Is Hoodia A Weight Loss Miracle
Doug Smith

Defined Tag: hoodia.
If you think hoodia is the lead singer of a band called The Blowfish, you have been living under a rock. Hoodia gordonii is the alleged miracle weight loss plant that is being praised worldwide. Hoodia is apparently a natural appetite suppressant, causing easy weight loss. Why haven't we heard about hoodia before now?

It is one of the thirteen species of the flowering Apocynaceae plant family found in south Africa. It is a desert plant, so it resembles cactus and jade in that it can store water and has no traditional leaves. The shape is often described as like a cactus, although the two plants are not related.

Hoodia plants grow as high as three feet tall, with colorful large flowers. The range of South African hoodia is from south Angola to the Namib Desert. The world is sitting up and taking notice of the hoodia gordonii species because of the alleged appetite suppressing properties that promise easy weight loss.

The hoodia plant has long been used by the desert inhabitants as a home remedy for digestive problems and infections. It has also been used to prevent hunger during long hunting trips, due to hoodia's active ingredient called P57. This chemical was first isolated and patented by the South African scientific authority (CSIR). The CSIR granted hoodia licenses to several pharmaceutical companies to create a laboratory version of hoodia gordonii. Pfizer and Phytopharm are two such firms engaged in hoodia research.

Excessive coverage by the media has exploded the demand for hoodia products. The gordonii variant is a protected species where it grows in South Africa. The P57 chemical is very difficult to recreate in the lab, so there is a huge shortage of South African hoodia gordonii. This hasn't stopped diet supplement makers who falsely claim their products contain hoodia, however. Buyers should read the labels of hoodia weight loss supplements carefully.

Very little confirmed scientific evidence exists to confirm the hoodia appetite suppressing and weight loss claims. Word-of-mouth and other anecdotal evidence is plentiful, especially from news reporters who travel to the Kalahari Desert to eat hoodia. Carefully research all promises made by products claiming to contain authentic hoodia gordonii. Until hoodia can be easily recreated in a lab and appropriate studies are conducted, hoodia remains just out of reach for overweight and obese people.

Copyright 2007 by Doug Smith. All rights reserved worldwide. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.