Hoodia Side Effects

Hoodia is often touted as a weight loss supplement without side effects. At this time, there have been no published studies on hoodia sideeffects in humans.

Hoodia marketers often claim that hoodia has no side effects because the San Bushmen in the Kalahari desert of Africa have been using hoodia for thousands of years. But hoodia simply hasn't been around for long enough in North America or undergone safety testing to know the potential side effects, drug interactions, and safety concerns.

A former researcher for hoodia at Pfizer (the pharmaceutical giant that licensed the rights to develop hoodia), stated in a letter to The New York Times that although hoodia did appear to suppress appetite.

Side Effects Not Caused By Hoodia P57

But he also said there were indications of unwanted side effects on the liver caused by components other than the active ingredient in hoodia p57 that could not easily be removed during processing. If hoodia does have negative side effects on liver function, it may also interact with other medications a person may be taking at the same time.

San Bushmen are a tribe of hunter-gatherers, and unlike many Americans, probably did not take pills for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, depression, and other diseases.

Possible Side Effects of Hoodia in Diabetics

People with diabetes should be cautious about using hoodia. One of the theories about how hoodia works is that it tricks the brain into thinking that it has enough blood sugar. Without proper blood sugar monitoring, it's possible that a person's blood sugar could drop dangerously low while taking hoodia. And with the regular hunger mechanism turned off, the normal warning signs may be suppressed, until it's too late.

Hoodia is believed to suppress not only appetite but thirst. There have been unconfirmed reports of shepherds in Africa who took hoodia to take the edge off hunger pains, but died of dehydration because they didn't feel thirsty.

Until the side effects of hoodia are better known, pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with liver or kidney disease should avoid hoodia.

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