A cactus like plant, hoodia is mainly grown in African countries and it has become quite popular in last few years, as it is believed to aid weight loss.
Found in the Kalahari Desert, hoodia is a bitter tasting, succulent plant with purple colored flowers, and these flowers take five years to appear on this plant.
Hoodia was a source of food and water for San Bushmen of Kalahari Desert for many years when they went out for long hunting trips. They used to cut off the stem and consume the bitter tasting plant to curb their thirst and hunger. There are more than 13 types of hoodia, and they are thought to contain a steroidal glycoside called p57. Hoodia Gordonii has gained immense popularity lately, and is heavily marketed for weight loss in the form of diet pills.
Testing For Real Hoodia
The only way to find out if hoodia is real or not is to submit a sample to the laboratory. There are TLC, HPLC and Microscopy tests that are able to confirm if hoodia is real or not. The retailer or manufacturer must be able to show a copy of C.I.T.E.S import licenses, which is issued while making an entry into US. More than 80% of the hoodia products are counterfeit or contaminated and only the laboratory tests can confirm their authenticity.
These adulterated hoodia products exist because the supply of real hoodia is scarce. The plant is difficult to grow and takes almost 4-5 years in hot environment to mature.
How Does Hoodia Work
In its pure form, hoodia is all natural, and is not known to cause any side-effects. Phytopharm had conducted a study in the UK, and it revealed that average hoodia test subjects were able to reduce their calorie intake by more than 1,000 daily for 14 days, hence aiding the weight loss.
Hoodia helps fight with hunger rather than increasing the rate at which body burns fat. It is hence a safe way to lose weight.
Hoodia works in accordance with the body and does not alter its metabolic functions. A messages is conveyed by natural active ingredient molecule p57 to the hypothalamus that you are full now, making you feel less hungry. In any form, hoodia is simple to use and you do not need to put any extra hours to lose weight. However, as alway, it is a good idea to supplement hoodia intake with a good diet and regular exercise.
Some people claim that just popping a few hoodia diet pills everyday helped the fat to melt down, but mostly needed more than these diet pills to achieve the weight loss goals. For many, the pills did not work at all. Hoodia works by suppressing the appetite, but it does not address the problem of overeating.
