Hoodia came from the Latin word “Hoodia Gordonii”. It is also called by other names such as xhooba, ghaap, !khoba, hoodia cactus, or South African desert cactus. The hoodia is a plant like cactus that primarily grows in South Africa, Namibia, Angola, and Botswana’s semi-desert part. It was heavily marketed and became very popular to people for weight loss, and became the best appetite suppressant in the last few years. For many years now, there has always been a huge demand for safe diet pills, so after the banning of ephedra herb, the people were now ready for the next effective diet pill.
Why is Hoodia So Popular?
Most of the popularity of hoodia came from the belief that Kalahari Desert’s San Bushmen has relied for thousands of years, only on hoodia to ward off their thirst and hunger during the long trips when they are hunting. They said that they cut off and ate the stem of this bitter-taste cactus-like plant.
Once a great product reaches the media, nobody can stop its growing popularity. Although hoodia gordonii offers excellent health benefits and you can find thousands of satisfied consumers, the main reason why it is so popular is becuase of how it was introduced by the media.
Is All Hoodia The Same?
Actually, there are 13 and more kinds of hoodia. However the only active and popular ingredient so far is the steroidal glycoside. This has been called the hoodia p57. As of today, hoodia gordonii is the only one what contains the p57 glycoside according to experts.
The hoodia gordonii sprouts in clusters of upright green stems. Although many people still called it cactus because of its resemblance of the cactus plant, hoodia gordonii is actually a juicy plant. Its purple flowers only appear after five years and only then it can be harvested.
Is Hoodia a Safe Appetite Suppressant?
Despite its wide popularity for safe appetite suppressant, still, there is not yet a trial of any form that shows hoodia as an effective or safe to take in the form of pill.
There was this one study that was published in the Brain Research’s September 2004 issue. They have published that injecting p57 in the appetite center of the brain of the rat resulted in the altered ATP levels (energy molecules that affect hunger). The test animals that receive the p57 injections seem to eat less that the test animals that received the placebo injections. Nevertheless, this was all an animal study. Furthermore, the injections made in the brain are very much different from the oral consumption (taking it as pill). So, they therefore conclude that this study is not sufficient to show that the oral hoodia appetite suppressant can really be effective in suppressing the human appetite.
Does Hoodia Really Work?
Hoodia is not the overnight-miracle pill that you expect every time there is a new diet pill that will come out in the market. However, it is a good dietary supplement that really kills your food appetite. It has demonstrated to have an ability to cut off your appetite. So for those people trying to loss their weight, this may be the right choice for you.
Aside from this, many people are being scammed of the fake hoodias. So for people who want to see hoodia gordinii for themselves, you must be smart and clever of knowing the true and certified hoodia so that you will not be scammed by people who just want to take your money.