THE CASE
Hoodia for weight loss, is an extract from the South African succulent Hoodia gordonii. The hype for this product says that it has been used for centuries by the Kalahari San Bushmen to reduce their craving for food in times of famine. By a leap of logic it is assumed that it will therefore help obese westerners to lose weight.
The Hoodia gordonii plant is a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). So only only Hoodia gordonii farmers with permits can grow and sell hoodia products. It is illegal to collect the wild plant as there is very little indigenous plant left in its native environment. But the plant continues to be collected for a the black-market and scam industry offering the product as a wonder drug for dieting. The plant is now considered endangered under CITES. If you buy hoodia consider that you may be contributing to the extinction of this endangered species.
Because it is protected under CITES it is generally illegal to import hoodia into Australia without matching CITES import and export permits. Shipments will be seized. See "Get the Facts on Hoodia".
Investigation of the properties of hoodia resulted in a compound named P57 being identified in 1977, this substance can purportedly reduce the need for food by up to a thousand calories daily. Some multinational drug companies including Pfizer and Phytopharm (or Unilever) then invested in hoodia research.
Hoodia is remarkably difficult and time consuming to propagate commercially, either by seed or from cuttings. After a false start by Pfizer in Kununurra Western Australia, another company is trialling hoodia near Carnarvon Western Australia. The proposal is to increase the stocks of hoodia sufficiently for commercial use in Australia and also to provide a "bank" for the eventual rehabilitation of the South African environmental population.
Hoodia gordonii
Is hoodia safe to take?
The FDA have received applications for hoodia products but say:
That being said, I can find no well documented side effects to, or drug interactions with, hoodia.
Does hoodia work for weight loss?
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that it does, plenty of testimonials, plenty of endorsements by the slightly famous - but not much else. An example is the late Anna Nicole Smith's endorsement of hoodia:
What about synthetic hoodia (P57)?
Pfizer dropped out when it found that synthesising the active ingredient was too difficult and expensive. So it looks like it has to be extracted from the plant.
Hoodia patches
There are many companies that market hoodia patches. They claim their products are more effective than taking it orally, because the hoodia works faster by bypassing the stomach and reaches the bloodstream directly through the skin. There are no evidence based studies to back this up, and it does not even make sense. The oral dose of hoodia recommended is usually 2,000 to 4,000 mg daily. The patches usually contain only 10 mg of hoodia. With 200 to 400 patches stuck on you would look like a well travelled suitcase.
Beware of other hoodia scams
Many (or more likely most) of the products available contain little or no hoodia. Worldwide there is simply not enough cultivated or wild hoodia to account for all the products that claim to be hoodia. One survey estimated that 80% of all hoodia products were fake.
MY VERDICT
Hoodia is probably safe to take for weight loss. It may even work, but the chance of obtaining real hoodia seems to be only about 1 in 5. Then if you do manage to get real hoodia you may be contibuting to the demise of the species Hoodia gordonii in it's natural habitat in the Kalahari Desert. Illegally collected hoodia is also denying the San Bushmen of their rightful intellectual property from which they should benefit.
The adverts sometimes claim that apart from suppressing the appetitive, hoodia also raises your mood and gives you energy. So far there is absolutely no evidence for this.
Hoodia for weight loss, is an extract from the South African succulent Hoodia gordonii. The hype for this product says that it has been used for centuries by the Kalahari San Bushmen to reduce their craving for food in times of famine. By a leap of logic it is assumed that it will therefore help obese westerners to lose weight.
The Hoodia gordonii plant is a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). So only only Hoodia gordonii farmers with permits can grow and sell hoodia products. It is illegal to collect the wild plant as there is very little indigenous plant left in its native environment. But the plant continues to be collected for a the black-market and scam industry offering the product as a wonder drug for dieting. The plant is now considered endangered under CITES. If you buy hoodia consider that you may be contributing to the extinction of this endangered species.
Because it is protected under CITES it is generally illegal to import hoodia into Australia without matching CITES import and export permits. Shipments will be seized. See "Get the Facts on Hoodia".
Investigation of the properties of hoodia resulted in a compound named P57 being identified in 1977, this substance can purportedly reduce the need for food by up to a thousand calories daily. Some multinational drug companies including Pfizer and Phytopharm (or Unilever) then invested in hoodia research.
Hoodia is remarkably difficult and time consuming to propagate commercially, either by seed or from cuttings. After a false start by Pfizer in Kununurra Western Australia, another company is trialling hoodia near Carnarvon Western Australia. The proposal is to increase the stocks of hoodia sufficiently for commercial use in Australia and also to provide a "bank" for the eventual rehabilitation of the South African environmental population.
Hoodia gordoniiThe FDA have received applications for hoodia products but say:
"The agency concluded that the information submitted did not appear to be adequate to establish that a dietary supplement containing the new dietary ingredient was reasonably expected to be safe."
That being said, I can find no well documented side effects to, or drug interactions with, hoodia.
Does hoodia work for weight loss?
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that it does, plenty of testimonials, plenty of endorsements by the slightly famous - but not much else. An example is the late Anna Nicole Smith's endorsement of hoodia:
"It's really hard to eat, because, for me, it's like I've lost my appetite. So I have to really, really push myself to eat."This sound more like anorexia nervosa than hoodia to me.
What about synthetic hoodia (P57)?
Pfizer dropped out when it found that synthesising the active ingredient was too difficult and expensive. So it looks like it has to be extracted from the plant.
Hoodia patches
There are many companies that market hoodia patches. They claim their products are more effective than taking it orally, because the hoodia works faster by bypassing the stomach and reaches the bloodstream directly through the skin. There are no evidence based studies to back this up, and it does not even make sense. The oral dose of hoodia recommended is usually 2,000 to 4,000 mg daily. The patches usually contain only 10 mg of hoodia. With 200 to 400 patches stuck on you would look like a well travelled suitcase.
Beware of other hoodia scams
Many (or more likely most) of the products available contain little or no hoodia. Worldwide there is simply not enough cultivated or wild hoodia to account for all the products that claim to be hoodia. One survey estimated that 80% of all hoodia products were fake.
MY VERDICT
Hoodia is probably safe to take for weight loss. It may even work, but the chance of obtaining real hoodia seems to be only about 1 in 5. Then if you do manage to get real hoodia you may be contibuting to the demise of the species Hoodia gordonii in it's natural habitat in the Kalahari Desert. Illegally collected hoodia is also denying the San Bushmen of their rightful intellectual property from which they should benefit.
The adverts sometimes claim that apart from suppressing the appetitive, hoodia also raises your mood and gives you energy. So far there is absolutely no evidence for this.
4 comments:
It is very grateful to the doctor who has advised to me hoodia gordonii, before has tried many preparations and all is ineffectual.
Apart from writing in (possibly feigned) poor English, Sheriflex also linked to a number of sites flogging various prescription only medicines. Sheriflex also claimed to be from the United States, but the Cyrilic script indicates that Sheriflex is probably from Russia.
DON'T BUY MEDICINES FROM PEOPLE LIKE THIS!
There is an 80% change that the medicines are fake, at best they will be real but manufactured in unapproved factories.
Furthermore, any financial details you provide could be used to illegally extract money from your account.
Apart from writing in (possibly feigned) poor English, Sheriflex also linked to a number of sites flogging various prescription only medicines. Sheriflex also claimed to be from the United States, but the Cyrilic script indicates that Sheriflex is probably from Russia.
DUH!
Modern lifestyles have improved our quality of life but also contribute greatly to physical inactivity. Today only about 10% of public school students walk to school compared to the large no of student a generation ago.
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