1. Colds: Since we start drinking an ounce or more of mangosteen juice every day, we don’t catch a cold every few months like we used to. In fact, I can’t remember the last time someone in my family had a cold.

It used to be that at the beginning of the school year, when my youngest son was in high school, he was exposed to more germs than he was used to. So sometime between two and four weeks out of the year, I had a massive cold and then we caught it. That just no longer happens with that routine of drinking an ounce or two of mangosteen juice a day.

2. Sore throat: Sore throat is practically a thing of the past since mangosteen juice entered our lives. If my throat feels a little itchy, I just increase the dose to two or three ounces, and maybe take it one or two more times during the day. It is an extremely rare occasion where a sore throat does not go away within a couple of hours.

3. Flu: On the rare occasions that my son got the flu, a dose of mangosteen would ease the nausea, and after a little sleep the flu symptoms disappeared.

4. Back pain: My back pain is gone. In 1992, I had fallen on a slippery floor at a grocery store. Afterward, my back would stiffen and I could barely move for several days, and that happened a couple of times a year. Since drinking mangosteen juice, the anti-inflammatory properties in it have taken care of what was causing my back problems, because I have not had back problems for over two years. And I haven’t been to a chiropractor or doctor for it.

5. Alzheimer’s Disease: Mangosteen juice came to the aid of my father and his Alzheimer’s disease in 2006. On October 31, 2006, I thought I had seen my father alive for the last time. I had to cross the country to go home for my son. A couple of days before I left, I talked to the doctor about giving my dad mangosteen juice, and he agreed to have one ounce twice a day. I would have liked more, but I was happy about it.

When I left that Halloween, my dad was curled up in a fetal position in front of the wall; I thought with certainty that he would be back in a few days for a funeral. To make a long story short, day by day my father got stronger and he could sit in his wheelchair and he knew who the people were and he could talk to them a little bit. He had six more months to live after that. The only explanation could have been what my dad’s nurse and my family called the miracle drink, since the doctor had taken away his other medications.

Even if you don’t need relief from a major illness, as we approach fall with the kids heading back to school, what better time to try mangosteen juice for yourself. The recommendation is to commit to drinking the juice for three months to give it a chance to work its magic, especially on a problem that has been going on in your body for a while.

On the other hand, there are problems in which, with constant use, you will feel better much sooner. For example, after three days of taking mangosteen, my knees let me painlessly climb a ladder to clean a ceiling fan! That might not work for everyone, but it might start to ease the pain.

One fun thing you can do before taking either is to write down the aches and pains you are experiencing. Then each week, see what kind of progress you’ve made!

As required, I must say that mangosteen juice is not intended to cure any disease, and you should keep in contact with your doctor for any problems you may have.

That being said, just … what if it helps you? Wouldn’t you be glad you tried it?