100 pure hoodia
Hoodia Gordonii
Hoodia
Gordonii Weight
Loss Supplement animal experiments suggest one potential mechanism
of action of hoodia components on brain signals that may regulate
appetite, hunger or thirst; but, there are many complex factors that
control feeding behaviors operating through many messenger molecules.
Hoodia Gordonii Safety, Sourcing Concerns
The San Bushmen have used
Hoodia Gordonii
Weight Loss Supplement
as whole fresh plant or dried whole plant (without flowers or root) for
thousands of years in their diet, and at times of famine, they have
relied on hoodia as a staple in their diet. This circumstance creates a
great precedent for the safety of the hoodia plant, but it does not
create precedence for the safety or effectiveness of a drug derived from
the hoodia plant.
The effects of Hoodia
on the central nervous system exhibit powerful potential for weight
control, where behavior modification can reduce calorie intake. The San
Bushmen report an energizing effect of hoodia Weight Loss Supplement,
and they have used the plant during their strenuous hunting expeditions.
This implies that
hoodia
supplements would be safe when combined with aerobic exercise, a
major factor in promoting weight loss and health, and in combating
insulin resistance (the metabolic Syndrome X). One interesting, but
apparently inconsistent, “side effect” of hoodia is its aphrodisiac
properties.
In South Africa, the
hoodia plant is processed most often by sun-drying the plant to
produce powder or concentrates. These substances can be used as dietary
supplement ingredients or perhaps as food ingredients.
Unfortunately, there is evidence emerging that bulk suppliers of some
material used in
hoodia supplements are providing “cactus-like” bulk material
imported from Mexico or China. I have been involved in testing some bulk
supply labeled hoodia and have found circumstances where steroidal
glycoside content is very low, or even negligible, in some samples.
It seems prudent for manufacturers and marketers to use only hoodia
from approved South African sources operating as government-approved
cultivators. Recent directives from South Africa warn that the supply of
hoodia has been outstripped by the demand.
The response from the South African government has been to limit
export permits to control and conserve hoodia resources. Therefore,
purchasers should research their supply channel and test imported
material to ensure they are supplying consumers with safe, effective
hoodia.
Properly formulated hoodia supplements appear to alter the body
function of appetite control in a manner that affords great promise for
the “new, healthy diet revolution.” Hoodia may be ideal for use in
combination with other supplements that
can
benefit weight control, such as green tea polyphenols and chromium
compounds. While more research may be required to fully understand
hoodia’s mechanism of action in weight control, there appears to be
mounting open-label experience of its use as a dietary supplement to
suppress appetite, control weight and provide minor energizing effects,
without any content of stimulant substances.
To have a safe dietary supplement that can help to “switch off”
appetite, or at least provide behavioral reinforcement to control
appetite, is an outstanding new promise. Hoodia likely will be one of
the most popular dietary supplements of 2005, but the pathway forward
may be hampered by many negative, emerging commerce issues. |