Hoodia Gordonii is a weight loss supplement that promises to eliminate your desire to eat. This assertion was backed up by a ‘60 minuets reporter’ who did a story about Hoodia and made the statement that after trying the ‘diet pill’ his appetite was gone.

With millions of overweight people jumping from one diet fashion to the next, thought of taking a pill to ‘curb cravings’ might sound like a dream come true. But is there any truth to this Hoodia hype?

While pure Hoodia has been proven to stop you from wanting to eat there are literally hundreds of products claiming to contain this latest ‘magic bullet’ in the battle against obesity. This might not mean much until you realize just how scarce Hoodia is. Consider that Hoodia Gordonii is only grown in certain parts of the desert, and after the recent media exposure there is no way for the supply to meet the demand.

What does this say for all those diet pills claiming to contain Hoodia? Well it means most of them are lying. In fact pure Hoodia is very expensive and hard to get so when you see the latest and greatest ‘weight loss pill’ claiming to contain ‘Hoodia odds’ are that there are only trace amounts that will have little or no effect. What can you do to make sure your getting the highest quality Hoodia Gordoni in your weight loss supplements? Find the list of ingredients and make sure Hoodia is the only one listed, and that there is at least ‘400mg’.

Remember that any diet pill made from ‘100% pure Hoodia’ is going to cost about $40-$65 for a month’s supply. Go for the companies and see if they have any certificates to back up their claims.

Hoodia is a cactus that’s causing a stir for its ability to suppress appetite and promote weight loss. 60 Minutes, ABC, and the BBC have all done stories on the hoodia gordonii weight loss pill. Hoodia is sold in capsule, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet.

There isn’t much published research on hoodia. Researchers at Brown University in Rhode Island recently found that the steroidal glycosides in hoodia affects nerve cells in the hypothalamus that monitor blood glucose. Simply put, the brain is tricked into thinking there is enough energy (blood sugar) and doesn’t need to eat, so it shuts down the hunger mechanism.

In animal studies, hoodia is believed to reduce caloric intake by 30 to 50 percent. There is one human study showing a reduced intake of about 1000 calories per day. However, I haven’t been able to find either study to actually read for myself and am going on secondhand reports.

Hoodia Gordonii diet pill has originally been in South Africa for quite some time, but was only recently exposed to be an appetite suppressant. Many reports, including some from well-known media, revealed that Hoodia could make you feel full faster and stay full longer because of its obvious ability to suspend your hunger. The ‘Bushmen’, one of the oldest tribes of the Kalahari deserts have been eating Hoodia Stems from their ancestral time and have been familiar with its ‘thirst and hunger’ quenching capabilities. That is why, when using Hoodia Gordoni it is important to have sufficient ‘hydration’ on top of a healthy diet. Even though Hoodia Extract is natural and able to work on its own to help safely restrain your hunger, it is essential that you incorporate it into a healthy lifestyle.

As with any weight loss product, your doctor should know what you are taking and how you plan to use Hoodia Gordoni in your life. Even though Gordonii Supplement is being depicted as the latest weight-loss wonder, do not let the propaganda get to you. Be realistic! And test the product to verify it’s creditworthy.

If you have a sweet tooth, or you find difficult to cut short diet, you should consider an appetite suppressant like Hoodia Gordonii at least for the first few months to lose weight. Depending on how much you are overweight now, most doctors’ advice losing no more than four pounds a month. You should be able to do that easily.

Hoodia gordonii (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is also called hoodia, xhooba, !khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, and South African desert cactus.

Hoodia is a cactus that’s causing a stir for its ability to suppress appetite and promote weight loss. 60 Minutes, ABC, and the BBC have all done stories on hoodia. Hoodia is sold in capsule, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet. Hoodia gordonii can be found in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. Hoodia grows in clumps of green upright stems and is actually a succulent, not a cactus. It takes about 5 years before hoodia’s pale purple flowers appear and the cactus can be harvested. Although there are 20 types of hoodia, only the hoodia gordonii variety is believed to contain the natural appetite suppressant.

Although hoodia was “discovered” relatively recently, the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert have been eating it for a very long time. The Bushmen, who live off the land, would cut off part of the hoodia stem and eat it to ward off hunger and thirst during nomadic hunting trips. They also used hoodia for severe abdominal cramps, haemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes.

In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen noted that they used hoodia to suppress appetite. But it wasn’t until 1963 when scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa’s national laboratory, began studying hoodia. Initial results were promising — lab animals lost weight after taking hoodia.

The South African scientists, working with a British company named Phytopharm, isolated the active ingredient in hoodia, a steroidal glycoside, which they named p57. After getting a patent in 1995, they licensed p57 to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million on hoodia research.

Eventually pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (makers of Viagra) caught wind of hoodia and became interested in developing a hoodia drug. In 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to develop p57 to Pfizer for $21 million. Pfizer recently returned the rights to hoodia to Phytopharm, who is now working with Unilever.

Hoodia appears to suppress appetite
Much of the buzz about hoodia started after 60 minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and crew traveled to Africa to try hoodia. They hired a local Bushman to go with them into the desert and track down some hoodia. Stahl ate it, describing it as “cucumbery in texture, but not bad.” She lost the desire to eat or drink the entire day. She also didn’t experience any immediate side effects, such as indigestion or heart palpitations. Stahl concluded, “I’d have to say it did work.”

In animal studies, hoodia is believed to reduce caloric intake by 30 to 50 percent. There is one human study showing a reduced intake of about 1000 calories per day. However, I haven’t been able to find either study to actually read for myself and am going on secondhand reports.

Various uses have been recorded among Anikhwe (Northern Botswana), Hai om (northern Namibia ), Khomani (north western South Africa ), and the !Xun and Khwe (originally from Angola ) communities. Less is known about the use of this group of plants by other indigenous people, but some records show limited use of Hoodia parts as food items, albeit not as preferred food items.

Hoodias are known to be used for cultural purposes in some areas (Hargreaves and Turner, 2002). Although relatively difficult to cultivate, Hoodia ‘ s are attractive plants and are also used for horticultural purposes.