100% Organic Mangosteen Juice

Question: Dear Dr. Ettinger,

I am a white female, 62 years old, and was diagnosed with fibromylgia 30 years ago, and RA l0 years ago.  Standard treatment for the RA has led to current Enbrel, along with methotrexate and Celebrex.  Savella for the fibromylgia.  Fatigue, over exertion and infections will trigger a flair.  Am still self-employed, and stay active, but find that weekends are spent doing light housekeeping and resting up for the week ahead.

Recently reduced my daily predisone from 20 mg. to 1.25mg.

Of course, would love to not be dependent on medications.

How does Mangosteen help people with RA and fibromylgia? Why does it work it the cases where it has been effective?  Obviously will check with my Rheumatologist to make sure it does interfere with any current medications.

Thank you for your time and knowledge.

Judith A

Answer: Judith,

FYI: All antioxidants are anti-inflammatory but not all anti-inflammatories are antioxidants.

The exciting aspect of the mangosteen fruit is the high level of xanthones, which have potent anti-inflammatory properties. People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis joint pain and fibromyalgia gain relief from anti-inflammatory medications. Some of the medications contain steroids and some do not. The xanthones are a non steroidal anti-inflammatory substance.

Mangosteen is a fruit/food and will not react with meds, as far as I know. Your MD should not discourage you from taking any and all antioxidants. If he/she does, ask to see ‘why’ in writing. I have treated many patients over the years with what you have now. If you would like to begin a natural approach to your body problem, please take a look at this link – here and visit my website.  I can design a personalized protocol for you.

Absolute Mangosteen at 1oz, two times per day will add a nice level of antioxidants back to your body. There are many more wonderful, natural products that can help but I would need to know more about you and your condition to make an intelligent decision.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ettinger

PS. Here is a question put to Dr. Brent Bauer, MD

Can it relieve arthritis pain? Can drinking mangosteen juice reduce arthritis inflammation and pain?

Answer: It might. A number of laboratory and animal studies suggest that mangosteen has significant anti-inflammatory effects. And a few small-scale studies in humans indicate that the juice helps reduce blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is a substance associated with inflammation, which may be caused by widespread infection or disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

But the studies that found this reduction in CRP were not conducted with people who have arthritis. And not everybody who has arthritis has an elevation in CRP. So at this point, while the data appears promising, it is still too early to say for sure what role mangosteen juice has in treating arthritis symptoms.

Mangosteen is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia. Despite its name, mangosteen is not related to the mango. The mangosteen fruit is the size and shape of a tangerine, with a thick, dark rind and creamy flesh. Mangosteen is marketed as a supplement, both as a juice and in capsule form.

Question: Dear Doctor,

I have been taking some of your products, but did not give up my Xango (mangosteen). I have seen xango do good things for a lot of people including myself. Since taking Xango you wouldn’t know I have CFS. The problem is that I just found out I have food allergies to 21 things. Wheat and baker’s and brewer’s yeast being the worse. But, I am also allergic to apple, cherry, organges, tangarene, cranberry and grapefruit. Since xango has some of these juices in it I am going to have to lay off of it for at least 12 weeks. Is your mangosteen juice just mangosteen?

Thanks

Linda Davis

Answer: Linda,

We offer a 100% mangosteen juice called Absolute Mangosteen. Xango is good but pure 100% Mangosteen is even better. Since it’s the mangosteen (xanthones) in the Xango that’s the key ingredient, why pay such high prices for a little bit of actual mangosteen (xanthones), when you can have a 100% version for a fraction of the price, plus there are no contracts.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Related Product:
Mangosteen Elixir

Q: I had a quick question about the product Absolute Mangosteen which is what I ordered.

Do you use the ENTIRE fruit including the pericarp? I ask because the juice is sweet, and isn’t gritty or bitter. On the label it says that there is no added water.

When I throw actual whole mangosteen fruit into a blender and puree, it is quite gritty and tastes horrible – due to the extremely bitter pericarp. Your juice has the taste and consistency of mangosteen juice without the pericarp.

Xango juice (which is NOT pure mangosteen juice like Absolute Mangosteen) is much thicker, grittier, and bitter than your product which was surprising. I am planning on aggressively marketing your juice through my health clinic in Vancouver, BC and need to know the answers to these questions in case I’m confronted by vigilant Xango salespeople.

Thanks,

Roy Duquette
Managing Director
Duquette Strength

A: Roy,

“Xango is much thicker, grittier, and bitter than your product which was surprising.” Xango is bitter because of added citric acid and thick because of pectin and xanthan gum (It’s almost like making jelly). And why do they need to add, “Natural Flavor”, aren’t 10 “magical” fruits enough?

Absolute Mangosteen contains the entire fruit minus the insoluble fiber. Throwing the whole fruit in a blender will yield a lot of bitter compounds and a ton of fiber. Professional processing yields a more palatable and consumer friendly product. I am assuming that Canada allows the importation of Mangosteen, the US does not.

Let me know if this handles your questions.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.   

Reply back: Thanks for your reply Marcus. You have a great product line and I’m looking forward to carrying many of your products in my health clinic.

Just to clarify, Marcus, the MLM product Xango contains an unspecified amount of actual mangosteen juice in their “blended” product (most likely 20-40%), and they also use pectin and xanthan gum to artificially thicken the juice in an attempt to make it seem as if it is the insoluble fiber of the pericarp that is making it thick. Underhanded but clever at the same time.

They then add citric acid to create a slightly bitter taste to their product to give it a more comparable taste to the bitter pericarp of the actual mangosteen.

So how do you remove the insoluble fiber from your product without extracting all of the vital nutrients from the pericarp with it? How would the nutritional integrity of Absolute Mangosteen compare to the practice of consuming the whole fruit itself, including the bitter pericarp which is next to impossible to eat?

“I am assuming that Canada allows the importation of Mangosteen, the US does not.”

No, we don’t have any restrictions on the importation of mangosteen fruit into Canada. You can buy the fruit at many grocery stores in the area. But it’s super-expensive and not very practical since 90% of the fruit consists of the most extremely bitter taste experience known to man.

I am planning on promoting your product in my next seminar and need to be prepared to field all questions from Xango reps.

Thanks again for your assistance Marcus.

Roy Duquette
Managing Director
Duquette Strength

My reply back: Roy,

The fruit is macerated, filtered and the insoluble fiber is removed. Fiber contains no nutrient value.

I have been in the holistic field for almost 20 years and do not recommend getting into a debate with any rep, especially an MLM rep, it will be a losing battle. You will not change their minds and they will fight you. They will make you, your recommended product and the information you give them, wrong. My recommendation is to speak about a product from a personal point of view and if a question arises give them our website and or e-mail. These are just suggestions.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Related Products

Absolute Mangosteen
Mangosteen Elixir

Q: Dear Doctor,

Can you please tell me the percentage of xanthones present in your Mangosteen Elixir? I can’t find it anywhere on your website. Also why doesn’t anyone else list the amount per ounce of liquid or gram of powder?

Sincerely,

Rhonda M.

A: Rhonda,

There is a lot of controversy and confusion regarding the percentage of xanthones in mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.). Chromedex one of the best analytical labs in the business only measures alpha, beta, and gamma mangostin xanthone level. Chromedex also focuses only on liquid product analysis so powders and extracts can’t be qualified. Because of the difficulty and expense, it is not possible for us or any other producer to list the precise percentage total of xanthones per ounce. Not to mention that batch to batch will yield a slightly different amount.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.