What
is
Hoodia?
Botanical (Latin) name: Hoodia gordonii
Other names and common misspelings:
hoodia
cactus,
hoodia, xhooba,
!khoba, Ghaap, South
African desert
cactus, hudea, hudia,
hoodea, Bushman's
Hat and Queen of the Namib.
Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a bitter-sweet cactus-like
plant that grows primarily in the
Kalahari semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. It was used for thousands of
years by the San
Bushmen people as an appetite suppressant and thirst quencher during
their long
hunting treks through the desert. Other medicinal uses of this plant
are for
indigestion problems and small infections. Hoodia gordonii is a genus
of
several Hoodia species, but it is the only species that has such strong appetite
suppressing potential.
In the last few years, hoodia has been
heavily marketed for weight loss and
has become immensely popular
as an appetite suppressant. Here we will try to clarify this claims and
propose
the best available Hoodia.
History
of Hoodia
The
first evidence for
Hoodia came from Dutch anthropologist in 1937, who noted that Buchmen
people
ate Hoodia gordonii during their hunting in the dessert in order to
suppress
their hunnger and thirst. This was unnoticed for years until 1966 when
the scientists
from Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) in South Africa
began studying
Hoodia. The laboratory animals, fed with Hoodia lost weight!
So they
began further laboratory studyes in order to isolate the active substance.
They
succeeded in 1977 when they finaly isolated a
steroidal
glycoside, and
named it p57.
The patent was given to british pharmaceutical company
Phytopharm, which took part in the investigations.
Why
there is no weight loss pills containing only the active ingredient?
There were
attempts to be made. Phytopharm sub-licensed the patent to the
pharmaceutical
giant Pfizer. They tried to synthetize p57 in laboratory, but it turned
out to be too expensive. So they lost interest and returned the patent
to
Phytopharm.
How
Hoodia works?
The
evidence for Hoodia effectivenes
The
first evidence for its effectiveness is coming from the Bushmen people.
For
them there is no
question if Hoodia was effective. They just know it and
chew
some Hoodia to suppress appetite.
A
growing number of evidence came from the media. Hoodia has wide media
coverage
in NBC, ABC, CNN, BBC etc. Here is what Leslie Stahl says about her
experience
with Hoodia in 60
minutes (aired in Nov 2004):
So how did it work? Stahl says she had no
after effects
- no funny taste in her mouth, no queasy stomach, and no racing heart.
She also wasn't
hungry all day, even when she would normally have a pang
around
mealtime. And, she also had no desire to eat or drink the entire day. "I'd
have to say it did work," says Stahl.
- Leslie Stahl
reporting on CBS News 60 Minutes
Another
BBC correspondent, Tom Mangold reported the following after eating
Hoodia too:
At about 1800hrs I ate about half a banana
size (piece of
hoodia gordonii) - and later so did my cameraman. Soon after, we began
the four
hour drive back to Capetown.
The plant is said
to have a feel-good
almost aphrodisiac
quality, and I have to say, we felt good. But more
significantly, we did
not
even think about food. Our brains really were telling us
we were full. It was a
magnificent deception.
That’s
enough for the media coverage of Hoodia. There are number of such
reportings
which can be easily found. What is more important is the…
Scientific evidence for the
effectiveness of Hoodia?
At
first it was not clear how Hoodia works to suppress appetite. After
some
investigation scientists found that active
ingredient p57 mimics the effect of
glugose on the brain cells.
Normally,
when we are eat our glucose levels get high. This is sensed by neurons
in
the brain. These neurons sens signals to the hypothalamus, area of the
brain
that controlls appetite and suppress appetite. Your brain says you are
full.
What
p57 does is to mimic the action of the glucose on the brain. So your brain
receives signals that you are full and cuts the curbs for food.
Simple
and
effective, isn’t it? Here is how Phytopharm's
Dr Richard Dixey explained
how P-57 actually works:
"There is a part of your brain, the
hypothalamus.
Within that mid-brain there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar. 
When you eat,
blood sugar goes up because of the food,
these cells start firing and now you are full. What the Hoodia seems to
contain
is a molecule that is about 10,000 times as active as glucose. It goes
to the
mid-brain and actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you were
full. But
you have not eaten. Nor do you want to."
Another
excerpt from scientific report:
"Studies conducted at the Council
for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR, South Africa) identified
extracts
from Hoodia species, in particular Hoodia pilifera and Hoodia
gordonii,
as possessing strong appetite suppressant properties.....Compound
1 was
tested for its strong appetite suppressant properties ... and the
results
showed that all doses resulted in a decrease of food
consumption over an
eight day period and a body mass decrease when compared to the control
...
In a comparative study against a fenfluramine control sample, compound
1
resulted in a reduction in food intake over the study period, with a
concomitant overall decrease in body weight ..."
What
clinical trials has been done?
Phytopharm
done a clinical trial
with volunteers, that were split into two groups
– the first
received placebo,
the second received the active
appetite suppressing ingredient p57. Here
are the summarized results:
- The
P57
group had a statistically significant reduction
in body fat
- The P57 group had
a statistically significant reduction
in
caloric intake
- The P57 had no
adverse side effects
- On average the P57
group ate
about 1,000
calories a day
less than those in the control group. To put that in
perspective, the
average
American man consumes about 2,600 calories a day; a woman about 1,900
Another study was made by R. Goldfarb, M.D., medical director of Bucks
County Clinical Research. His study was small using a particular brand
DEX-L10, brand of Delmar Labs. The participants of the study lost about
10 pounds in 28 day period (median weight loss of 3,3%).
The patients
also reported that their caloric
intake dropped to less than half
within a few days. No
side
effects were reported.
It
is
clear that Hoodia is effective and strong appetite
suppressant, that will help you to: - reduce your cravings for food
- reduce your calorie intake
- lose weight with ease without feeling hungry all the time
- no side effects, besides losing weight!
Learn where to obtain the
best quality Hoodia products (click here)>>
Side effects of Hoodia
Even though Hoodia is an all natural medication, some people may not be
recommended to take Hoodia. If you are unsure about Hoodia safety,
please talk
to your doctor before taking Hoodia, if you have:
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- High Blood Pressure
- Anorexia, Bulimia
- Plant or health supplement allergies
- Bleeding or clotting disorder
- Pregnant or trying to become pregnant or
breastfeeding
Although Hoodia safety was established without any doubt, you should
not take it if you have any of the listed conditions.
Are all
sellers offering real Hoodia extracts?
No. In
fact most of the Hoodia sellers are not offering a quality
product. In some of the
sample, that were tested the active ingredient was in very small
quantity. This
may be due to the fact, that Hoodia is pretty rare and expensive plant,
and it
is hard to obtain. According our research only few sellers are licensed
and are
selling really quality product.
Learn where to obtain the
best quality Hoodia products (click here)>>
Resources:
- MacLean DB, Luo
LG. "Increased ATP
content/production in the hypothalamus may be a signal for
energy-sensing of
satiety: studies of the anorectic mechanism of a plant steroidal
glycoside." Brain Research Volume 1020, Issues 1-2 , 10 September 2004,
Pages 1-11.
- Weighing the
Evidence in Diet Ads, US Federal
Trade Commission
- Mangold,
Tom. "Sampling the Kalahari
Hoodia diet". BBC Correspondent, May 30, 2003.
- Stahl,
Lesley. "African Plant May Help Fight Fat". CBS News 60 Minutes,
November 21, 2004.
- An appetite
suppressant from Hoodia species.
- Phytochemistry. 2007
Oct;68(20):2545-53. Epub 2007 Jul 2.
- PMID: 17603088 [PubMed -
indexed for MEDLINE]
- http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/hoodia-lots-of-hoopla-little-science
- “African plant may
help fight fat” @ www.cbsnews.com, accessed 4/15/08
- “Hoodia: lose
weight without feeling hungry?” @ www.consumerreports.com, pg
49, accessed 4/15/08.
- “Hoodia”
@ www.wikipedia.com, accessed 4/15/08.
- Van Heerden FR. Marthinus
Horak R. Maharaj VJ. Vleggaar
R. Senabe JV. Gunning PJ. An appetite suppressant from Hoodia species.
Phytochemistry. 68(20):2545-53, 2007 Oct.
- Wong, W. Hoodia- side
effects of hoodia @ www.altmedicine.about.com, accessed 4/16/08.
|
