# Which fruit do you think will become the next cure all? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614 "2012-05-02T08:28:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/1 "2012-05-02T08:28:30Z")
First it was noni, bottles of overpriced noni juice where everywhere. Then mangosteen, now the current fad seems to be cactus fruit or prickley pears(which anyone who has lived in the SW US knows are common and eaten forever) but suddenly it is a miracle cure! I’m guessing oahite or java apple will be the next target of the fruit hucksters. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/2 "2012-05-02T09:04:09Z")
My money (not really) is on [lychee](http://www.livestrong.com/article/454772-the-benefits-of-lychee/). It’s exotic enough to appeal to the snobs, but also available fresh at supermarkets without straining yourself too hard looking for it. It’s Asian, which is good for the anti-Western medicine types and those who buy into Ancient Eastern Wisdom, but it’s also grown in the US, which can bring the price down a bit if it gets more popular. Google shows that it’s already being quietly talked up as a[cancer fighter and love tonic](http://www.engineeredlifestyles.org/lychee.html), but I think it’s got some room to get bigger and go mainstream. Haven’t seen it on The Doctors yet. And it’s delicious. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/3 "2012-05-02T09:14:25Z")
You forgot the old stand-bys: blueberry, pomegranate… I’m going with durian. Nothing says love like durian. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/4 "2012-05-02T09:20:10Z")
The store I work at just started selling dragonfruit on a huge display with little pamphlets about how to eat them. I’m calling it as the next fad. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/5 "2012-05-02T09:37:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The store I work at just started selling dragonfruit on a huge display with little pamphlets about how to eat them. > > I’m calling it as the next fad. Heh while it looks cool and sounds cool the taste is so light and delicate it makes lychee seem strong, seriously probably the most subtle fruit out there. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/6 "2012-05-02T10:39:54Z")
African mango is next. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/7 "2012-05-02T10:54:18Z")
I accidentally bought a mixed fruit Polish drink that had lychee in it. It was the most disgusting drink I’ve ever tasted and has put me off the concept of lychee in perpetuity. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/8 "2012-05-02T10:55:42Z")
You forgot the acai berries! They make you immortal! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/9 "2012-05-02T11:44:40Z")
Ah…Tahitian Noni juice-my BIL is a heath food nut-he’s always buying that crap. Once, he bought a whole case of noni juice-he wound up giving it away (I got a bottle). It was nasty! Nobody has mentioned the old standby-apple cider vinegar and honey-drink it every day! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/10 "2012-05-02T12:22:37Z")
Fuschia berries. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/11 "2012-05-02T13:04:02Z")
We’ve had to deal with a ton of these fads at my pharmacy over the years, almost all driven by the diet pill industry. In addition to all of the previously mentioned fads (dragonfruit made a run about 15 years ago), we’ve also had fads in quince, hawthorn berries, teaberry, grapefruit, apple cider, green tea, kombucha, cranberries, konjac, dark chocolate, and more. Long-running diet pill brands will get reformulated to include each new fad. Most formulations right now include green tea, and many also have acai and/or pomegranate. The two big fads emerging recently have been raspberry ketones and green coffee extract. So, in answer to the OP, it’s the rather mundane “raspberry.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/12 "2012-05-02T13:42:27Z")
Here’s hoping [Marula fruit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sclerocarya_birrea) will take off in a big way. Because the [derivatives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarula) are nice. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/13 "2012-05-02T15:00:35Z")
The original reseach seems to be a couple years old, but I saw a program on BBC about the benefits of [beetroot juice](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10433877) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/14 "2012-05-02T15:17:41Z")
First it was the apple. Actually an apple caused all the problems, but later it was the cure. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/15 "2012-05-02T15:28:37Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [cancer fighter and love tonic](http://www.engineeredlifestyles.org/lychee.html), but I think it’s got some room to get bigger Which is what you want in a love tonic! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/16 "2012-05-02T16:04:02Z")
Sour cherries. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/17 "2012-05-02T17:06:31Z")
Hopefully saskatoon berries/serviceberries. They’re pretty tasty. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/18 "2012-05-02T17:25:17Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > You forgot the acai berries! They make you immortal! Yep, I heard all about it from a woman in [Location of your IP address]! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/19 "2012-05-02T18:01:36Z")
> [@living\_in\_hell](#): > > I’m going with durian. Nothing says love like durian. Nothing says “who took a shit in my gym socks?” like durian. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614/20 "2012-05-02T18:33:15Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > We’ve had to deal with a ton of these fads at my pharmacy over the years, almost all driven by the diet pill industry. In addition to all of the previously mentioned fads (dragonfruit made a run about 15 years ago), we’ve also had fads in quince, hawthorn berries, teaberry, grapefruit, apple cider, green tea, kombucha, cranberries, konjac, dark chocolate, and more. Long-running diet pill brands will get reformulated to include each new fad. Most formulations right now include green tea, and many also have acai and/or pomegranate. The two big fads emerging recently have been raspberry ketones and green coffee extract. So, in answer to the OP, it’s the rather mundane “raspberry.” FWIW, there actually appears to be something to the [green tea thing](http://www.ajcn.org/content/87/3/778.abstract), though it does seem to take quite a lot of it. And that’s the thing with a lot of these fads. A lot of them start with a nugget of truth – some extract of some fruit can show a slightly higher level of whatever – but then it’s just thrown in a mix in a diet pill in a concentration that’s too small to matter along with dozens of other things that have never been tested in combination with it. Voila, snake oil! Anyway, my guess for the next fad? Buddha’s Hand. It looks cool, has a cool name and is a fruit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fruit-do-you-think-will-become-the-next-cure-all/620614.md?page=2)