XanGO is just juice, not medicine

The ministry of health and wellness is of late having sleepless nights over  XanGO Juice (Mangosteen), the ‘miracle’ beverage Batswana have been taking for over a decade with the conviction that it will wipe away all their health demons.

As early as 2006, the juice was already sold in Botswana and the patrons of the ‘super juice’ extolled it as an all-in-one medical wonder capable of not only reenergizing the consumer, but also has medicinal properties to heal the likes of cancer, ulcers and even diabetes, among other ailments.

Marketed and distributed worldwide by USA-based company XanGo, LLC, the juice comes to Botswana through the company’s marketing network agents who earn a living from distributing it in the country. One such distributor in Botswana is one Joe Gabalebatse who in an interview this week said there should be no cause for alarm as the juice has no known harm on those who drink it.

Gabalebatse maintains that XanGo is just a 100 percent juice like any other sold by retailers in Botswana, but that those who drink it are the ones who rave about its health benefits. “It is not true that we present the juice as a product with medicinal properties. Just like the average person has general knowledge that drinking Orange juice can help with flu because of the Vitamin C in it, consumers of the juice are the ones who give such feedback that drinking it aided them with one thing or another. Same thing with eating a carrot: the average person knows that eating a carrot helps with improved sight, but a carrot is not sold as medicine,” he cited.

The ministry of health also has no problem with the distribution of the XanGo, as long as people are not told that it has medicinal properties. Gabalebatse also agrees that appropriate action be taken against anybody purporting the juice to be medicine. He adds that it is even against XanGO LCC policy to present the juice as medicine. Some consumers of the juice also refute that the juice is sold to them as medicine to them, with one user who asked for anonymity saying she takes it because like she has done with ginger or garlic mixtures to help deal with colds, drinking the juice helps relieve some ailments in her. “We are not stupid. We know it’s juice but we also know that the mangosteen fruit in the juice is used traditionally in other countries to give energy and relieve one from some diseases, just like I choose to drink Stone Ginger Beer to cure flu, but I know the ginger beer is not medicine.

It’s the same with those who drink Aloe Vera juice,” she says.Last week, the ministry of health issued a public warning against the marketing of the juice as medicine. The ministry’s Drug Regulatory Unit says they were alerted when someone had advertised the juice as medicine, hence their reaction which led to the public warning.“The public should be aware that the product is just a fruit juice and does not have proven medicinal properties and therefore cannot be marketed and sold as such,” the health and wellness ministry stated, adding that anyone found selling XanGO as a medicine should be reported to local authorities, including the police and Food Control Unit..The main fruit used in the juice, Mangosteen, is said to contain more than 40 xanthones, some powerful antioxidants that provide some health enhancing benefits.

The mangosteen fruit grows in hot, humid countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The fruit is purple and about the size of a small apple. It has a thick rind, at the centre of which is the soft, white fruit, which looks a bit like a head of garlic and has a delicious, sweet taste.Known as the “Queen of Fruits,” it has been used as a traditional medicine in Southeast Asia for a wide range of diseases and ailments, including infections, wound healing, diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal problems. The hull is regarded as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral. ([email protected])