Hoodia
Hoodia Gordonii is also known as Hoodia, Ghaap, South African desert cactus, hoodia cactus, khoba, and xhooba. It is a natural weight loss agent.
Not All Hoodia is the same?
Hoodia is not actually a teenager, that is a hoodie! Hoodia is actually a type of plant which was discovered in the Kalahari Desert. In recent years this plant has generated quite a lot of interest from the weight loss community.
It is not officially a cactus, it is actually a succulent plant. It grows in thickets and can take around 5 years before the plant flowers.
When the plant flowers it can be harvested. This is a very important point to remember, harvesting before it has flowered will produce a product which is much less powerful. Less reputable companies will harvest before this period just to make a quick buck. There are many different types of the Hoodia plant, however only Hoodia Gordonii makes an effective weight loss drug. 80% of the products on the market claiming to be Hoodia weight loss products are in actual fact fake, and will do little if anything to reduce your weight.
About Hoodia?
Hoodia was only discovered by modern medicine pretty recently during 2004. The people that live in the Kalahari desert have been using it for a long time. Native bushmen traditionally used it to chew on while they were hunting to stop them being hungry and thirsty. It is also thought to help with diabetes, haemorrhoids, abdominal cramps, indigestion, TB, and hypertension. So it is a pretty useful plant really!
Scientists from South Africa worked in conjunction with a British company known as Phyropharm to isolate the active ingredient in Hoodia, which is a steroidal glycoside. This is now known as P57.
How does it work?
P57 (Hoodia) fools your brain into thinking that the levels of sugar in your blood are actually much higher than they are. This stops you feeling hungry, resulting in weight loss.
You should take hoodia around one hour before you eat a meal. You should drink it with a full glass of water. It is important to do this because when you have taken Hoodia you also will not feel thirsty. You need to keep well hydrated.
Side Effects?
Although Hoodia has been used by native people for some time, it is a fairly new product in the western world. This makes it quite difficult to identify the side effects that it might have. However a company called Phizer (which is huge) decided to drop it from its product line for some suspicious reasons.
Jasjit Bindra is an ex-researcher that worked on the Hoodia project. Phizer brought the licence to produce Hoodia for $21 million, however they later returned the licence. Hey said that although Hoodia did appear to reduce appetite, there were thought to be unwanted side effects on the liver. These side effects were caused by other products using the active ingredient P57, however it was not possible to remove these easily when the products were being processed.
Bindra said that Hoodia still has quite a long way to go until it will gain FDA approval. Until this product has been refined it is a good idea to be very cautious when using it.
Overall Rating 
Check out the top Diet Pills currently available.
Download our FREE ebook, share it with your friends.
