Preacher and Tireais
thanks for the various links.
I found the link to the American Cancer Society (provided by Tireais) to be insightful.
"
This product [Mangosteen Juice] is sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. Unlike drugs (which must be tested before being allowed to be sold), the companies that make supplements are not required to prove to the Food and Drug Administration that their supplements are safe or effective, as long as they don't claim the supplements can prevent, treat, or cure any specific disease"So like any other dietary supplements, the consumer has to satisfy him/herself that the product is beneficial. Some people have higher standards i,e. published results of repeatable clinical trials; others are happy with anecdotal or indirect evidence. Take your pick and proceed accordingly.
On a personal level, I take supplements that contain Omega-3 fatty acids - do they help? I really don't know but anecdotally, the knee joint pains have subsided. On the other hand, I also backed off on the intensity level when I run.
The main issue I have with products distributed through MLM approaches is that the retail price of the product, in most cases, bloated. So while the mangosteen juice may be rich with anti-oxidants, there are many other foods that can contribute to a diet rich in anti-oxidants - maybe at a lower cost.
ANTIOXIDANT RANKINGS OF FOODS
http://www.drjeffsoftware.com/FP/ORAC.txtAs measured by "ORAC" levels - Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (most commonly used)
=============================
Food juice
ORAC units per 100g
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Ecklonia cava 836,800 ("Seanol"-claimed)
Cloves 314,446
Cinnamon 267,536
Blueberry* 240,000 <*other source: ref. chart>
Oregano(dried) 200,129
Turmeric 159,277
Strawberry* 154,000 <*other source>
Spinach* 126,000 <*other source>Acai 102,700
Alfalfa sprouts 93,000 <*other source>
Broccoli 89,000 <*other source>Cocoa(dried) 80,933
Resveratrol 79,100
Cumin(seed) 76,800
Maqui berry(dry) 75,000 40,000
Oranges* 75,000 <*other source>
Seabuckthorn 70,000
Basil(dried) 67,553
Kiwi* 60,200 <*other source>
Mangosteen 57,623 (claimed)Curry(powder) 48,504
Chocolate(bake) 45,000 (avg., cf. cocoa)
Sage 32,004
Mustard(seed) 29,257
Ginger(ground) 28,811
Black pepper 27,618
Rice bran 24,287
Chili(powder) 23,636
Chocolate(dark) 20,823 (cf. above)
Flax(hull) 19,600
Pecans 17,940Paprika 17,919
Aronia/Chokeberry 16,062
Blk Raspberry 16,000
Ginger root 14,840
Elderberry 14,697
Peppermint 13,978
Oregano(fresh) 13,970 (cf. above)
Walnuts 13,541
Blueberry - wild 9,621 -cultivated 4,669
Hmmm .. 100g of
pecan has a rating of 17,940. The rating for mangosteen is claimed to be 57,623. Only 3x more than pecan. So pecan not so bad after all.
My diet is rich in broccoli and spinach (green super foods). Both have higher ORAC ratings than mangosteen and are both readily available at the local grocery (where I live) at reasonable prices.