South African Hoodia Gordonii On World News Networks
Doug Smith

Defined Tag: south african hoodia gordonii.
There is a cactus like plant with alleged appetite suppressing and weight loss qualities called South African hoodia gordonii. It is one of 13 species of flowering succulent plants. Hoodia gordonii only grows in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. News stories by 60 Minutes, Oprah, and other global news outlets has inflamed worldwide desire for this proposed weight loss supplement.

The 60 Minutes U.S. news program sent a team to South Africa to get the facts on hoodia gordonii. They hired a native guide who led them to South Africa's hoodia gordonii plant. The news reported tasted the plant, and described the taste like a cucumber.

Here's where the hoodia legend began to grow. This respected reporter felt no hunger or even thirst cravings for the entire day, despite missing meals. The news report described how the Kalahari Bushmen have been using South African hoodia to curb their appetites for countless years.

Hoodia research began in the 1960s, but the appetite suppressing quality was not known until later. It took 30 years for South African hoodia's main ingredient to be identified by a South African lab. The UK drug company Phytopharm obtained a license to create a hoodia supplement.

This was not easy to do. The main P57 ingredient was very hard to synthesize. Millions were spent on research. Initial tests groups consumed approximately 1000 calories less each day than non-hoodia tests. Using typical caloric intakes, 1000 calories is a 38% decrease for American men, and 52% decrease for women.

Because the main hoodia chemical is so hard to produce in bulk quantities in a lab, the only other source is live South African hoodia. Some large hoodia farms have been started to grow the hoodia in bulk. There are difficulties, because the hoodia plant has never been grown as a crop. Faster growing hoodia gordonii varieties are being tested.

Two properties are responsible for the meteoric popularity of hoodia. The first is that it stops hunger without hunger cravings. The other is that it appears to provide quick and easy weight loss. With the obesity epidemic in many western countries, it may not be possible to grow South African hoodia gordonii fast enough to satisfy the growing demand.

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