Charlie Sheen's 'Tiger Blood': Is It Really Healthy?

(www.xango.com)

We’ve been hearing a lot about the benefits of so-called “Tiger Blood” from Charlie Sheen lately – and we’ve even seen him guzzling some down while waving a machete on a Beverly Hills rooftop – but what exactly is it?

It turns out he’s been drinking a concoction called Xango Juice, which is primarily made out of a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia called mangosteen.

“Mangosteen has made a lot of news in the past few years,” The Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham, told FoxNews.com. “It has good antioxidants and a group of compounds called xanthones. There’s some science that xanthones possess anti-cancer activity, which is always a good sign.”

The American Cancer Society has a whole page on their website devoted to mangosteen, and in one section states that “although there is no reliable evidence that mangosteen juice, puree, or bark is effective as a treatment for cancer in humans, it’s fruit has been shown to be rich in antioxidants. Very early laboratory studies suggest it may have promise as a topical treatment for acne. Early small laboratory and animal studies suggest that further research should be done to determine whether it can help to prevent cancer in humans.”

This fruit has been used in Asian medicine for many years, and has been touted for its benefits in improving the immune system, joint flexibility and even providing “mental support.”

And while drinking mangosteen juice isn’t going to really “cure” Sheen of anything, it does have some protective health benefits and can improve his overall health, said Kilham, a Fox News contributor.

“If you have abused yourself with drugs and alcohol, adding mangosteen isn’t a bad idea,” he added. “It will help your body repair itself. I would just hate for people to say, ‘Charlie Sheen is drinking it; it’s a cure-all.’”

Xango is a privately-owned company based in Utah with more than 1 million distributors. Sheen is not an official spokesperson for the company.