Hoodia gordonii. What is it?

Hoodia (or Hoodia Gordonii) is a South African dwelling plant that the San bushman have used to help endure long hunting expeditiions for generations. Hoodia Gordonii is actually a succulent not to be confused with a cactus. It belongs in the succulent family of Asclepiadaceae along with stapelia, stephanotis and vinca. There are approximately 20 species in the genus of Asclepiadaceae. As it grows it forms stemmed clumps approximately one foot high and bears, pale purple saucer-shaped flowers in shades of red or purple brown.

Hoodia Gordonii is a leafless spiny succulent plant ( not a cactus ) with fleshly finger-like stems. Rows of thorns are present along the stems, bearing flesh coloured flowers. Hoodia Gordonii grows naturally in the harsh desert conditions of South Africa. Now Hoodia Gordonii has been found in the semi-deserts of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, the Republic of South Africa, and now found in some other arid regions of South American Nations such as Chili, Peru and some regions of West China including Gansu, Sichuan and Shanxi.

Hoodia products testimonials

Hooray for Hoodia! I lost 5 lbs in eleven days. Three family members including myself have learnt a great deal about Hoodia. It appears that the San tribe did not reveal all, especially the benefits for men, if you know what I mean - S.A - (USA)

Research about Hoodia

Scientists at the South African Center for Scientific and Industrial Research were the first to successfully prove that Hoodia contains a miracle molecule that suppresses the appetite. Later, a human clinical trial was conducted by scientists in Leicester England. A group of morbidly obese men and women participated. Half the group were given Hoodia and half were given a placebo. At the end of 15 days, the group on Hoodia had reduced their food intake by 1000 calories a day. Given the average daily diet is around 2200 calories, this was a stunning success.

It has been established that the P57 molecule found in wild harvested Hoodia Gordonii works by mimicking the effect that glucose has on nerve cells in the brain in effect fooling the body into thinking it is full, even when it is not, thus curbing the appetite.

Mass global interest has been shown for Hoodia since Pfizer, the international pharmaceutical giant, started to research Hoodia's potential to help people with obesity. Pfizer recently discovered Hoodia and decided to invest millions into researching the plants benefits as a new drug that would help with obesity. The research published by this company has catapulted Hoodia into the international spotlight.

There are many Hoodia plants

The pure Hoodia that contains appetite suppressant qualities is only grown in one specific region in South Africa. If the Hoodia is from China, USA or any other part of the world and is not accompanied by a South African Government Certificate of Authenticity, the product is inferior and ineffective.

Hoodia Gordonii is a plant - a leafless succulent. Not a Cactus nor a Herb. In South Africa Hoodia Gordonii is classified as a foodstuff, which is testimony to how safe the product really is.

Certainly any hoodia company out there that's selling an honest product is conducting a variety of testing, trying to find out who has counterfeit products and who has real products and trying to inform and educate their own customers about the fact that they have the real thing. But, as always, test results offered by companies who have financial interest in proving their product to be genuine simply don't carry the same weight as independent test results from an unbiased third company.

To make matters even more challenging, Hoodia grown in South Africa under the San tribe's influence is required to be grown under organic conditions. That means they can't use pesticides. Entire crops have been known to vanish virtually overnight thanks to the ravages of various insects.

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