What is Hoodia

Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a cactus-like plant that grows primarily in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.

In the last few years, hoodia has been heavily marketed for weight loss and has become immensely popular.

Although there has always been a demand for diet pills, after the ban on the herb ephedra, the market was particularly ripe for the next new diet pill.

Much of hoodia’s popularity stems from claims that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert relied on hoodia for thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips. They were said to have cut off the stem and eat the bitter-tasting plant.

Despite its popularity, there are no published randomized controlled trials in humans to show hoodia is safe or effective in pill form.

One study published in the September 2004 issue of Brain Research found that injections of p57 into the appetite center of rat brains resulted in altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule that may affect hunger. The animals receiving the P57 injections also ate less than rats that received placebo injections. However, this was an animal study and injections in the brain are different from oral consumption, so it cannot be used to show that oral hoodia can suppress appetite in humans.

The manufacturer Phytopharm cites a clinical trial involving 18 human volunteers that found hoodia consumption reduced food intake by about 1000 calories per day compared to a placebo group. Although intriguing, the study wasn’t published or subjected to a peer-review process, so the quality of the study cannot be evaluated.

Eventually pharmaceutical giant Pfizer learned about hoodia and expressed interest in developing a hoodia drug. In 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to develop p57 to Pfizer for $21 million. Pfizer returned the rights to hoodia to Phytopharm, who is now working with Unilever.

Much of the hype about hoodia started after 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and crew traveled to Africa to try hoodia. They hired a local Bushman to go with them into the desert and track down some hoodia. Stahl ate it, describing it as “cucumbery in texture, but not bad.” She reported that she lost the desire to eat or drink the entire day. She also said she didn’t experience any immediate side effects, such as indigestion or heart palpitations.

Health and Well Being Information on Hoodia and Diet

Fiber is a natural appetite suppressant which is why you will often see high-fiber cereals advertising that they can keep you full until lunch. It goes without saying that an increase in your fiber intake can be achieved with a few simple changes in your diet.

Making a change to your diet can, at first, seem like a tough thing to do. However, a few small changes over time and you will soon have increased your fiber intake and start feeling the benefits of appetite suppression.

Before we provide you with some suggestions on how to incorporate more fiber in to your diet let’s first look at what fiber is and what its health benefits are.

Fiber is made up of several complex carbohydrates and can either be soluble or insoluble. Unlike most other foods we consume, fiber contains no calories, vitamins or minerals and therefore passes through your body without being digested. This is also why people suffering from constipation are encouraged to eat more fiber (or roughage as it is also known).

If you are thinking you can gain fiber from eating meat then you are sadly mistaken. Fiber only exists in the cell walls of plants, therefore things like fruit, vegetables, and grain are all commonly high in fiber.

In addition to the appetite suppression and therefore weight loss benefits, fiber also offers other health benefits. It is known to help reduce the risks of bowel problems such as hemorrhoids and cancer of the bowel and colon. It also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and reduce blood cholesterol levels.

As you can see, the benefits of a high-fiber diet stretch much further than just helping you to control your appetite and lose weight. Therefore even if you are happy with your current weight a little more fiber in your diet can only be a good thing.

With this in mind here are some simple meal ideas to help you begin to increase your daily fiber intake:

Breakfast:

Whole wheat toast

Wheat or grain based cereal

Bran muffins

Porridge oats

Pure fruit smoothie

Lunch:

Sandwiches made with whole wheat bread

Any vegetable soup with whole wheat bread

Beans on whole wheat toast

Wholegrain pasta salad

Nuts and seeds

Fruit Salad

Dinner:

Wholegrain pasta or rice with a sauce of your choice

Vegetable stir fry

Bean or vegetable Enchiladas (use whole wheat tortillas)

Vegetable chili with kidney beans

By now you can probably see how easy it is to get more fiber in your diet and why we advise against spending money on Appesat. If you want to suppress your appetite then there is no better option than taking UniqueHoodia. Of course you can combine UniqueHoodia with a change to a high-fiber diet if you wish but it is not essential to help you lose weight

More On Hoodia and Unique Hoodia

Search for the term ‘Hoodia Gordonii’ on the web and you will find endless websites telling you to try their unique Hoodia extract.

But here is where their first mistake comes in. Genuine 100% Hoodia Gordonii does not come in an extract form. No, not at all.

All an extract actually means is that part – and we mean any part – of the Hoodia Gordonii plant has been used to make this supplement. And we don’t just mean random parts of the plant itself.

It is surprising how many inventive ways companies have come up with in order to make their 400mg look authentic.

Don’t believe us? Take a look at the following list, it is incredible: leaves… flowers… one of the 13 other Hoodia plants… even caffeine. They have done anything and everything to cut down on the costs, and earn themselves more money.

And the person, who ends up losing out in this scenario, is you and only you.

So what can you do to escape the hoodia extract controversy? Learn the basics of what to expect when you are looking to invest in a Hoodia Gordonii product.

Take for example the capsules ingredient list.

The only other ingredients you should ever find on the packaging of a Hoodia product is the core of the Hoodia Gordonii plant, gelatine, magnesium stearate and stearic acid.

Now before you jump the gun, and say that these 3 extra ingredients must make it not 100% pure, there is something you need to know. That is not strictly true.

You see the ingredients we have just mentioned above form part of the capsule that contains the powdered form of the Hoodia plant. They are okay.

But if you find any other extra ingredients on the label or spot a quote that says it is an extract of the plant, then stop. All this information is actually telling you is that the capsule only contains 60% of the genuine Hoodia core. The rest are just fillers that will offer nothing beneficial to your weight loss journey.

And according to research conducted by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals, over 80% of the Hoodia Gordonii capsules they tested, were found to be not 100% pure Hoodia Gordonii nor authentic.

And this figure is based on the number of products that were willingly sent to them to be tested. There are in fact hundreds of other Hoodia Gordonii products that have not been tested; that have not been proven to be the genuine article.

Saying this there are products out there that have got the backing, the clinical testing and the CITES certificate to prove that they are the real deal. UniqueHoodia being one of them.

Within one capsule users can find 460mg of pure, unaltered Hoodia Gordonii. No added fillers or ingredients, just the powdered form of the plants core.

Hoodia and Appetite suppression

Look on the web and you will find hundreds of appetite suppressants all claiming to do the same thing, but have you ever looked closely into how they work?

On the one hand you have got natural appetite suppressants such as Proactol and UniqueHoodia that can help you to cut your meal portions without causing your body harm.

But then you have got others that work by chemically altering your brain signals, and affecting your health as a whole.

Take for example Reductil and Phentermine. Proven to help consumers lose a steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week, alongside these benefits consumers can also expect to experience a range of other effects. And not all of the positive kind:

• Palpitations, breathlessness, racing heart, stomach cramps, diarrhoea – and these are only the tame ones.

Some of their less common side effects include coronary heart disease AND liver/pancreatic disease, not exactly inspiring.

So what can you do?

Well for a start we recommend that you do the research and check out the history of your supplement first, before investing.

Take the natural appetite suppressants mentioned above.

Alongside their ability to effectively suppress your appetite – Proactol has been proven to:

• Reduce your dietary fat intake by 28%

• Decrease your calories intake by 450 calories a day.

And UniqueHoodia has been found to:

• 10,000 times stronger than glucose at suppressing your appetite

• Reduce your food intake by 50%

• Cut your calorie intake by 2,000 calories