The dream of every tubby around the world. . . A pleasant tasting magical fruit that will allow you to eat your way to a slimmer waistline. That is what is being claimed for the Thai mangosteen.

“Mangosteens are sometimes called the Queen of Fruits,” Koichi Okabe, a dessert company president who deals with a variety of different Thai foods, tells Sunday Mainichi. “Mangosteen juice, made by crushing the fruit, skin and seeds, not only tastes great, it has wonderful health benefits. It was only developed last year in Thailand, but American buyers are swarming to get it.”

Mangosteens contain over 100 different beneficial substances; most notably xanthones, said to help fight the effects of allergies, cancer and lifestyle diseases, as improve blood pressure and the immune system, and restore youthfulness to the body’s cells.

This isn’t the first time that magical properties are being claimed for a plant growing in Thailand. Long-time readers of JAPUNDIT may remember that a number of years back we had a report on a plant called the Pueraria Mirifica, which is said to enhance female breasts if ingested regularly.