Studies show that Hoodia Gordonii contains potent substances that not only efficiently suppress your appetite so you don't feel hungry, but will increase your energy level so you don't feel tired and sluggish while you're dieting. Additionally, it will improve your body's ability to metabolize fat more effectively so that weight loss can occur more quickly.

Another benefit of Hoodia Gordonii is that it is an all-natural plant product and has no known side effects.

However, while Hoodia Gordonii has enjoyed a wide amount of successes with dieters, many unscrupulous companies have surfaced to take advantage of the success that Hoodia receives.

The primary reason for this lies in economics. At approximately $350 per kilo, the business of selling Hoodia Gordonii offers lucrative returns for companies selling this highly sought after product. Additionally, in the United States alone, about $300 billion a year is spent on weight loss and obesity. It is clear, therefore, that many consumers may be desperate to find a product to help them lose weight.

Consequently, this combination of a highly profitable product being sought after by desperate consumers has resulted in a hotbed of dishonest practices which include some of the following:

1) Filling Hoodia capsules with less than the promised amount of Hoodia that is advertised on the product packaging. For example, a company may advertise that their product contains 100 mg of Hoodia, but when tested, their product may only contain 50 mg.

2) Mixing in unidentified fillers with genuine Hoodia. Often, many distributors sell Hoodia that has been adulterated with other substances similar in appearance to genuine Hoodia.

3) Using fake certificates to lure unsuspecting consumers to buy their product. Although some Hoodia plants have been known to grow in other countries, the variety of Hoodia that is the most effective in weight loss is grown in South Africa. However, in South Africa, Hoodia is an endangered plant and as such, any Hoodia exporter must have a CITES certificate for the Hoodia that is harvested there. Unfortunately, however, many companies have been using forged certificates to sell their product.

Whilst there may be deception amongst some Hoodia sellers, genuine Hoodia is still attainable. One way to locate genuine Hoodia is to get recommendations from family, friends or co-workers. By getting a recommendation through word of mouth, you may be able to turn up a seller who is selling genuine Hoodia.

Another way to find genuine Hoodia is to cut out all the middle men and buy Hoodia from a company who is a direct importer of the product. One reason for this is if you buy from a distributor you may run the risk of purchasing adulterated Hoodia that has been passed off on the distributor as genuine Hoodia. When you purchase from a company that imports their own Hoodia, you should be able to check to make sure that the seller has a CITES certificate, which was mentioned earlier.

Additional certifications that you may be able to check for when you buy from an importer include: certification from an independent laboratory authenticating the Hoodia being sold and an import license called Certificate of Analysis or C&A, as it's commonly called. This is a document which is required for Hoodia that is being imported into the country by custom officials.

And lastly, it is important to bear in mind that genuine Hoodia is a powerful appetite suppressant which has been proven to be very effective. If you are taking Hoodia Gordonii and you do not see results in a short time, you may want to switch to another brand of Hoodia that may give better results.