Hoodia Gordonii: Potent Appetite Suppressant?

Hoodia Gordonii is a succulent (a cactus of the aloe family) found in the Kalahari desert of South Africa. For several years, it was probably the most hyped weight loss product on the Internet, due to aggressive marketing and stories about how the native Kalahari bushmen would use this cactus to stave off hunger on long trips through the desert.

Despite this, there has yet to be any published data validating hoodia, and the critical P57 molecule, to which its miraculous appetite suppressing powers have been attributed.

In fact, the company Unilever abandoned its interest in developing a hoodia-based diet product, after research results indicated "it was unsuitable for further development."

There are other problems as well; in South Africa, hoodia is on the list of endangered plant species, and believe it or not, it's not actually supposed to be exported. It's also a fairly difficult plant to cultivate, as it takes several years to grow to maturity and to the point where it can be harvested.

The huge surge in demand has lead some experts to speculate that a large percentage of hoodia-based products contain little or no hoodia at all. Consumerlabs.com had this to say...

"It has been speculated that there is more Hoodia being sold today than could possibly be made from all the Hoodia gordonii plants in existence."

Still, anecdotal evidence suggests some people do find hoodia helpful for suppressing appetite—including our own product tester Amie Gantt, who found it worked very well, although she did not lose any weight while testing it (click here to read Amie's experience)

The key to experimenting therefore, is to use a quality brand likely to contain appropriate amounts of the real thing. Cheap products are unlikely to contain genuine hoodia, and are to be avoided.

We recommend Paradise Herbs South African Hoodia from iHerb.com (use the coupon code FAT259 to receive $5 off your first order). Remember; some people have reported that it takes up to two weeks before any appetite suppressing effects are noticed, so be patient.

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