Hoodia has been called “nature’s calcium channel
blocker.” This idea refers to the ability of magnesium
to block calcium from entering muscle and heart cells.
A group of prescription heart medications works in a
similar way, although much more powerfully.
Also called xhooba, khoba, ghaap, hoodia cactus,
and South African desert cactus, hoodia is found in
the semi-desert regions of South Africa, Botswana, Nambia,
and Angola. It grows in clumps of green upright stems
and is actually a succulent, not a cactus. This strangely
shaped little plant has many relatives throughout the
desert, but only one variety, Hoodia gordonii,
is known to have an effect on appetite and weight loss.
It takes about 5 years before hoodia’s pale purple
flowers appear and the cactus can be harvested. Although
there are 20 types of hoodia, only the Hoodia gordonii
variety is believed to contain the natural appetite
suppressant.
Hoodia gordonii is the botanical name for
a leafless, spiky succulent plant that grows throughout
the semi-arid areas of Southern Africa, primarily the
Kalahari Desert. The local inhabitants, the San Bushmen,
have used hoodia stems for thousands of years to stave
off hunger and thirst during long journeys because it
acts as an appetite suppressant.
Although hoodia was “discovered” relatively recently,
the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert have been eating
it for a very long time. The Bushmen, who live off the
land, would cut off part of the hoodia stem and eat
it to ward off hunger and thirst during nomadic hunting
trips. They would consume the raw plant over long desert
journeys, allowing them to eat and drink almost nothing
for hours and days at a time. They also used hoodia
for severe abdominal cramps, hemorrhoids, tuberculosis,
indigestion, hypertension and diabetes. For generations,
only the San Bushmen knew of hoodia’s remarkable properties.
In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San
Bushmen noted their use of hoodia to suppress appetite,
but it wasn’t until 1963 that scientists at the Council
for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South
Africa’s national laboratory, began studying hoodia.
Initial results were promising–lab animals lost weight
after taking hoodia.
After years of careful research, the South African
scientists, working with the British company Phytopharm,
isolated the active ingredient in hoodia: a steroidal
glycoside, which they named P57. P57 is the compound
in this all-natural food that is responsible for dramatic
weight loss. Not only has it been proven completely
safe, it contains no stimulants that can contribute
to the jittery feeling associated with weight loss products
from the last decade.
Hoodia has been studied scientifically for over 30
years. After obtaining a patent in 1995, P57 was licensed
to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million
on hoodia research.
Hoodia is registered as a protected species to prevent
bio-piracy, but it is allowed to be grown on a handful
of commercial farms in South Africa. Although hoodia
takes 5-6 years to mature in the wild, it is now being
cultivated commercially in sustainable quantities in
as little as 2 years.
Hoodia is the botanical that’s causing a stir for
its ability to suppress appetite and promote weight
loss. It has become widely known for its effects as
an appetite suppressant.
Hoodia is the world’s most effective weight loss
supplement.
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