SPECIAL FEATURE SUPERSSqueezingUP cold cashE out Rof three “hot”FRUITF juicesRUIT BY DAVID SCHARDT

anan drinkingdrinking fruitfruit juicejuice boostboost youryour energyenergy andand physicalphysical performance?performance? MakeMake youryour cancercancer disappear?disappear? HelpHelp youyou C cheatcheat death?death? HundredsHundreds ofof thousandsthousands ofof peoplepeople wouldwould likelike youyou toto believebelieve that…that… soso yyou’llou’ll paypay $35$35 oror $40$40 a bottlebottle forfor thethe noninoni oror mangosteenmangosteen juicejuice theythey sellsell overover thethe InternetInternet oror toto theirtheir friends.friends. AndAnd claimsclaims onon thethe WebWeb andand inin magazinemagazine adsads havehave fueledfueled thethe salesale ofof pomegranatepomegranate juicejuice inin supermarketssupermarkets andand health food stores across the country. Are these three juices “super,” or just a super opportunity for a lot of people to make a lot of money? Mangosteena Mnaangosteennggoostseetneen oror hundredshundreds ofof years,years, peoplepeople inin pharphar mmaa cceuticaleutical ddrugsrugs onon thethe m market!”arket!” Singapore,Singapore, MMalaysia,alaysia, IIndia,ndia, aandnd “MoreMore ssciencecience toto sayssays jack.gomangosteen.net.jack.gomangosteen.net. ChinaChina havehave beenbeen usingusing thethe fruitfruit backback upup itsits healthhealth The company that “jack” is distributing and the bark of the mango- forfor isis a bitbit mmoreore ccautious.autious. steensteen treetree toto treattreat diarrheadiarrhea andand claimsclaims tthanhan mmanyany “There’s emerging evidence that man- Feczema.eczema. TThesehese ddays,ays, mangosteenmangosteen juicejuice pharmaceuticalpharmaceutical gosteengosteen hashas anti-inflanti-infl ammatory,ammatory, anti-anti- isis aass likelylikely toto turnturn upup inin NewNew YorkYork oror LosLos drugs”?drugs”? HHardly.ardly. oxidant,oxidant, aandnd aanti-microbialnti-microbial pproperties,”roperties,” Angeles as in Kuala Lumpur. sayssays DavidDavid Morton,Morton, a UniversityUniversity ofof UtahUtah Why all the interest in an obscure anatomistanatomist whowho isis scientifiscientifi c advisoradvisor toto tropical fruit? You can thank (or blame) XanGo.XanGo. (Two(Two ofof Morton’sMorton’s brothersbrothers helpedhelped a group of marketers who had already don’tdon’t mmentionention a ddisease,isease, tthey’rehey’re llegalegal eevenven startstart thethe company.)company.) success fully helped fl og the juice of an- thoughthough ttherehere mmayay bbee nnoo eevidence.)vidence.) Mangosteen, like most plants, has other little known tropical fruit, noni, to Local mangosteen juice sellers, further evolvedevolved anan aarsenalrsenal ooff cchemicalshemicals toto pro-pro- American consumers (see p. 10). downdown tthehe ccommissionommission chain,chain, aren’taren’t tecttect iitselftself againstagainst predatorspredators andand environ-environ- Mangosteen is sold through an aggres- asas modest.modest. ForFor example,example, accordingaccording toto mentalmental stresses.stresses. sive worldwide multi-level marketing net- lovemangosteen.netlovemangosteen.net andand mangosteeneffectmangosteeneffect “But most of the stuff from plants that work in which 350,000 sellers—who put .com—Web.com—Web ssitesites ccreatedreated byby XanGoXanGo dealersdealers showsshows earlyearly promisepromise inin thethe lablab doesn’tdoesn’t up a Web site or talk up the juice to their inin NebraskaNebraska andand Colorado—“Na-Colorado—“Na- pan out in humans,” cautions friends and fam ily—recruit other sellers ture’s Amazing Medicine Chest” University of Hawaii ethnobota- and collect commissions from them. helps cure cancer, diabetes, Alzhei- nist Will McClatchey. At the top of the pyramid is a Utah mer’s, migraine headaches, depres- “All of the science on mango- company called XanGo, which started sion, and a host of other diseases. steen is still very early,” Morton marketing mangosteen juice mixed with “I used to get three to four severe admits. He can point to only one nine other fruit juices in 2002. At $35 migraines a month,” Brett T. writes study in humans. “It was done in for a 25-ounce bottle, it’s easy to see why on lovemangosteen.net. “I have a Singapore hospital in 1932 to sales have soared from $40 million in grown up watching my mother treat dysentery,” he says. Man- 2002 to $200 million in 2005. suffer from these same migraines... gosteen mixed with a drug was Two months ago I was told about slightly more effective than the Why Drink It? a product called Mangosteen Juice. drug alone. Ever since then [neither] I NOR my “I don’t think there are plans Mangosteens contain xanthones, which mother have had a single episode.“ to study mangosteen in humans are antioxidants “that may help main- “Why use a medicine if a food in the near future,” adds Morton, tain intestinal health, strengthen the can do the same thing?” lovemango becausebecause “there’s“there’s muchmuch tootoo muchmuch immune system, neutralize free radicals, steen.net asks visitors. that still needs to be studied in help support cartilage and joint function, the lab.” and promote a healthy seasonal respira- The Evidence So much for “more science tory system,” according to XanGo. (All are than many pharmaceutical

Photos: Courtesy Will McClatchey (noni), PunchStock (mangosteen and pomegranate), Nick Waring (bottles). “structure or function” claims. Since they “This fruit has more science to back drugs.” up its health claims than many > > > > >

NUTRITIONN U T R I T I O N AACTIONC T I O N HHEALTHLETTERE A LT H L E T T E R ■ NOVEMBER 2006 9 SPECIAL FEATURE

NoniNoNonini onioni (pronounced(pronounced NO-knee)NO-knee) isis “I“I hhaven’taven’t ffoundound tthathat tthehe nnonioni pplantlant a lime-green fruit the size of “I“I haven’thaven’t foundfound isis aanyny mmoreore fi lledlled withwith ppotentotent cchemicalshemicals a small potato that grows in thanthan llotsots ooff ootherther pplants,”lants,” hhee ssays.ays. “If“If thatthat thethe noninoni plantplant tropical Asia and on islands in anything,anything, iit’st’s llessess active.”active.” the Pacifi c, including Hawaii. isis aanyny mmoreore fi lledlled OnlyOnly oneone tinytiny pilotpilot studystudy hashas testedtested P NIt was virtually unknown in the United noninoni inin people.people. InIn 22004,004, researchersresearchers atat withwith ppotentotent cchemi-hemi- States until 1996, when a Utah company, thethe UUniversityniversity ofof IllinoisIllinois CollegeCollege ofof Medi-Medi- Morinda, Inc. (now called Tahitian Noni calscals thanthan lotslots ofof cinecine atat RockfordRockford gavegave fi veve womenwomen withwith International), started selling it as a other plants. If osteoporosisosteoporosis andand hearinghearing lossloss fourfour ouncesounces 1 dietary supplement. anything, it’s less a dayday ofof noninoni juicejuice forfor threethree months.months. But Noni’s taste—and price—take some thethe sstudytudy waswas tootoo smallsmall andand tootoo shortshort toto getting used to. active.” drawdraw aanyny conclusions.conclusions. People say it’s like consuming rotten What’s more, most people who drink cheese or old prune juice and that it noninoni juicejuice areare afterafter biggerbigger ggame:ame: llikeike smells like vomit or dirty feet. To make Today, Tahitian Noni’s Web site says cancer.cancer. AndAnd ifif youyou believebelieve thethe testimoni-testimoni- noni juice more palatable, manufacturers merelymerely thatthat noninoni juicejuice “boosts“boosts youryour im-im- alsals fl ooatingating aroundaround tthehe IInternet,nternet, nnonioni iiss a mix it with grape and blueberry juices. munemune system,”system,” “delivers“delivers superiorsuperior anti-anti- miraclemiracle fruit.fruit. Tahitian Noni sells the leading brand oxidants,”oxidants,” aandnd ““increasesincreases energyenergy andand Here’s Bernadette on www.noni for $42. That buys a 32-ounce bottle— physicalphysical performance.”performance.” (None(None ofof thosethose healthinfo.com,healthinfo.com, afterafter herher PapPap smearsmear enough to last a month if you drink one “structure“structure oorr ffunction”unction” cclaimslaims rrequireequire camecame bbackack abnormalabnormal inin DecemberDecember 2004:2004: ounce a day (the label recommends one anyany evidence.)evidence.) “I“I sstartedtarted ttakingaking tthreehree ooz.z. ooff nnonioni jjuiceuice toto threethree ounces).ounces). InIn 1100 years,years, But there are tens of thousands of inde- everyevery dday...Iay...I wentwent backback inin AugustAugust toto taketake thethe ccompanyompany sayssays thatthat itit hashas pendentpendent noninoni distributors—peopledistributors—people whowho anotheranother PapPap smearsmear andand toto mymy surprisesurprise soldsold moremore thanthan $$22 bbillionillion havehave pputut upup WWebeb ssitesites toto sellsell thethe juicejuice andand thethe ttestest camecame bbackack negative...Inegative...I feltfelt veryvery worthworth ooff nnonioni jjuiceuice tthroughhrough iitsts whowho havehave rrecruitedecruited ffriendsriends aandnd nneighborseighbors blessedblessed forfor beingbeing introducedintroduced toto suchsuch anan multi-levelmulti-level mmarketingarketing nnet-et- toto dodo thethe same—whosame—who areare moremore thanthan will-will- astonishingastonishing beveragebeverage thatthat savedsaved mymy life...life... work.work. inging ttoo saysay whatwhat thethe companycompany executivesexecutives ThanksThanks ttoo NNoni...”oni...” “I love the taste of the can’tcan’t iinn ee-mails,-mails, oonlinenline cchatrooms,hatrooms, oorr Is there any evidence in humans that noninoni now,”now,” oneone dis-dis- face-to-faceface-to-face meetingsmeetings withwith customers.customers. noninoni deservesdeserves thatthat thanks?thanks? NNo.o. tributortributor toldtold a trainingtraining LastLast spring,spring, forfor example,example, anan undercoverundercover In several animal studies, noni juice sessionsession forfor newnew sales-sales- reporterreporter fforor KKCBSCBS TTVV iinn LLosos AAngelesngeles ttapedaped hashas preventedprevented thethe DDNANA damagedamage tthathat ccanan people.people. ““ToTo me,me, itit ttastesastes twotwo nnonioni ddistributorsistributors tellingtelling prospectiveprospective leadlead toto cancercancer inin rats,rats, arrestedarrested cancercancer ofof kindkind ooff jjustust llikeike money.”money.” customerscustomers thatthat noninoni juicejuice “brought“brought back”back” thethe cconnectiveonnective ttissue,issue, aandnd pprolongedrolonged thethe The session was thethe eeyesightyesight ofof someonesomeone withwith macularmacular survivalsurvival ooff aanimalsnimals wwithith llungung ccancer.ancer.2-4 caughtcaught oonn vvideotapeideotape bbyy degeneration,degeneration, mademade lupuslupus disappeardisappear ““allall But the only human cancer trial isn’t a CBSCBS aaffiffi lliateiate iinn LLosos ofof a suddensudden miraculously,”miraculously,” aandnd pputut eearlyarly testingtesting wwhetherhether noninoni works.works. Angeles.Angeles. dementiadementia ““inin reverse.”reverse.” “I became interested in studying noni “We can’t say it can cure anything,” becausebecause somesome ofof mymy cancercancer patientspatients saidsaid Why Drink It? oneone ofof themthem addedadded coyly,coyly, “but“but itit doesdoes thatthat iitt mmadeade tthemhem ffeeleel andand functionfunction bbet-et- miracles.”miracles.” ter,”ter,” sayssays oncologistoncologist BrianBrian IssellIssell ofof thethe “It addresses every ail- UniversityUniversity ofof Hawaii.Hawaii. mentment wewe kknownow oof,”f,” JJohnohn The Evidence Since 2001, Issell has been giving noni Wadsworth,Wadsworth, co-founderco-founder pillspills ((notnot juice)juice) toto menmen andand womenwomen withwith “Noni“Noni isis thethe mmostost importantimportant plantplant inin of Tahitian Noni, told cancerscancers thatthat hhaveave pprogressedrogressed toto thethe pointpoint PolynesianPolynesian medicine,”medicine,” sayssays researcherresearcher WillWill Forbes magazine in wherewhere therethere areare nono standardstandard treatments.treatments. McClatcheyMcClatchey ofof thethe UniversityUniversity ofof Hawaii.Hawaii. 2004.2004. His “Phase I” study is looking at how ButBut tthehe rripeipe ffruitruit isn’tisn’t ttypicallyypically uused.sed. ““It’sIt’s WadsworthWadsworth andand thethe muchmuch noninoni peoplepeople cancan toleratetolerate withoutwithout thethe rroots,oots, bbark,ark, andand leavesleaves thatthat areare em-em- companycompany brassbrass havehave beenbeen vaguevague aboutabout sideside effectseffects oror toxicity,toxicity, notnot whetherwhether noninoni ployedployed forfor lotslots ofof differentdifferent remedies,”remedies,” hehe noni’snoni’s benefibenefi tsts everever sincesince 1998,1998, whenwhen thethe works.works. says,says, “usually“usually bbyy aapplyingpplying tthemhem eexternallyxternally companycompany paidpaid $100,000$100,000 toto settlesettle a lawsuitlawsuit “Based on this study,” says Issell, “we toto thethe skinskin oorr ttoo wounds.”wounds.” fi ledled byby thethe statesstates ofof California,California, Texas,Texas, cannotcannot ssayay wwhetherhether noninoni relievesrelieves painpain oror McClatchey has run noni fruit through NewNew Jersey,Jersey, andand Arizona.Arizona. TahitianTahitian NNonioni otherwiseotherwise bbenefienefi ttss patients.”patients.” agreedagreed ttoo sstoptop makingmaking cclaimslaims tthathat nnonioni a seriesseries ofof preliminarypreliminary laboratorylaboratory ttestsests similarsimilar toto thosethose thatthat ppharmaceuticalharmaceutical com-com- couldcould ““prevent,”prevent,” “treat,”“treat,” oror “cure”“cure” diabe-diabe- 1 paniespanies useuse toto seesee ifif potentialpotential drugsdrugs killkill J.J. Altern.Altern. Complement.Complement. Med.Med. 1010: 737, 2004. tes,tes, ddepression,epression, carpalcarpal tunneltunnel syndrome,syndrome, 2 Ann.Ann. N.Y.N.Y. Acad.Acad. Sci.Sci. 952952: 161, 2001. lupus,lupus, hhemorrhoids,emorrhoids, oorr otherother diseases.diseases. bacteriabacteria oorr iinterferenterfere wwithith tthehe sstepsteps tthathat 3 Phytother.Phytother. Res.Res. 1717: 1158, 2003. leadlead toto cancer.cancer. 4 Phytother.Phytother. Res.Res. 1313: 380, 1999.

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PomegranatePomPomegranatePeomgegrraanante ate omegranateomegranate jjuiceuice wwasn’tasn’t eevenven siblesible forfor slowingslowing thethe riserise inin PSAPSA levels.levels. on the radar screen in the “We“We needneed toto (Pantuck(Pantuck isis conductingconducting a largerlarger studystudy UnitedUnited SStatestates untiluntil threethree yearsyears withwith a pplacebolacebo ggroup,roup, bbutut rresultsesults wwon’ton’t bbee dodo aadditionaldditional ago,ago, wwhenhen a ssuccessfuluccessful LosLos availableavailable forfor severalseveral years.)years.) AngelesAngeles businessbusiness couplecouple carefullycarefully Pantuck cautions men against relying Pbeganbegan aapplyingpplying ttheirheir cconsiderableonsiderable onon pomegranatepomegranate jjuice.uice. controlledcontrolled marketing savvy to selling it as a “‘I’m not at the point where I would chic, healthy drink. studiesstudies iinn saysay thatthat everyoneeveryone whowho hashas prostateprostate can-can- Lynda and Stewart Resnick own largerlarger nnum-um- cercer oror whowho isis atat riskrisk forfor prostateprostate cancercancer FijiFiji Water, Water, thethe secondsecond largestlargest importedimported bersbers ofof ppeopleeople shouldshould bbee ddrinkingrinking ppomegranateomegranate jjuice.”uice.” bottled water brand in the country; Telefl ora, the largest fl oral wire service; toto cconfionfi rmrm itsits healthhealth CardiovascularCardiovascular disease.disease. “Preliminary the Franklin Mint, which sells collect- benefi ts.” datadata fromfrom testtest tubetube andand animalanimal studiesstudies ibles; and Paramount Agribusiness, the andand ffromrom a fewfew smallsmall humanhuman ttrialsrials world’s largest farming operation of suggestsuggest thatthat ppomegranateomegranate juicejuice maymay bebe tree crops like oranges, pistachios, and POM refused to change its ads. Con- healthyhealthy forfor thethe cardiovascularcardiovascular system,”system,” almonds. sumerssumers areare ableable “to“to appreciateappreciate thethe humor-humor- sayssays NavindraNavindra Seeram.Seeram. He’sHe’s assistantassistant di-di- In the late 1980s, as part of a large real ousous aandnd ‘‘overover tthehe ttop’op’ ccontextontext iinn wwhichhich rectorrector ofof thethe CenterCenter forfor HumanHuman NutritionNutrition estate deal, the Resnicks happened to thethe cclaimslaims areare presented….”presented….” itit argued.argued. atat UCLAUCLA andand co-editorco-editor ooff Pomegranates, a acquire a pomegranate orchard in central (A(A wordword ttoo tthehe wwise:ise: iiff yyouou ddrinkrink ppome-ome- bookbook aaboutbout ppomegranateomegranate rresearch.esearch. California. granategranate jjuice,uice, kkeepeep inin mindmind thatthat anan eight-eight- In one of those studies, Dean Ornish In 2003, they introduced POM Won- ounceounce gglasslass ofof POMPOM willwill setset youyou backback 160160 andand hhisis ccolleaguesolleagues atat TheThe PreventivePreventive derful pomegranate juice in 16-ounce calories—50calories—50 caloriescalories moremore thanthan a gglasslass ofof MedicineMedicine ResearchResearch InstituteInstitute inin Sausalito,Sausalito, designer bottles—at some $5 a pop—and orangeorange jjuiceuice aandnd 7700 ccaloriesalories mmoreore tthanhan a California,California, ggaveave 2233 menmen withwith ccoronaryoronary began promoting it to Hollywood celebri- glassglass ofof cola.)cola.) heartheart diseasedisease a dailydaily cupcup ofof pomegranatepomegranate ties. POM now accounts for an estimated juice.juice. 80 percent of pomegranate juice sales in The Evidence After three months, stress tests showed the United States. thatthat bbloodlood fl ooww tthroughhrough tthehe jjuice-uice- UnlikeUnlike thethe manufacturersmanufacturers ofof noninoni andand drinkers’drinkers’ arteriesarteries hadhad improved,improved, whilewhile Why Drink It? mangosteenmangosteen jjuices,uices, tthehe RResnicksesnicks havehave in-in- itit ddeterioratedeteriorated iinn tthehe 1166 mmenen wwhoho ddrankrank vestedvested a substantialsubstantial aamountmount ooff m money—oney— a similar-tastingsimilar-tasting placeboplacebo beveragebeverage thatthat “Cheat Death…Eight ounces a day is all $10$10 millionmillion soso far,far, theythey say—intosay—into researchresearch containedcontained nono pomegranatepomegranate oorr ootherther fruitfruit you need.” “This incredible juice has byby crediblecredible scientistsscientists atat majormajor universi-universi- juice.juice.2 more naturally occurring antioxidants ties.ties. AsAs a rresult,esult, ppomegranateomegranate jjuiceuice iiss ffarar And after 10 Israeli men and women than any other drink.” “Antioxidants aheadahead ofof mangosteenmangosteen andand noninoni juicejuice inin withwith aatherosclerosistherosclerosis drankdrank a cupcup ooff fi ght free radicals, those molecules that scientifiscientifi c evidence.evidence. pomegranatepomegranate juicejuice everyevery dayday forfor a year,year, can cause heart disease, premature theirtheir carotidcarotid arteriesarteries werewere lessless cloggedclogged aging, Alzheimer’s, even cancer. Prostate cancer. In a study andand ttheirheir systolicsystolic bloodblood pressurepressure (the(the Drink eight ounces a day and you publishedpublished earlyearly thisthis yearyear byby UCLAUCLA upperupper nnumber)umber) ddroppedropped bbyy aann aaverageverage ooff might even save a life. Yours!” researchers,researchers, risingrising PSAPSA levelslevels slowedslowed 2121 percent.percent. Meanwhile,Meanwhile, thethe arteryartery block-block- Those are some of the claims be- substantiallysubstantially iinn 3388 ofof 4646 menmen withwith agesages wworsenedorsened inin ninenine similarsimilar menmen andand ing made by POM Wonderful ads. prostateprostate cancercancer whowho drankdrank eighteight womenwomen wwhoho drankdrank a pplacebolacebo jjuice.uice.3 They didn’t sound so wonderful ouncesounces ofof pomegranatepomegranate juicejuice ev-ev- “It’s clear that the pomegranate is one 1 to the National Advertising eryery ddayay fforor threethree years.years. (PSA, ofof thethe pphytochemical-richhytochemical-rich fruitsfruits likelike Division of the Council of oror prostateprostate specifispecifi c antigen,antigen, blueberries,blueberries, cranberries,cranberries, andand strawber-strawber- Better Business Bureaus last isis a pproteinrotein pproducedroduced byby thethe ries,”ries,” sayssays Seeram.Seeram. “But“But wewe needneed toto dodo April. prostate.prostate. RisingRising PSAPSA levelslevels cancan additionaladditional ccarefullyarefully ccontrolledontrolled sstudiestudies inin The claims are misleading, indicateindicate a ggrowingrowing ttumor.)umor.) largerlarger nnumbersumbers ooff ppeopleeople ttoo conficonfi rmrm itsits concluded the NAD, because “The“The pomegranatepomegranate jjuiceuice healthhealth bbenefienefi tts.”s.” they don’t “clearly disclose the seemsseems ttoo sstabilizetabilize ttheirheir cancercancer limitations of the scientifi c ratherrather thanthan kkillill iit,”t,” ssaysays lleadead 1 Clin.Clin. CancerCancer Res.Res. 1212: 4018, 2006. fi ndings about pomegranate researcherresearcher AllanAllan Pantuck.Pantuck. 2 Am.Am. J.J. Cardiol.Cardiol. 9966: 810, 2005. juice.” (The NAD, an indus- ButBut tthehe sstudytudy didn’tdidn’t includeinclude 3 Clin.Clin. Nutr.Nutr. 2323: 423, 2004. try self-regulatory group, act- a placeboplacebo ggroup,roup, ssoo there’sthere’s nnoo ed following a complaint by wayway ttoo kknownow iiff tthehe ppome-ome- grape juice giant Welch’s.) granategranate jjuiceuice wwasas rrespon-espon-

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