Does Hoodia Work?
Diets are a billion-dollar industry—and indeed many people spend enormous amounts of money every year, trying diet after diet after diet, all manner of diet pills and supplements—and most diets, pills, and supplements just don’t work, or worse, they have side effects which may be both unpleasant and dangerous.
Hoodia is unique in that it is a plant-derived diet supplement which works naturally and safely, without any known side effects. The Hoodia diet formulation is derived from a cactus that grows in the deepest parts of the Kalahari Desert, in Africa.
This cactus is called Hoodia gordonii, and members of an ancient African tribe called the San Bushmen have been using it for many thousands of years to prevent hunger on long hunting trips, when food is scarce.
Hoodia was first discovered by the western world in 1937, when a Dutch anthropologist began studying the San Bushmen, and noted that Hoodia gordonii worked as an appetite suppressant. Around forty years ago, Hoodia gordonii was re-discovered by South African scientists, who immediately began investigating the unique properties of this amazing cactus.
These scientists found that the Hoodia gordonii cactus contains a molecule which was completely new—never found anywhere before in nature, and unknown to science. This molecule, which they named P57, is thought to be responsible for the appetite-suppressing properties of the cactus.
Since this discovery, scientists have studied Hoodia’s effects in clinical trials involving both animals and humans, with results which show that the active ingredient in the cactus does in fact reduce feelings of hunger and calorie consumption. In the very first clinical trial carried out with human volunteers, eighteen people were given Hoodia supplements, without being subjected to diet restrictions.
Within just fifteen days, they were voluntarily eating an average of one thousand calories less every day. Considering that the recommended calorie intake for males is three thousand, and for females it is two thousand, this is a very substantial reduction.
Hoodia was thrust into the spotlight in 2004, when 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl presented a report about the plant. The 60 Minutes crew was led by local Bushmen into the desert to find the plant, and with the cameras rolling, Stahl ate a freshly-cut piece of the cactus.
She reported that eating after eating the cactus, she was not hungry for the rest of the day, and that she had no desire to eat. Additionally, she did not notice any side effects such as queasy stomach, racing heart, or an aftertaste.
Hoodia gordonii works as an appetite suppressant because it interacts with cells in an area of the brain known as the hypothalamus. This region contains cells which are able to sense the presence of glucose—the increased levels of glucose in the body that occur when you eat causes those cells to signal the rest of your body to tell you to stop eating.
This signal is what causes the feeling of fullness that you experience after a meal. The P57 molecule that is found in Hoodia gordonii is thought to have around ten thousand times the signaling strength of glucose, meaning that ingesting even a little Hoodia causes your brain to send strong signals to your body, causing you to feel full when you have not eaten.
One of the most important reasons for Hoodia’s popularity—besides the fact that it shows such enormous promise as a weight-loss supplement—is its lack of known side effects. Drugs such as Ephedra and Phenfen are under investigation or banned due because they cause serious side effects such as heart palpitations, dangerously high body temperature, or uncontrollable shaking.
Additionally, as Leslie Stahl noted, eating even the fresh Hoodia plant does not produce a bitter aftertaste, or upset the digestion. Many users of Hoodia also report that they experience increased energy levels, and an uplifted mood.
It should be noted that there are no published studies concerned the safety and side effects of Hoodia in humans. While it is believed to be very safe (that the San Bushmen have been using it for thousands of years without harm definitely seems to suggest so), general precautions should be taken.
If you are pregnant or nursing, or have liver or kidney disease, taking Hoodia should be avoided. Hoodia should not be taken in conjunction with any prescription medicines, because there is no information available about how Hoodia might interact with other chemical substances.
Additionally, diabetics should avoid Hoodia supplements because they may cause dangerously low levels of blood sugar. Finally, it should be mentioned that Hoodia may also suppress thirst, so it is very important to remember to drink plenty of fluids while taking Hoodia supplements.
If you are interested in using Hoodia supplements as part of a weight-loss plan, you should be aware that a large percentage of Hoodia on the market is counterfeit. The Hoodia gordonii plant takes five to seven years to reach maturity and become harvestable.
The demand for Hoodia has increased greatly in recent years, and this has led to a shortage of the plant—in turn this means that unscrupulous suppliers add bulk to their supplement formula by adding inactive ingredients (for example, some Hoodia diet supplements may contain the roots of the plant, which do not have appetite-suppressing properties).
Therefore, some Hoodia supplements may not contain as much Hoodia as they claim. When you are choosing a supplement, it is important to research Hoodia suppliers thoroughly—check out consumer information sites and find out where you can obtain good-quality supplements before you spend the money.
