that engages in network marketing. I am simply stating my opinion about it, and cautioning people to consider if the price is worth the product. I am aware of many products via MLM that are actually very high quality. I just personally won’t promote them as a physician because I find it unprofessional and unethical. Just my opinion. Hooray an extra $100 a month though. Maybe you can convert me…j/k
Hi Kathleen! Apples are fabulous, high antioxidants and malic acid which works wonders for those with fibromyalgia. The pectins in apples, lower cholesterol, aid weight loss and absorb toxins. They truly do keep the doctor away.
Author of blog Dr. Nicole Sundene says if you think a $40 dollar bottle of juice is going to cure all that troubles you can be right .Go through this blog to find more about juices.
For network marketing, people that get into it need to realize that it takes work and persistence to be successful like any business. It’s really just a business model based on sales. But I like your review of the juice. There isn’t a magic bullet like you say and a fruit like the Mangosteen isn’t going to be the end all cure to everything.
Great post! You’re completely right. And blueberries seem expensive until you compare them with things like mangosteen an noni juice…
What’s your opinion on Resveratrol, the substance found in red wine, now condensed and sold in pill form?
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Excellent Article Dr. Nicole!
That is exactly how I feel about MonaVie. Some readers brought it to my attention to promote it and after I did the research I was deeply dissapointed by what I found out.
I think it all boils down to people just not getting it in our society today - THERE ARE NO MAGIC CURES! We have to eat proper EVERYDAY and not just look for that magical cure when things go wrong or to supplement the poor diet and think that everything will be okay.
My approach to health and wellness as a Holistic Nutritionist is to get to the root of the problem and fix that not just mask the problem in whatever way.
One more thing…I love what you said about all the fruits and vegetables - that is exactly it - eat in balance and you get all the benefits!
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Hurrah for you and common sense medicine/nutrition. Most of us are sick of the hype coming from both sides of the equation - alternative health to Big Pharma and mainstream medicine’s indoctrinated docs!
Thanks,
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