Frequently Asked Questions

The mangosteen fruit is comprised of the following three components: the pericarp - or rind, the pulp - which is the sweet segmented interior of the fruit, and the seeds - found inside the pulp. Xanthones and polysaccharides, which are the medicinal attributes, are found in highest concentrations in the pericarp of the mangosteen fruit. They are also found in the pulp but in lower concentrations. Due to the high concentrations of Xanthones and polysaccharides in the pericarp, it is incredibly important that any preparation include it.

Most people who have lived in, or visited, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam know that the fruit is very popular.

Although we have not heard of the benefits of the mangosteen fruit in North America it has been researched in labs around the world for over thirty years, and used in folk medicine for centuries. The mangosteen is probably the most medically researched botanical in the world. Up until recently the mangosteen fruit was not available in quantities necessary to support export markets. The mangosteen is now at the level where a viable export market can be sustained, which is why you are now being made aware of the fruit and the unprecedented business opportunity.

Maybe they own stocks in pharmaceutical companies, or sell pharmaceutical products and don't want to lose sales to a completely natural product that does the same job or better without the nasty side effects.

Anyone who takes a serious, yet unbiased, look at mangosteen should be quite impressed with what they find.

Our site offers quite a bit of information, research and findings related to the mangosteen fruit, that are readily available for anyone to see. The mangosteen has been used by tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people in both folk medicines and in drink preparations and has produced very positive results for most.

The reason why products that offer the whole fruit goodness of the mangosteen are increasing in sales exponentially is not because mangosteen does not produce results. If mangosteen did not work, people would both; stop purchasing it, and telling everyone they know about how it has helped them and others they have introduced the mangosteen to. In case after case people, who after a year or more of daily consumption, continue to buy whole fruit mangosteen juice supplements and swear by the results they see.

Many claim that mangosteen has worked for them in situations where attempts to use other treatments did not. Each person's body is different, and will respond differently to various treatments and/or supplements, and no treatment or supplement works for everyone. However, with over 200 known benefits to the body, mangosteen should be seriously considered as an important daily supplement.

The amount of time it takes before you see effects varies for a number of reasons. First of all, it depends on the ailment you are hoping to see results with. Second, each persons body chemistry and health condition will cause variances in response times.

The most important thing, with mangosteen, is to give it a fair period of time to work. The only exception to this is if you experience an allergic reaction to any of the fruit contained in mangosteen. Once you start taking mangosteen regularly it will start to improve the health of various systems within your body very shortly after starting to take it. As with most health improvements that occur in the body, immediate results often go unnoticed. In some cases, systemic benefits are experienced prior to the relief of symptoms.

Let's take for example, blood pressure medication. If you didn't know you had a blood pressure problem, but when you went to your doctor they informed you that you did in fact have one, your doctor would prescribe medication. You would start your medication and may not notice any difference in the way that you feel. However, when you go to your doctor in six months your doctor will hopefully tell you that your blood pressure is now under control. Mangosteen often works at least in this way. In many cases you will also only notice relief from symptoms by surprise one day after realizing that you aren't suffering from one problem or another.

What is interesting is that often people will stop taking mangosteen thinking that they didn't receive the benefits they were hoping for. Unfortunately, they are failing to see that mangosteen supplementation is a process that must be given sufficient time to work.

Some people, that were taking one ounce of whole mangosteen fruit juice a day, say that they didn't see relief from their symptoms. They have indicated that consuming larger amounts did however bring them relief. The best thing to do is to start off with one or two ounces a day for a couple of weeks. If symptoms are not effected consume an additional ounce per day for a couple more weeks, increase again if needed. Some people have said that they had to take larger amounts, due to their extreme health conditions, to receive the desired benefits.

A person should give any new supplement at least 60 to 90 days to take effect.

In short, no the mangosteen fruit is not a member of the mango family. Mangosteen is a part of the Garcinia Family. The scientific name for the mangosteen fruit is the Garcinia Mangostana.

For centuries the fruit was only grown in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Today it is also grown in Australia, Brazil, and the Caribbean islands.

Raw mangosteen can occasionally be purchased from specialty Asian supermarket stores. You should be aware that although you can purchase the fruit on occasion, the only way to receive the maximum benefits that fruit can offer is to eat the whole fruit. A great majority of the health benefits are found in the rind and the seeds of the fruit. Since the rind and seeds are very bitter, it is unlikely that you will be able to bring yourself to eat enough of both the rind and the seeds to receive the fruits health benefits.

Also, the concentrations of Xanthones found in the fruit vary at different points in the life cycle of the fruit.

Another problem is that fruit, that is picked from trees prior to being ripe (the normal procedure for picking fruit that you find in grocery stores), and shipped in crates half way around the world are most often damaged. Scientific research has shown that mangosteen fruit are very sensitive. Damage to the rind caused by incorrect handling methods can cause significant reduction in medicinal attributes.

Therefore, the short answer is you will receive some benefits from taking the fruit if you consume the rind also. The easiest way, though, to get the full benefit out of the mangosteen, is to take it in the form of a liquid supplement that uses the full mangosteen fruit. It is important that your mangosteen supplement is manufactured in such a way that the fruit is picked at its most beneficial stage, flash frozen on the stem, shipped, carefully prepared, and then properly bottled to ensure that you receive the maximum health benefit possible from the fruit.

O.R.A.C. stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity.

Free Oxygen Radicals in the body steal electrons from healthy cell components resulting in cell damage. If enough cell damage occurs, it manifests itself in the body in the form of disease. Substances in the body that absorb these free radicals help reduce cell damage which allows the body to perform according to its intended design.

Some experts have stated that there is a theoretical limit to how much ORAC can be used in the body. They say that like vitamin C, ORAC over a certain amount in the body is merely disposed of. It should be noted however that unlike vitamin C, a vitamin, ORAC is a measure indicating the amount of free oxygen radical absorption ability that a substance, in this case a food, offers the body (based on absorbency tests most often completed outside the body).

Although there may be a theoretical maximum that the body can use, your body will still benefit from foods that have high ORAC values more than foods that don’t as long as the absorbency is readily used by the body (bio-available). Foods with higher “in vivo” ORAC values do absorb more Free Oxygen radicals which in turn has the effect of reducing cell damage in the body and therefore reduces one of the causes for disease.

Knowing the suggested ORAC value of a food does not give you the whole picture. The reason for this is that most ORAC value tests are done outside of the body (”in vitro”). Science has shown that the “in vitro” ORAC values give you a partial picture, but the real question for each food is what is the “in vivo” ORAC value? Some foods seem to offer absorbency ratios that stay relatively consistent both “in vitro” and “in vivo”, while other foods seem to vary dramatically. Since there is still much testing to be done in the area of ORAC values, we recommend caution when assessing products based on ORAC values. The credibility of a product comes from real world results rather than number games.

As we have said before, ORAC is only one factor to consider when assessing the value of a vegetable, fruit, or a supplement made from them. For example the mangosteen fruit has over 200 known benefits to the body (as documented by the Agricultural Research Service). Having said that, the mangosteen fruit does have a high ORAC value. Unfortunately, unlike some other fruit and vegetables, no solid ORAC value has, as yet, been attributed to the mangosteen fruit itself.

It is important for people to understand that placing confidence in a mangosteen product, or any other product for that matter, based on ORAC values alone, is not a good plan. Readings on products, and the number manipulation that goes along with them, seem to vary widely and therefore cast doubt on ORAC being the best measure of the value of a product. The most important thing to remember is, whatever product you choose, ensure that the product can be readily used by the body. Insoluble supplements get flushed and are therefore useless to the body. Liquid supplements tend to be more readily used by the body and very often have better effects on the upper gastrointestinal tract than would a substance that has to try and dissolve in the stomach and then make its way back up.

A third party supplement research website documents known side effects of main stream health and nutrition supplements. The "Supplement Watch" website declares that "No adverse side effects have been associated with mangosteen whole fruit, juice, or extracts."

Many doctors have endorsed the use of Mangosteen juice in regular dietary supplementation.

Having said that, the Mangosteen fruit is a tropical fruit, therefore people with allergies to tropical fruit or any fruit in the ingredients list of the mangosteen supplement of choice should seek advice from their doctor before trying a Mangosteen supplement.

Mangosteen is a fruit and as such is extremely safe. There has been no indications to date that fruits are not good for nursing or pregnant moms. There has also been no indication that mangosteen is any different in this regard.

Mangosteen also has the added benefit of helping people with constipation. Constipation is an effect that women sometimes experience during pregnancy. This is due to increased progesterone levels in the body. When progesterone acts in the body it relaxes muscle. The wall, or outside, of the bowel is made of muscle which relaxes, and is therefore less able to move food and bodily waste along. Fibre and clean water consumption are very important to offset these effects.

Mangosteen supplements that contain the rind have the benefit of adding additional fibre into the diet, which helps to reduce constipation.

Parents should introduce fruit in their child's diet prior to giving them mangosteen.

Mangosteen juice is safe for kids and they generally really like the flavor. An ounce in the morning with breakfast is usually recommended.

Mangosteen does seem to have some effects on blood clotting. Mangosteen seems to have a similar effect on clotting that Coumadin does. That is to say that it appears to reduce clotting. What this means is that if a person is on "blood thinners" they should be aware that mangosteen may in fact increase the blood "thinning" effect. This is a good thing if you prefer to use less pharmaceutical products and more natural products in dealing with health. Some people have reported that with consultation from their physician, and regular laboratory tests monitoring their clotting levels. Their doctor was able to reduce the amount of "blood thinners" they had to take.

Also, people that suffer from blood disorders, such as hemophilia, that have problems with easy bruising or problems with uncontrollable bleeding after being cut, should be seek the advise of a doctor versed in mangosteen prior to taking any mangosteen based product.

Please note: This is not to in any way indicate that people should regulate their own medication without the advice of a physician. Any modification of drug treatments should only be done under the advise of a medical professional.

There has been a lot of confusion and questioning with regard to St. Johnswort and mangosteen. Some people have asked a number of questions on the topic. They speculate that because the mangosteen and St. Johnswort share the same family a person should experience similar side effects while taking mangosteen as they do while taking St. Johnswort.

Yes, both St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum L.) and the mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana L.) are in the Mangosteen family (Clusiaceae). However, although the mangosteen is in the same family as St. Johnswort, this doesn't mean, by extension, that the same interactions should automatically be expected. In fact, though they are in the same family, they are a completely different genus and species. It should not be assumed that just because they share a family line, that the same concerns with St. Johnswort will apply to mangosteen.

A notable difference between St. Johnswort and the mangosteen is that St. Johnswort is a weed and mangosteen is a fruit. See pictures below:

St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum L.)	Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.)

The fact that the mangosteen is a fruit makes it a much safer way to gain health benefits without experiencing the side effects associated with certain weeds, barks, or roots.