The first time I heard of the fruit mangosteen, I thought it was just a Jewish mango. Turns out it’s Southeast Asian and in no way Jewish. Makes sense; I mean, how do you circumcise a fruit? Let alone teach it to read the holy books.
The second time I heard of it, I was trying to help a manic-depressive who went manic on it. A degree professional had suddenly thrown angry tantrums, put his hand and other weapons through nearby walls, and tried to burn down the apartment building where his woman-friend lived. He succeeded in burning down part of it. It all happened within a few hours of him ingesting mangosteen. I told him to stop the damned mangosteen. I remember seeing him through bars, and I doubted he could get any mangosteen in there, anyway. But he would not hear ill of his dear mangosteen. It was a multi-level-marketing product and he seemed to believe in it for that reason, despite some factors I was trying to introduce. Things like biochemical truth, behavioral pharmacology, and my decades of medical practice experience — as opposed to his multi-level marketing experience. His family stopped paying me as an expert. I think they all sold mangosteen. Read more on Utah, Mangosteen, and Bad Stuff…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, medicine, News, politics, Research by on Feb 14th, 2013. 3 Comments. 
A senior woman scientist once told me that when she came of age in the 50s, women who wanted to look younger or who wanted softer skin could only choose lanolin compounds. Lanolin — that stuff on sheep wool that makes your hands feel smooth after you have been — well, petting living sheep if you are the kind of person who gets to do that.
Minnie Mouse Makeup
There have been lots of advances since then. I do remember at least once, long ago, being shopping with a woman physician who had an interest in such products. In France, of course. Any docs I know here in the states are usually so submerged in the system, so overworked, that they are lucky if they have time to wash their faces. But back to France. It was clear to me from her shopping habits that this woman, a distinguished scientific researcher, suspended her level of requirements for “good science” when she bought beauty preparations.
There was a good reason for this. There wasn’t any.
Oh, I had worked with her in medical school putting eye shadow on mice. Now although that may sound a bit bizarre, I must tell you that this was research.
Through a deal which I doubt anyone other than my glamorous professor could have put together, we got a contract to test cosmetics to make sure they were safe before the government would let them be put on the general market. Read more on Putting Beauty Treatments To The Test…
Filed under Research by on Dec 17th, 2010. Comment.