A coworker of mine at work brought in a mangosteen supplement drink and she was selling it for $30 (her price) for a 25 fl oz bottle. She also gave me information and these:
22 reasons why everyone should be drinking mangosteen juice
- prevents hardening of the arteries
- protects the heart muscle
- anti-Parkinson, anti-Alzheimer, and other forms of dementia
- anti-depressant
- prevents and arrests fungus
- prevents bacterial infections
- viral fighters and prevention of infections
- prevents gum disease
- anti-diarrheal
- lowers fevers
- eye care prevents glaucoma and cataracts
- pansystemic – a synergistic effect on the whole body
- energy boosters – anti-fatigue
- anti-aging
- weight loss (wooo, I’ll drink to this!)
- lowers blood fat (what the heck, I didn’t know there is fat in our blood!)
- anti-tumor benefits
- cancer: Mangosteen helps in the prevention of cancer with its powerful anti-oxidants.
- lowers blood pressure
- numerous references to “Immuno stimulants”
- blood sugar lowering
- it tastes good
I thought to myself, holy smokes! Who in the world would buy that? What is mangosteen? I have never heard of it or have the slightest idea what it looks like.
Upon further research, the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree grows from 7 to 25 meters tall. The edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. In Asia, the mangosteen fruit is known as the “Queen of Fruits,” while the durian (Durio spp.) is known as the “King of Fruits.” It is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as button mangosteen and lemon drop mangosteen.
The outer shell of the fruit is rather hard, typically 4-6 cm in diameter. Cutting through the shell, one finds a white, fleshy fruit 3-5 cm in diameter. Depending on the size and ripeness, there may or may not be pits in the segments of the fruit. The number of fruit pods is directly related to the number of petals on the bottom of the shell. On average mangosteen has 5 fruits (round up figure).
I have eaten a lot of exotic fruits in my life, including the King Of Fruits – durian, but I have never seen or tasted this Queen of Fruits. When I bought the $30 bottle from my coworker and chucked down the mangosteen juice, I felt more energetic for the rest of the day, and I will have to let you know shortly if it will help me lose some weight!
