Hoodia gordonii is a cactus that grows chiefly in desert like conditions. Hoodia is one of those products that hit the market and because instantly popular because of its supposed benefits when it comes to weight loss.
Hoodia gordonii is sold as an appetite suppressant and is used on its own in supplements, as a combination with other ingredients and even in over the counter weight loss pills. While Hoodia is very popular, there have been limited studies conducted on hoodia gordonii and it is unknown what the long term effects might be for taking hoodia products.
This, however, doesn’t mean that hoodia gordonii is a new discovery; on the contrary. Hoodia gordonii was discovered in 1937, although it was 1963 before anyone thought to explore the possible benefits of hoodia gordonii.
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Hoodia Gordonii and Pfizer Pfizer did purchase the rights to study hoodia for the possibility of using it as a weight loss supplement, but after much research they sold back the rights and never developed any drugs. This actually speaks volumes about the clinical efficacy of using hoodia g... more
Pfizer did purchase the rights to study hoodia for the possibility of using it as a weight loss supplement, but after much research they sold back the rights and never developed any drugs. This actually speaks volumes about the clinical efficacy of using hoodia gordonii.
Not that it doesn’t work at all, but not well enough to be clinically significant. In addition, there were suggestions of other problems, which will be discussed further on in this article.
The number one claim of benefit for hoodia gordonii is that it naturally suppresses your appetite. There are those supplement companies who try to connect taking a natural product with having more energy and better all around general health.
It is very important to note that the few studies done on hoodia gordonii show no other benefit other than that for suppressing the appetite. If you eat even if you don’t feel like it, then you will still gain weight.
It is important to understand this difference because hoodia gordonii is not a weight loss product per say. You can’t eat whatever you want and lose weight like some products claim. In addition, an appetite suppressant cannot guarantee that you won’t eat!
The most common misconception about hoodia gordonii is that it has no side effects or interactions. There are some companies that say that since it is 100% natural there is no way that hoodia gordonii can be dangerous or interact with your current medications.
Look at it this way. Snake venom is 100% natural, right? Snake venom can make you sick and it can kill you.
No, we aren’t saying that hoodia gordonii is the equivalent to snake venom. What we are saying is beware of any product that makes a claim that since it is natural it won’t hurt you; this just isn’t true for most natural products.
In the case of hoodia gordonii, one of the reasons that Pfizer did not pursue the use of hoodia gordonii as an appetite suppressant is that in their early clinical trials, animals taking hoodia started developing liver damage.
Although it wasn’t the chemical p57 that is important to the way hoodia gordonii works that caused the issues, chemical p57 could not be separated from the parts of the plant that were causing the liver damage.
The bottom line is that there are no interaction warnings or side effect warnings for hoodia gordonii because there are no human studies to determine just what those problems might be. It is important to recognize that if you have any medical conditions, are taking any medications, are pregnant or nursing, then you should not take hoodia gordonii.
The first thing that you need to understand is that the active chemical believed to act as an appetite suppressant in hoodia gordonii is called p57. Hoodia gordonii is the only hoodia plant that actually has this chemical. There are no other hoodia products that have this chemical, which means that if it isn’t hoodia gordonii then it isn’t an appetite suppressant.
There are a couple of things that you want to look for when buying hoodia gordonii supplements. First of all, consider only buying products that claim to be 100% pure. This will ensure that you are purchasing a product with the right kind of hoodia. Some companies will use hoodia gordonii but then add other types of hoodia plants to save money.
You can purchase hoodia gordonii in pill, liquid and powder form. Many dieticians recommend liquid or powder because it supposedly works faster.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $2.50 to $60 for hoodia gordonii supplements. The more expensive products often claim to have more potent ingredients and combine the hoodia with other supplements to provide you with additional benefits. Compare sources to find one you trust by using the free supplement finder now!
| Liver Damage |
| Other Possible Side Effects Unknown |
| Hoodia Cactus, Hoodia Extract, Hoodia Gordonii, Hoodia Gordonii Cactus, Hoodia P57, Kalahari Cactus, Kalahari Diet, P57, Xhoba |
| Appetite Suppression |
| Weight Loss |