What exactly is Hoodia?

Hoodia Gordonii is a plant from the "succulent" cactus family. Hoddia has been growing in the Kalahari Desert region for thousands of years and has been utilized by indigenous San Bushmen as an organic appetite suppressant and thirst quencher throughout long hunting trips for many generations.

Precisely how does Hoodia work?

Scientists believe that a molecule called p57 is the basis for Hoodia's ability to suppress appetite. In general, when a person eats the glucose in the body rises to eventually signal to your brain (in the hypothalamus) that you are full. It is generally believed that the p57 molecule contained in Hoodia impersonates the effect that glucose usually has on the brain, telling part of your brain (the Hypothalamus) that you are feeling full and consequently, have no desire to eat.

Can Hoodia assist people with weight loss programs?

In the United Kingdom, one of the first studies of Hoodia Gordonii was conducted on obese patients. Half the volunteers were given Hoodia Gordonii to take and half were given a placebo to take. The participating subjects were permitted to eat, read and watch television. After a period of 15 days those taking Hoodia were found to have reduced their intake of calories by 1000 calories per day. The Hoodia subjects lost weight regardless of having unrestricted access to food.

Is Hoodia known to be safe?

Hoodia is a plant not a man-made chemical and is completely natural.  Experts say that it is perfectly safe to eat. Scientists have studied Hoodia for nearly 10 years and have not found it to have any side effects. Then of course we have the Tribesman who have eaten Hoodia for thousands years with no ill effect.

What can be done to verify the authenticity of the Hoodia I am using?

One way to determine the authenticity of a Hoodia pill; is to look on the packaging for a C.I.T.E.S. Certificate. C.I.T.E.S is The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. As the Hoodia plant is a registered under C.I.T.E.S  as a protected plant species it may only be sold to an exporter certified under C.I.T.E.S. regulations.

A Study of Hoodia

In this we look more exclusively at the science behind Hoodia and how the product has been studied with a view to being used as an appetite suppressant. We also examine certain theories on how it is believed that Hoodia has the ability to suppress appetite.

What evidence is available that shows Hoodia to work as an appetite suppressant?

The San Bushmen of South Africa, have for thousands of years, been eating Hoodia Gordonii to stave off hunger during their long hunting trips into the Kalahari Dessert. For these people there is no doubt about the appetite suppressant strength of Hoodia Gordonii – for them it is a fact of life – when embarking on a long journey, you chew hoodia and avoid hunger.

Though the Bushmen cannot conduct formal clinical studies, there is still thousands of years worth of evidence to provide that eating Hoodia Gordonii works to suppress appetite. For the San Bushman, eating Hoodia to suppress appetite is as obvious as drinking water to quench thirst. There is also a growing group of journalist who have attested to the properties of Hoodia Gordonii. Herewith is a piece of the transcript from 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

Tom Mangold, a correspondent from BBC News reported the following after eating Hoodia Gordonii...

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.

Dinner time came and went. We reached our hotel at about midnight and went to bed without food. And the next day, neither of us wanted nor ate breakfast.

I ate lunch but without appetite and very little pleasure. Partial then full appetite returned slowly after 24 hours.

It is very unusual such well established journalists to react so positively on a food supplement. As a rule, the media will quickly to find fault with new dietary supplements and be only to ready to point out latent problems. So Hoodia is actually being optimistically "field tested" by some of the most well respected journalists in their field.

Have any clinical studies be conducted on p57?

 In 2001 Phytopharm undertook a, placebo-controlled clinical study for otherwise healthy but overweight volunteers using p57 extracted from Hoodia Gordonii. Participants were divided into two control groups, with one group receiving p57 and the other a placebo. Both groups were instructed to continue with their regular diet and exercise. Results were as follows:

In comparing the p57 control group to the Placebo control group:

In the group taking p57, they had a reduction in body fat that was statistically significant
In the group taking p57 they experienced a statistically significant reduction in intake of calories.

The group taking p57 experienced no adverse side effects
Generally the p57 group ate approximately1,000 calories less per day than those in the placebo control group. To place this in perspective, an average American male consumes roughly 2,600 calories per day and a woman roughly 1,900.

 
Were any side effects encountered while taking the Hoodia or p57?

There have been no side effects reported from ingesting Hoodia or from using p57. Keep in mind that San Bushmen have eaten Hoodia Gordonii plants for many thousands of years, with no ill or side effects.

How does p57 and Hoodia Gordonii suppress the appetite to such a great degree?

It is generally believed that Hoodia - more specifically, the p57 in Hoodia mimics the effect that glucose has on nerve cells within the brain.

Essentially, Hoodia Gordonii tricks the brain to think that the stomach is full when it's really not. Then the brain sends a signal indicating the stomach is full and this stops urges to snack on unhealthy foods. Hoodia is actually more powerful than glucose at letting the brain know you are full. Phytopharm's Dr Richard Dixey explains exactly how P-57 really 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."

As reported by BBC News Correspondent - Tom Mangold - 5/30/2003

So, will I never become hungry if I ingest the Hoodia plant supplement?

Not precisely. We all require food for survival and when we feel hunger because we don’t have sufficient food for the body to function correctly, this is real hunger. It is not possible to completely starve the body regardless of how much Hoodia you eat. You brain will, at some point in time, realize that you do require food in order to function.

However, if you experience hunger because insulin levels are bouncing around, this is referred to as hormonal hunger. It is hormonal hunger which ends most people's diets. When the blood sugar levels spike and drop it causes cravings for sweets and carbohydrates. 

The idea is to use Hoodia gordonii as an aid to stop snacking due to hormonal hunger. You really should continue eating regular meals when you experience real hunger, but you can eliminate snacking due to hormonal hunger. Hoodia can assist to eliminate both these types of hunger, but we feel it is detrimental to skip meals completely. The real advantage perceive in the use of Hoodia Gordonii is eliminating these cravings and the snacking when it is not necessary to eat food.

What make Hoodia different, we hear about diet pills constantly?

Many diet pills or supplements act by increasing the rate at which the body burns fat for energy. If you deliberate on the body as a machine, it is calories that provide the fuel. If the machine (body) is run faster and harder, more fuel (calories) is burned. There is a problem with this as if you run any machine too fast and hard for to long it can create problems. This was the difficulty with ephedra. Many of the people who used ephedra supplements lost weight, but the possibility of occurrences  such as strokes and heart attacks a real possibility too.

Hoodia supplements are so dissimilar as they work to avert weight gain. There is much argument about what is better, low carb or low fat! But in the end weight loss is a simple equation. Consume less calories than your body can burn and you will automatically lose weight. Hoodia provides a powerful tool to fight hunger and consume less calories. It is not necessary to run the body faster or harder, you simply consume less and lose weight.

Back to top