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[H640]Hoodia Weight Loss Products

by Admin, Adm

Have you heard about Hoodia Gordonii? It's marketed as an ?amazing? new weight loss ingredient that will help you lose weight without feeling hungry. The many advertisements hyping the product claim that Hoodia contains a "miracle molecule called P57 that tricks the brain into thinking you've eaten, and makes you feel full." The claims do not stop there in addition to losing weight, the ads claim you will feel better while taking this super weight loss ingredient, because Hoodia has ?a feel-good, aphrodisiac quality.? What exactly is Hoodia and does it really work? Let us take a closer look at this "miracle appetite suppressant."

What is Hoodia Gordonii?

Hoodia is a succulent that looks like a cactus. It has been described as a somewhat bitter-tasting cucumber that thrives in extremely hot, dry weather and takes 5-7 years to reach maturity. Hoodia grows in the Kalahari Desert region of South Africa, as well as the countries of Botswana, Namibia and Angola. It is said that for generations the San Bushmen, tribesmen native to the regions Hoodia grows, have removed the skin and spines of Hoodia prior to consumption as a way to curb their hunger and thirst during nomadic hunting trips.

In 1995 scientists isolated that one molecule in the plant that is responsible for the Hoodia appetite reducing effect. The molecule was named P57. The process to isolate the P57 compound was patented and the rights were sold to a British company called Phytopharm. In 1998 Phytopharm signed a licensing agreement with the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Together, these two companies set the goal to isolate P57 in order to market and sell it for commercial weight loss purposes in the form of diet pills and capsules. In 2003, after many years of research, and no marketable P57 diet product, Pfizer elected to end its Hoodia contract with Phytopharm. Why? The process of isolating the P57 compound was way too costly to produce as a commercial weight loss product.

Research

Phytopharm conducted one proprietary clinical study in 2001. The results of this study were never submitted to a peer-reviewed journal however, nearly every Hoodia marketer promotes the study in announcing the legitimacy of their product as a "magical" weight loss ingredient. The small study included only (18) eighteen subjects and they were all obese. The subjects took either the P57 compound or a placebo twice a day for 15 days. What Phytopharm concluded from their study was that the obese people who took P57 reduced their daily calorie intake by 1,000 and suffered no adverse effects. Phytopharm was so encouraged by their own study that they invested millions of dollars to determine how effectively farm and cultivate Hoodia. In December of 2004 Phytopharm and Unilever (which owns commercially popular SlimFast amongst other business holdings) announced a deal which they claim will put Hoodia on the market within 3 years. Unilever paid $21 million to help fund additional clinical trials and expansion of the Hoodia cultivation program in South Africa and Namibia. Their goal is to include P57 in food products such as breakfast bars and meal replacement shakes and other diet related products.

What Does The Future Hold For Hoodia?

To date there has, not been any controlled Hoodia clinical study that shows statistically significant results for weight loss. However, this does not mean that Hoodia will not offer potential as an appetite suppressant in the future. If additional research indicates that Hoodia works as well as Phytopharm suggests it does, then it may in fact turn out to be a useful way to control weight. Until then, Phytopharm needs to conduct more clinical research with Hoodia so that broader conclusions may be reached. In the meantime, consumers should be aware of the unscrupulous Hoodia product peddlers attempting to dupe the public by offering for sale dried, powdered versions of Hoodia that are not regulated or inspected, and the exact contents of which are unknown. In addition, it should be stated that the appetite suppressing ability of Hoodia has only been shown effective in large fresh pieces of the plant, about 2 or 3 inches long. The dried powder that many peddlers are hawking these days contains such a small amount of P57 that it cannot produce any true, desired effect. This clearly demonstrates that many of these Hoodia eddlers are attempting to make a quick buck off the unsuspecting consumer. If the manufacturing process was as easy as drying and grinding the Hoodia plant don't you think Pfizer and Phytopharm would have been selling P57 as a weight loss product back in 1998?

Someday we may learn that Hoodia does promote weight loss by effectively suppressing appetite, but until we do, we should all be careful how we spend our money on weight loss products claiming to contain Hoodia or its active ingredient P57.

About the Author

Peter Bracato is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of his insightful supplement articles can be found at the premier online health news magazine

Perhaps the most significant discovery in the control of weight has been the Hoodia plant, a natural resource which is making a huge impact in the world of slimming; all the signs that this is the 'real thing' are good. Now, many natural dietary products claim to use Hoodia as the weight loss constituent; each year the number of people becoming overweight is increasing so the market for this plant is huge. However, do you know what this mysterious plant is and why weight loss treatments based on it are in so much demand?

Hoodia Gordonii is a particular variety of plant which suppresses the appetite. It is only this type of Hoodia cactus that appears to possess this quality, despite there being twelve other varieties of the plant that can be found in the remote regions of South Africa.

For quite some time this remarkable cactus was studied by scientists and trials carried out on people to ascertain how effective it really was at suppressing the appetite. In fact a group of workers with the BBC while on tour, each consumed a leaf of Hoodia. Not one of the suffered any ill effects or felt an urge to eat for the remainer of the day.

The best part about using Hoodia weight loss products is there is little or no chance of any side effect and so far none have been found. On the other hand, regular weight loss products have been shown to cause irregular heartbeats and digestive conditions.

Another benefit of using products containing extracts of this plant, is that users claim they do not feel tired even though they are not eating, as it provides a normal energy levels for the entire day.

However, when administered, you should still administer proper hydration and healthy eating habits. For people with unnaturally large appetites that are prone to putting on weight then the Hoodia weight loss pill is a safe way to control the desire to eat; the body still needs food and drink however, otherwise health will be adversely affected. Hoodia is an ideal method of controlling the appetite of people who cannot control their own.

It is important to mention that products containing the true ingredient are quite expensive as this plant is quite rare. This explains the high production costs. In many areas where a product is expensive, unauthentic Hoodia weight loss pills and other supplements allegedly containing the plant are readily available on the internet.

Be warned if you see them at very low prices, it is unlikely to be the genuine product. Buying cheap Hoodia extracts is not only false economy as you cannot produce this product cheaply, but you do not actually know what is being used as the substitute.

Article Source : Pg. 8

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Both Admin & Kay Brown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Admin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Infidelity, Tax and Class Action. Peter Bracato. Admin's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.

Kay Brown has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Computers and The Internet and Credit Cards. At Kay Browns site Net Reports, there you can find a growing database of quality and learn 15 different ways. Kay Brown's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.