Hoodia gordonii

How Does Hoodia Work?

2009-02-15T11:42:00.001-08:00

Botanically the Hoodia Gordonii is a cactus-like plant growing in only the most remote portions of the Kalahari Desert.

Though the exact history of it's use has been a closely guarded secret from the western world for centuries, most experts can agree that the indigenous people of South Africa have taken Hoodia for it's miraculous appetite suppressing properties for some, if not all, of their 20,000 years of inhabitance.

This well-kept treasure of the remote Kalahari Desert, formerly known only to the natives of the land, started gaining recognition in the early 1900's when anthropologist's observed hunting parties eating the cacti-form to stop their hunger pangs during long hunting trips.

The Hoodia plant only recently garnished massive public awareness after scientific research revealed that laboratory test subjects taking the substance lost weight without any of the perceivable side-effects which commonly plague other stimulant based drugs.

Major drug companies have spent billions trying unsuccessfully to synthesize the potent effects found naturally in the Hoodia plant. Their inability to create artificial Hoodia coupled with the large public demand for a working dietary supplement with no side-effects caused the South African government to place to remarkable little plant on it's list of protected botanicals.

This means only authentic dealers of real Hoodia Gordonii will be able to provide the required Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) documentation.

At Hoodiburn we proudly display our certified hoodia because we feel it's important you realize you are going to receive the most potent and pure Hoodia available on the market.
How Does Hoodia Work?

Though the amount of research on Hoodia has been minimal, scientists at Brown University did find that the steroidal glycosides contained within Hoodia stimulate nerve cells in the hypothalamus section of the brain which regulates blood glucose. This effectively fools the brain into thinking that the body has enough energy, decreasing appetite.

Why buy HoodiBurn?

Hoodiburn contains 100% pure hoodia from South Africa. We don't use any fillers or cheap ingredients to compensate because we don't need to - the results speak for them self.

Hoodiburn is also 100% Guaranteed to help you lose weight, even if you've tried other products before and seen little to no results - this is precisely why we happily offer a 30 day money back guarantee.
Control Your Hunger
Lose Weight Faster
No Side Effects
REAL South African Hoodia
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are the side effects of Hoodia?
Hoodia Gordonii is all-natural and has no known side effects and no ephedrine. Possibly the safest, most effective and powerful appetite suppressant in history.

Q. What is the recommended dosage for HoodiBurn?
Take 1 capsule before lunch and dinner with an 8oz glass of water. Since every person differs in their weight, lifestyle and metabolism you may require more or less HoodiBurn to get the desired effect. If you find that you are still overly hungry try taking 2 capsules before lunch and 2 capsules before dinner to control you appetite. Be sure to drink at least 8, 8oz glasses of water per day as hoodia has been known to decrease you thirst as well as your appetite.

Q. How much weight will I lose?
Every individual is different. To lose weight you must do one thing, burn more calories than you take in. As with every effective weight loss regimen, you must eat right and exercise to lose weight. HoodiBurn helps this process by keeping your hunger under control. Try exercising 1 or 2 times per day to speed your weight loss.

Q. Do I need a prescription to use HoodiBurn?
No, you do not need a prescription to use HoodiBurn but you may want to consult your physician as with any weight loss routine.

What Is Velvet Deer Antler?

2009-02-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

What Is Velvet Deer Antler?
Deer antlers grow at incredible speed and, after several weeks, as the antlers reach their final size, the cartilage within them gradually converts into bone. In the final process, the antler's blood supply and nerves are lost. When the antlers have fully hardened, the stags rub them against trees or rocks to remove the skin that remains. As a result of this rubbing, the deer develop sharp bony weapons for combat against threats to their harem of females during the autumn rut or mating season.

Each Spring the antler cycle begins a new and the skin around the pedicle expands and grows, initiating new antler growth. The hard antler from the previous season is cast off and the growth of the new season's velvet crop begins. It is then that the velvet is harvested for its medicinal and performance qualities.

When the velvet deer antler has been removed, it is allowed to cool on tilted racks just before being frozen. It is then ready to be processed. If it is removed at the right time, while still in the cartilaginous state, almost all of the antler can be used for medicinal purposes.

Benefits Of Velvet Deer Antler
Reports from the Orient, Russia, and New Zealand indicate that velvet deer antler has been used for centuries to support optimal health.

History Of Medicinal Use
The first documented evidence of the use of velvet deer antler was found on a silk scroll recovered from a Han tomb in the Human Province in China. The scroll is believed to be about 2,000 years old.

Oriental Medicine
The most important animal in oriental medicine is the deer because it is the animal with the most Yang energy.

Dr. Yoon and other doctors use velvet deer antler to arouse sexual desire in men. Dr. Lee Sangin of Kyung Hee University in South Korea uses velvet deer antler to provide women with optimal liver health. The medicinal use of velvet deer antler has been going on for 2,000 years, but it is only recently that scientific evidence has been developed to document its health benefits.

The natural properties of velvet deer antler may contribute to the body's natural healing abilities which are especially effective in people who suffer from arthritis.

The Weight Loss Breakthrough - A Desert Miracle

2009-02-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

The Weight Loss Breakthrough - A Desert Miracle

HoodiBurn has been designed to be an all natural solution to surpress your hunger. No more cravings! Our biochemist team has developed an incredible formula that will not only stop cravings but will also boost your energy level so ensure that your weight loss continues to accelerate. order Hoodia now

Simply take one capsule twice per day and watch the weight fall off. No more wishing for that perfect bikini body, you've avoided the beach for long enough. With Hoodiburn you can look and feel great (not to mention make your friends flat out jealous!).

You owe it to yourself to try HoodiBurn - you have nothing to lose but the weight.
What is Hoodia?

Botanically the Hoodia Gordonii is a cactus-like plant growing in only the most remote portions of the Kalahari Desert.

Though the exact history of it's use has been a closely guarded secret from the western world for centuries, most experts can agree that the indigenous people of South Africa have taken Hoodia for it's miraculous appetite suppressing properties for some, if not all, of their 20,000 years of inhabitance. Read More
Why Buy HoodiBurn?

Hoodiburn contains 100% real Hoodia Gordonii from South Africa. We don't use any fillers or cheap ingredients to compensate because we don't need to - the results speak for them self

Lose Weight Faster with Hoodia gordonii

2009-02-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

A stoneage wonder plant -all-natural appetite suppressant.

2009-02-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

What is Hoodia ?
If you hadn’t heard of Hoodia, it was bound to happen because after being featured on "60 Minutes", "The Today Show", and in Oprah's "O Magazine" where it was dubbed as the new miracle supplement for safe, effective weight loss for everyone wanting to lose weight, it was only a matter of time before the word got around.

Hoodia gordonii (Hoodia) is a stoneage wonder plant found throughout the dry arid regions of Southwestern Africa now on the verge of making history. Not long ago, Scientists isolated several actives components in this amazing plant capable of producing real dramatic weight loss. As an all-natural appetite suppressant it is also being celebrated for having no dangerous stimulants that can cause scary side effects associated with other weight loss products.
How Hoodia Works
It essentially stunts the appetite by tricking the brain into thinking that you’re full when you're not:

Scientists explain it this way. They say the chemical constituents in Hoodia work within the satiety center of the brain by releasing a chemical compound similar to glucose, only much stronger. The satiety center which they identify as the hypothalamus receives this signal as an indication that enough food has been consumed which in turn stunts the appetite.

Hoodia Research
The first discovery occured when scientists at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) successfully isolated the ingredient in Hoodia now known as the P57AS3 magic molecule which they identified is responsible for its appetite-suppressant effect. This was followed by a human clinical trial conducted by scientists in Leicester England involving a group of morbidly obese men and women. 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 seen as a stunning success.

Hoodoba® PURE - The Real Thing
Genuine South African Hoodia is not only RARE and EXPENSIVE, diet pills made from Hoodia are invariably padded with fillers and additives disguised as flow agents by the manufacturer to cut cost.

How can you be certain the Hoodia diet pills you take contain 100% Pure South-African Hoodia gordonii with enough P57AS3, instead of added fillers, which Do Nothing to help you lose weight?

There are only 2 sure ways to tell if the Hoodia diet pills you take contain 100% Pure South-African Hoodia gordonii with enough P57AS3, instead of added fillers, which Do Nothing to help you lose weight.
Litmus test # 1. Always Check the Label...
Always Check the Label...

Unless the label explicitly states “None” under the “Other ingredients” section, the product is NOT pure.

Unlike other mfg., we use modern, high-compression machinery to compress our powder into Vegetarian capsules WITHOUT USE OF ANY FLOWING AGENTS (FILLERS). This insures that you get only 100% PURE Hoodia Gordonii powder inside each capsule, with absolutely NOTHING else added.
Litmus test # 2. Check for Random Analysis Testing. If the product is not a part of Alkemist's Random Testing Program, DON'T buy!

Some Straight Talk About Hoodia and Weight Loss

It's a biological fact that, after adulthood, food is required for maintenance only. We really don't need that much to maintain our bodily processes and remain healthy.

The problem is we live in a culture that forces food at us. For many of us there are no real meal times. We sneak to the fridge at two in the morning, eat ice cream, consume huge amounts of calories—and still do not feel satisfied. Over time, our metabolism changes and we continue to crave food even to the point where it grossly distorts our appearance and endangers our health.

But how can you stop when your brain constantly torments you with thoughts of more food?

The miracle of Hoodia is that it's able to safely do it for YOU!

Hoodoba® which is loaded with the active P57AS3-Hoodia ingredient is able to give you the freedom and control you've always wanted. It can allow you to lose weight in the knowledge and comfort that you'll never again have to miss out on a luncheon, dinner or festive occasion for fear of overeating.

Hoodia extract is also known as hoodia liquid, liquid hoodia extract, or hoodia tincture.

2009-02-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

Hoodia gordonii is a cactus-like succulent plant, native to the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. Scientists say that the active ingredient in Hoodia, P57, acts on the brain in a manner similar to glucose and sends the message that you are full even when you have not eaten, thus decreasing the desire to eat.

Hoodia extract is also known as hoodia liquid, liquid hoodia extract, or hoodia tincture. It is also referred to as an elixir. Regardless of the name, they are all one in the same. They are a liquid form of hoodia. The idea behind a tincture is that capsules contain other unnecessary parts of the hoodia gordonii plant such as the skin, fiber, and even the roots in some cases. These parts just take up more room in the capsule and dilute the product.

To eliminate those parts, hoodia tincture is created by soaking the plant, or the powdered form of the plant, in a water or alcohol solution. The solution absorbs the active ingredients in the plant so that all you are left with is a hoodia liquid product with nothing but the active ingredients.

This is a nonalcoholic-based tincture which are made using a water and glycerin solution. This is the most popular type of tinctures and is easier on the taste buds since it doesn't contain alcohol.

Liquid hoodia extracts are beneficial for people who have difficulty swallowing pills or who have digestive problems. With a hoodia liquid, simply put several drops under your tongue or mix with water.

Not for use during pregnancy

Suggested Dosage and Use: Take 1 dropperful (30 drops) in a large glass of water 15-30 minutes before each meal. Repeat more often for faster results. Combine with a sound health program for optimal results.

Velvet Deer Antler -natural way to increase sexual desire

2009-02-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

Velvet Deer Antler has been used in oriental medicine for centuries to increase sexual desire and improve sexual performance.*

Body builders have used Velvet Deer Antler to boost stamina and help maintain muscle health.* Deer antler is harvested from deer's raised on ranches. At the ideal time of the year, the antlers are removed and specially processed to make the natural components bio available to the human body. The fact that this is a 100% natural product that has to be specially harvested is what makes deer antler so expensive.

This product is recommended primarily for men.

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Velvet Deer Antler The 2000-Year-Old Medicine By Alex Duarte, Ph.D. And John Abdo
In 1989, fitness expert John Abdo, who hosts a nationwide TV fitness show, visited the Institute of physical Culture in Moscow for an intensive two week investigation of the training programs of Russian athletes. At that time, John met with former Soviet weight-lifting champion Victor Sheynkin and training expert Yuri Verhoshansky. Sheynkin, who weighed only 132 pounds, could snatch over 286 pounds and clean & jerk over 360 pounds (both overhead lifts) and had became a Soviet Olympic coach, while Professor Verhoshansky had master minded numerous strength and conditioning routines for Soviet athletes since the early 1950s.

Later, in the United states, John met with Dr. Alex Duarte, who has been a pioneer in the movement to persuade athletes to replace the use of steroids with natural, safer products.

What Is Velvet Deer Antler?
Deer antlers grow at incredible speed and, after several weeks, as the antlers reach their final size, the cartilage within them gradually converts into bone. In the final process, the antler's blood supply and nerves are lost. When the antlers have fully hardened, the stags rub them against trees or rocks to remove the skin that remains. As a result of this rubbing, the deer develop sharp bony weapons for combat against threats to their harem of females during the autumn rut or mating season.

Each Spring the antler cycle begins a new and the skin around the pedicle expands and grows, initiating new antler growth. The hard antler from the previous season is cast off and the growth of the new season's velvet crop begins. It is then that the velvet is harvested for its medicinal and performance qualities.

When the velvet deer antler has been removed, it is allowed to cool on tilted racks just before being frozen. It is then ready to be processed. If it is removed at the right time, while still in the cartilaginous state, almost all of the antler can be used for medicinal purposes.

Benefits Of Velvet Deer Antler
Reports from the Orient, Russia, and New Zealand indicate that velvet deer antler has been used for centuries to support optimal health.

History Of Medicinal Use
The first documented evidence of the use of velvet deer antler was found on a silk scroll recovered from a Han tomb in the Human Province in China. The scroll is believed to be about 2,000 years old.

Oriental Medicine
The most important animal in oriental medicine is the deer because it is the animal with the most Yang energy.

Dr. Yoon and other doctors use velvet deer antler to arouse sexual desire in men. Dr. Lee Sangin of Kyung Hee University in South Korea uses velvet deer antler to provide women with optimal liver health. The medicinal use of velvet deer antler has been going on for 2,000 years, but it is only recently that scientific evidence has been developed to document its health benefits.

The natural properties of velvet deer antler may contribute to the body's natural healing abilities which are especially effective in people who suffer from arthritis.

Composition Of Velvet Deer Antler
Tests show that velvet deer antler is composed of 50% amino acids including:

tryptophan lysine
threonine valine
leucine isoleucine
phenylalanine histidine
arginine proline
hydroxyroline aspartic acid
serine glutamic acid
glycine alanine
cysteine methionine
and tyrosine

It also includes chondrocytes, chrondroblasts, glucosamine, glycosaminogqcans, chondroitin sulfate A, and anti-inflammatory prostaglandins.

Hoodia - a popular herbal weight loss supplement.

2009-02-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

Hoodia is a popular herbal weight loss supplement sold in health food stores and online. Unfortunately, there are widespread reports that most hoodia products are counterfeit or have been adulterated.

If you search online for hoodia, you'll find hundreds of companies selling hoodia and cautioning you not to buy the competitor's useless hoodia pills.

Companies run the gamut from legitimate nutritional supplement companies to hucksters. How do you know if you're getting the real thing?

Mike Adams of the website News Target estimates that 80% of hoodia products are counterfeit.

Counterfeit and adulterated hoodia products exist because the supply is scarce. Hoodia is a plant that is difficult to grow and takes four to five years in a very hot environment to mature.

Also, CITES, the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (an international agreement between governments to ensure that harvest operations and trade of wild plant and animal specimens doesn't threaten their survival) imposed trade controls on hoodia in October 2004. In order to be legal, hoodia must be grown or collected with a permit. But Adams says that some hoodia companies use counterfeit or stolen CITES certificates.

Another major problem is that it's impossible to know if a hoodia product contains pure hoodia and the purported active ingredient.

One laboratory that analyzes hoodia products is Costa Mesa-based independent laboratory Alkemists Pharmaceuticals.

But according to ConsumerLab.com, an independent lab in White Plains, New York, there are no definitive, established tests for judging the quality of hoodia products at this time. ConsumerLab.com does not test hoodia products for that reason.

Even when companies can produce a certificate, some companies may have submitted a genuine sample of hoodia to the lab to obtain the seal of authenticity and then used adulterated hoodia in the production run.

Nutritional supplement companies might not even be aware that they are using fake or adulterated hoodia because they do not submit their hoodia for independent testing.

Phytopharm, the UK manufacturer that holds the license to hoodia's purported active ingredient p57, claims that hoodia supplements on the market today contain between 0.1 and 0.01% of the claimed amount of the active ingredient, according to a CBS report.

The hoodia pills that have been consistently verified as pure hoodia, according to Adams, include the Desert Burn brand, the Hoodoba brand from Strictly Health Corp., and the Hoodia Hoodia brand from Millennium Health.

What are the side effects of hoodia, if any?

2009-02-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

What are the side effects of hoodia, if any? Most articles I've read about hoodia say it's a gentle and safe and I can't seem to find any information about side effects anywhere.
Hoodia gordonii is often touted as a herbal diet pill without side effects, although there's a lack of published studies on the safety of hoodia 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 and it hasn't been subjected to safety testing to uncover any possible side effects, drug interactions, and safety concerns.

Jasjit S. Bindra, PhD, former researcher for hoodia at Pfizer (the pharmaceutical giant that licensed the rights to develop hoodia for $21 million but later returned the rights), stated in a letter to The New York Times that although hoodia did appear to suppress appetite, there were indications of unwanted effects on the liver caused by components other than the active ingredient p57 that could not easily be removed during processing.

Bindra added, "Clearly, hoodia has a long way to go before it can earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Until safer formulations are developed, dieters should be wary of using it".

If hoodia does affect liver function, it may also interact with other medications a person is taking. The San Bushmen are a tribe of hunter-gatherers, and probably did not take same pills for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, depression, and other diseases, that we do, another reason why unconfirmed reports of safe use by the San should not be relied on.

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 feedback regulation, 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.

And as a general precaution, because the safety in pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with liver or kidney disease hasn’t been established, these people in particular should avoid hoodia.

What is Hoodia Gordonii?

2009-02-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

What is Hoodia Gordonii?
Latin Name: Hoodia gordonii
Other Names: hoodia, xhooba, !khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, South African desert cactus

Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a cactus-like plant that grows primarily in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.

In the last few years, hoodia has been heavily marketed for weight loss and has become immensely popular.

Although there has always been a demand for diet pills, after the ban on the herb ephedra, the market was particularly ripe for the next new diet pill.

Much of hoodia's popularity stems from claims that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert relied on hoodia for thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips. They were said to have cut off the stem and eat the bitter-tasting plant.

Hoodia gordonii grows in clumps of green upright stems. Although it is often called a cactus because it resembles one, hoodia is actually a succulent plant.

It takes about five years before hoodia gordonii's pale purple flowers appear and the plant can be harvested.

There are over 13 types of hoodia. The only active ingredient identified so far is a steroidal glycoside that has been called "p57". Currently, only hoodia gordonii is thought to contain p57.
What is the History of Hoodia Gordonii?
In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen noted that they used hoodia gordonii to suppress appetite. In 1963, scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa's national laboratory, began studying hoodia. They claimed that lab animals lost weight after they were given hoodia gordonii.

The South African scientists, working with a British company named Phytopharm, isolated what they believed to be an active ingredient in hoodia gordonii, a steroidal glycoside, which they named p57. After obtaining a patent in 1995, they licensed p57 to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million on hoodia research.

Eventually pharmaceutical giant Pfizer learned about hoodia and expressed interest in developing a hoodia drug. In 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to develop p57 to Pfizer for $21 million. Pfizer returned the rights to hoodia to Phytopharm, who is now working with Unilever.

Much of the hype about hoodia started after 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and crew traveled to Africa to try hoodia. They hired a local Bushman to go with them into the desert and track down some hoodia. Stahl ate it, describing it as "cucumbery in texture, but not bad." She reported that she lost the desire to eat or drink the entire day. She also said she didn't experience any immediate side effects, such as indigestion or heart palpitations.
Where is Hoodia Gordonii Found?

Hoodia gordonii is sold in capsule, powder, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet. Hoodia is also found in the popular diet pill Trimspa.
How Does Hoodia Gordonii Work?

Despite its popularity, there are no published randomized controlled trials in humans to show hoodia is safe or effective in pill form.

One study published in the September 2004 issue of Brain Research found that injections of p57 into the appetite center of rat brains resulted in altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule that may affect hunger. The animals receiving the P57 injections also ate less than rats that received placebo injections. However, this was an animal study and injections in the brain are different from oral consumption, so it cannot be used to show that oral hoodia can suppress appetite in humans.

The manufacturer Phytopharm cites a clinical trial involving 18 human volunteers that found hoodia consumption reduced food intake by about 1000 calories per day compared to a placebo group. Although intriguing, the study wasn't published or subjected to a peer-review process, so the quality of the study cannot be evaluated.
What are the Side Effects of Hoodia?

There are some potential side effects of hoodia that you should be aware of. What are Hoodia's Side Effects and Safety Concerns?
How do I Know if it's Pure Hoodia?

There are widespread reports of counterfeit hoodia products. Mike Adams of News Target, estimates that 80% of hoodia products are contaminated or counterfeit. It's impossible to know if a hoodia product contains pure hoodia and the active ingredient, unless it has been tested by an independent laboratory.

Is hoodia safe?

2009-02-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

Is hoodia safe?
One of the big questions about hoodia now being raised, often by promoters of conventional medicine who engage in crazy weight loss schemes like bariatric surgery, is that hoodia somehow isn't safe.

These accusations against hoodia are completely out of touch with reality. When FDA-approved prescription drugs are killing 100,000 Americans each year (that's twenty times as many American soldiers who have died in Iraq), when over-the-counter painkillers kill another 16,500 Americans each year from gastrointestinal bleeding, and when routine medicines like statin drugs or blood pressure medications cause severe liver damage, brain damage and heart damage, it is obscenely disproportionate to suggest that a ground-up succulent is somehow the greater danger.

Plant-based medicine is magnitudes of order safer than pharmaceutical medicine. Not every plant is safe to consume, of course, but toxicity risks are generally low compared to everyday drugs like ibuprofen, which has just recently been found to cause severe liver damage. And it's sold over the counter!

If you want to talk about dangerous medicine, head over to our DangerousMedicine.com bulletin board and read some of the horror stories.

Ritalin is an amphetamine, a powerful psychotropic drug. Parke-Davis, a subsidiary of Pfizer, actually promoted and sold cocaine. It even produced a "cocaine injection kit" complete with a syringe for shooting up. Here's a picture of it. "Meth" (methamphetamines) is manufactured from over-the-counter cold medicines like Sudafed, using a garage recipe that anybody can find on the Internet.

If you want examples of really dangerous medicine being sold to consumers, look no further than Big Pharma and FDA collusion. Compared to the harm that's taking place in the pharmaceutical industry, hoodia isn't even a blip on the radar.

As much as 75% of all the hoodia gordonii supplements sold in the United States today are counterfeit

2009-02-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

Easy money for crooks
Based on my own research, I now believe that as much as 75% of all the hoodia gordonii supplements sold in the United States today are counterfeit (my estimate used to be lower, but things have gotten worse). In other words, the hucksters and con artists who seem to dominate this industry are scamming the American people in a big way to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

You might ask, "Why are there so many crooks in the hoodia business? You don't see crooks in the business of selling vitamin B12 or cod liver oil or other supplements. Why hoodia?"

The answer is pure economics. Hoodia is where the money is. At $300 a kilogram, hoodia is quite a lucrative commodity. It approaches the price of some high-end industrial metal alloys or bulk diamonds. There's obviously money to be made when something can be sold for $300 a kilo and not be considered blatantly illegal (it's not crack cocaine, for example).

On top of that, there is very high consumer demand. Consumers, in the United States especially, are desperate to find solutions for losing weight, and they're willing to spend almost anything, it seems, on a supplement that promises to help them lose body fat without having to expend much effort. Therefore, you have very high demand for the product, coupled with very high profit margins on the adulterated product, which means there is a very strong incentive for con artists to counterfeit this ingredient and make huge margins as a result. That's why you see so much crime in this industry, and that's why it's unique to hoodia gordonii.

Protecting against fake hoodia
So, what can you do as a consumer to protect yourself? Well, it's extremely difficult to actually weed out who is honest from who is a crook in this industry. I've had trouble, and I've talked to many people. I've spent dozens of hours researching this. I've talked to labs, I've looked at countless hoodia lab test results and I've tried many different hoodia products myself.

If you so desire, you can take my word for what I've found to be true, but even what I've found isn't all-encompassing. For example, I have not reviewed every hoodia product on the market. I'm sure there are genuine hoodia products that I have not covered and that I do not know to be genuine. In fact, a manufacturer of hoodia products called me to complain about my last article, because I didn't mention them, and they said they have the real thing and that I was telling people to only trust a few companies. Well, the fact is, it costs me about $600 to run each test, and if there are 50 companies selling hoodia, that's $30,000 that I would have to spend on test results, while getting absolutely no return whatsoever.

Frankly, I don't have $30,000 to spend on lab testing for a product that I don't even sell and that I make no commissions for. I have no way to even make back that $30,000, so that's simply not going to happen. I can't test everything on the market, and, at the same time, I can't charge companies for testing because then I would be breaking my own rules by accepting money from supplement companies, and I'm not going to do that. The only way I maintain integrity, as an investigative journalist, is to have no financial ties whatsoever with the companies that I cover. Therefore, I'm in kind of a bind here, as I can't afford to test all the products out there, but I'm always going to get complaints from companies that I was unable to test. At the same time, some companies that have counterfeit products are also going to call me up and insist that they have the real product. I've seen that happen, as well.

I do know, at least with a high degree of certainty, that there are several legitimate hoodia gordonii products on the market. They include Desert Burn and Hoodoba. You can't go wrong buying these products. At the same time, I know the names of many other products that are absolutely counterfeit. I've spoken with some of the people at these companies, and I don't trust them. They sound like crooks, and they answer questions just like crooks would. I do not trust them, and I do not trust their products, and I wish I could name them here in this report, but I cannot for the reasons I've already mentioned. However, I can assure you they are big names. Some of the most popular brands you've seen are counterfeit. Even national retailers are right now carrying hoodia products that I know to be counterfeit.

So, what else can you do as a consumer? Let's say you don't want to take my word for it, and you want to check this out for yourself. Good for you. I applaud that effort, but it's very difficult. You can ask for CITES certificates or lab results from these companies; you can ask for all the documentation in the world, and every piece of documentation could be counterfeit and there's absolutely no way you would know it.

You can even find lab results about one company's product posted on another company's web site, and those could be counterfeit as well, because, of course, one company has an economic incentive to discredit everyone else. Some companies post lab results that are trustworthy about competitors, but other companies post completely fictitious results.

Hoodia needs to be cleaned up
Frankly, what needs to happen in this industry is someone needs to jump in and be an authority and clean this thing up. Someone needs to form an organization that actually charges fees to do random batch testing of this and demonstrate to the world who is authentic who is not.

Some have said that I should be the person to start such an organization, but I'm not willing to do that because, again, I don't want to get into the business of taking money from these companies. However, the fact remains that if someone does not do this, the Food and Drug Administration is sooner or later going to step in and either shut down the entire industry or regulate hoodia supplements out of existence. In fact, the FDA will probably quote some of my own research amongst the reasons for doing this, and this would be a great shame because it would take away a useful herb from the general public and put it under the jurisdiction of an organization that I believe to be highly corrupt -- perhaps even more corrupt than the hoodia industry itself.

Yet, at the same time, the FDA would be legally justified in regulating hoodia supplements to protect the consumers from all the adulterated products on the market right now. Therefore, I wouldn't disagree with the FDA stepping into the hoodia industry, and I might even applaud them for doing so, however, I simultaneously don't trust the organization. Regardless, somebody needs to do something because, eventually, consumers are going to be harmed by some adulteration of this product, and I mean physically harmed, not just financially harmed.

I think the Department of Justice needs to be involved here, as well. Serious investigations need to be taking place. The hoodia con artists need to be arrested, imprisoned and denied the ability to keep selling fraudulent products to the American public, and if there's any possible way I can assist in that effort to help round up and prosecute these hoodia con artists, I would be more than happy to do so, on my own time and on my own dime.

I would love to help clean up this market so that legitimate, honest hoodia gordonii resellers or manufacturers can be free to sell an honest product at an honest price to consumers who want assistance with their weight loss efforts. That's what I want to see. I want to see dishonest operators locked away, and I want to see honest operators given a level playing field in which they can compete on customer service and efficiencies and how well they are able to deliver an honest product to the consumer.

Today, we are a long way from that. In fact, we are in the wild, wild West of the hoodia gordonii industry. We're nowhere near an honest, civilized industry in which consumers can trust the vast majority of operators.

Just to repeat, the two companies that I absolutely DO trust, and who are selling genuine hoodia gordonii, are Hoodoba and Desert Burn.

Other industries also suffer from fraud
By the way, for some context here, this is not a unique problem for the nutritional supplement industry. In fact, if you look at the medical industry, the vast majority of money changing hands is fraudulent. California is suing 37 pharmaceutical companies. New York is suing companies over Medicaid fraud, and there's so much fraud in Medicare that it packs on literally billions of dollars of waste that does nothing but pad the pockets of crooks. I think it's human nature to cheat, and it's only those who have a strong ethical code who will decide not to cheat and play fair with the world. However, there are many people out there who will not play fair. Hoardes of them work in conventional medicine.

You've seen the Enron scandals, you've seen WorldCom and you remember the dot-com boom and bust, which was a giant scam designed to exploit the savings of the American people. You've seen it all. You know there are operators out there who aren't honest. It's not limited to the hoodia industry by any means. This sort of dishonesty is rampant in the pharmaceutical industry and in the insurance industry, which is now up for major criminal charges thanks to investigations done by Eliot Spitzer, attorney general of New York. There are also major problems in the construction industry, the energy industry and, of course, the financial industry. There are always people out there willing to cheat in order to make a buck. There are always people out there willing to rip you off, and hopefully we can put some of those people behind bars and help clean up this hoodia industry so we can have honest products on the shelves.

Do you want to know who the honest companies are? Keep reading this web site; I cover them all the time. I talk about honest companies like Amy's Kitchen, making organic frozen foods that are healthy and don't contain chemical additives, or Peaceful Planet, making wonderful rice protein energy shakes. Then there are companies like Lydia's Organics -- a small outfit making the best portable health food I've ever seen -- and Food for Life, which makes Ezekiel breads, tortillas and cereals.

There are probably hundreds of other companies I've mentioned or covered in my articles and reporting. There are many honest operators out there, and I aim to support those honest, high-integrity organizations as best I can. I want to give them every opportunity to talk about their products and reach out to new customers because I want to support honest people, and I want to punish those who are dishonest and who are exploiting consumers for their own greed. So, stick around and stay tuned. There's a lot more to this story, and it will no doubt get a lot more interesting.

Hoodia fraud: Counterfeit hoodia gordonii weight loss pills dominate the market

2009-02-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

This is an article about the market for hoodia gordonii, the diet pills used to suppress appetite and now being sold by a variety of companies. To begin this article, I have to tell you that I can't reveal everything I've discovered in this market. It's extremely frustrating, but it's absolutely true because some of the companies that are knowingly selling counterfeit or adulterated products are so powerful that if I were to reveal their names, I would be completely unable to defend myself against an overpowering censorship-style legal assault, and thus, they will unfortunately go unmentioned in this report.

But there is a lot of other good information in here, and if you want to know the truth about what's happening in the hoodia industry, I believe this is absolutely the only place that you can get it in unbiased form. Why is that? It's because no one else who is truly independent is looking into this issue.

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.

As it happens, I am that third party. I sell no hoodia products. I make no money from the sales of any hoodia products, and I get no kickbacks, commissions or affiliate fees of any kind from any hoodia manufacturer, reseller, bulk powder company or anything related to that. In other words, I have no financial interest whatsoever in the hoodia industry. I do, however, have a very high consumer advocate interest in this market. I'm actually fascinated by this market, because it is the single most corrupt and deceptive market I have seen in the natural health industry, and I believe it is my role to help set things right in this industry in order to limit the damage to the credibility of nutritional supplements as a whole.

Things are so terrible out there with hoodia and all the counterfeit products on the market that it is discrediting the entire nutritional supplements industry, which is very frustrating for me to see. That's one of the main reasons I am pursuing the truth on this subject.

Now, the truth can often be a difficult thing to come by, and just when you think you've found it, sometimes you're presented with evidence showing you that it isn't the truth after all. The truth is a journey, not a destination, and that is especially the case with the hoodia industry. So, let me explain where the problems begin when you're trying to authenticate who has real hoodia and who doesn't.

Who has real hoodia?
You might think this is a simple issue. You might think, "Why don't you just buy samples of all the products, send them to a lab, and get them authenticated?" Of course, that's where a normal, sane person would begin this process, but, unfortunately, as it turns out in this industry, there is not even an agreed upon definition of what hoodia is at the lab.

There are basically two labs in the United States that dominate the hoodia testing market, and these two labs disagree with each other on what kinds of tests should be done, how they should be done, and even what the definition of genuine hoodia is. They may not even be working off the same botanical samples. In other words, they could have completely different plants, for all we know. I know where one plant comes from for one of these companies, but the other company has not volunteered this information so far, so I can't tell you where that plant came from. Is it even real hoodia?

So, we have these two different labs, and they're not just competitors; it seems they are, at times, at each other's throats in terms of talking about how the other one has unreliable testing practices. As I am not a trained botanical lab technician, I'm not qualified to tell you what hoodia is supposed to look like under a microscope. I can tell you whom I believe, however. And that answer is Alkemist Pharmaceuticals (www.Alkemist.com)

So, that's the first problem with the hoodia industry. You have these two labs that disagree with each other on what hoodia is in the first place, and how to test for it and authenticate it. Therefore, there are some companies sending samples to one lab that certifies them as being "the real thing," and meanwhile, you can buy that same product off the shelf and send it to the other lab, where it might fail those authenticity tests, making you believe that the product is counterfeit or adulterated when, in fact, it might be genuine. It's just that the lab test results differ, and that's only the beginning of what's wrong with the hoodia industry.

A divided industry: The honest vs. the cheap
In reality, the hoodia industry is divided into two camps. The first camp consists of people who are honest, have integrity and make a genuine effort to purchase authentic hoodia and provide the real thing to their customers through their nutritional supplements. Two companies that I know are doing this come to mind right away: One is Hoodoba, another is Desert Burn.

I'm sure there are others out there, but these are the ones I am most familiar with, and I've spoken with these people at length and have seen test results of their products, and I believe that these people are working diligently to provide honest products.

The second camp of people in the hoodia industry are those who are just out there to sell a profitable product and who don't really care what's in it. There are some buyers who are just looking for the best price on anything that claims to be hoodia coming out of South Africa. Genuine hoodia can cost anywhere from $200 per kilo to $350 per kilo. Adulterated hoodia, or sawdust, is, of course, a heck of a lot cheaper. It might be only $50 per kilo. Unfortunately, this leads to a situation in which dishonest operators can buy a non-hoodia product that is labeled hoodia and sell it for a very high profit, because, obviously, their costs are much lower when they're filling capsules with sawdust rather than genuine hoodia.

There is a huge profit margin for these operators. This affords them the opportunity to spend a lot more money marketing their products on search engines like Google. I can assure you that right now, if you search Google for hoodia gordonii, at least five out of the top 10 results that show up there as advertisers represent counterfeit hoodia products. There's absolutely no question about this. In fact, it's probably a much higher percentage than that, but you can count on at least half of them being counterfeit.

Again, I'm not going to name which ones they are, for legal reasons, and it's very frustrating for me to have to censor myself in that regard out of fear of legal backlash from those companies. But the fact is, those companies are raking in tens of millions of dollars by selling counterfeit products, and they actually have more money to spend on advertising than the companies selling the real thing.

How consumers get conned by hoodia companies
So, you have these two camps. Camp one is the honest camp, and camp two is the con camp. Now, the question for you as a consumer is how do you tell the difference between these two camps?

Again, you might think that's easy, but it's not. It's actually very, very tricky. If you're a con artist and you're running a hoodia business and you're in camp two, your job is just to convince people that you have the real thing, and that's very easy to do. All you have to do is get one sample of genuine hoodia, bottle it up and send it off to one of the two laboratories doing the testing in the United States. Once you get a lab test result that shows it to be genuine, you post that result on your web site, and that's the last thing you do with genuine hoodia.

From that point forward, you just buy adulterated hoodia, or counterfeit hoodia, and you fill all your bottles with that substance, which could include sawdust, cellulose, ground up leaves or any other plant material. Then it looks to the world like you're selling the real thing, because you have this certificate, and you have lab tests that show it to be genuine.

Of course, all these con artist web sites have text on them that says, "We're the only ones with real genuine hoodia, and everybody else is counterfeit." That's how you play this game if you're a con artist, and I guarantee you that every con artist out there selling hoodia is doing this exact same thing.

Counterfeit documentation
The second thing a con artist does is post a counterfeit CITES certificate, which is a certificate of export from South Africa that covers the exportation of protected plant species. Genuine hoodia will always be accompanied by a CITES certificate. Real hoodia cannot be exported out of South Africa without this certificate.

So what do hoodia con artists do? They download the certificates that have been posted by legitimate companies, and then they do a little Photoshop photo editing to modify the original information on this certificate. Then they post the altered image on their own web site, and all of a sudden, it looks like they have their own CITES certificate, and they have lab test results showing their product to be genuine. They appear to have two pieces of documentation "proving" that their product is real, while, in fact, they know it to be counterfeit.

The consumer, of course, is clueless in this situation because if you visit one of these web sites, it all looks real. They might even have testimonials that are real or fictitious, and it looks like a good deal, because it's a lower price, perhaps, than some of the other web sites where you've seen hoodia. People buy into this, and this happens over and over, thousands of times a day across this country and around the world.

Diet Pill Supplement Scam: Two-Thirds of Hoodia Gordonii Pills Sold In the United States Are Counterfeit

2009-02-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

Failure of this test does NOT necessarily indicate that the manufacturer is aware of the non-authentic nature of their hoodia gordonii raw materials (raw powder). Truth Publishing is aware of many cases where hoodia brokers are using dishonest tactics to fool U.S. manufacturers into buying bogus hoodia even as they believe they are purchasing the real thing. These tactics include:

Counterfeiting lab results. Truth Publishing has learned that at least one laboratory exists in the United States that will generate an authentic-looking certificate of analysis on practically any sample as long as the "testing" is paid for.
Bait-and-switch tactics. Many brokers will attain a genuine sample of hoodia gordonii, send that sample for testing, acquire a certificate of authenticity, and then fill their bulk orders with something entirely different.
Cutting the real product with fillers. Many dishonest hoodia gordonii brokers or wholesalers will buy genuine hoodia, then cut it with sawdust, leaves or the ground-up parts of various plants (often succulents). The resulting product may only have 10% of the original potency of genuine hoodia, yet it is sold as 100% South African hoodia gordonii powder to bulk buyers in the United States.

As a result -- and this is critically important to understand -- many U.S. supplement companies may be unknowingly selling counterfeit hoodia gordonii supplements while believing they are 100% genuine.

At the same time, other supplement companies may, in fact, not really care what they're selling as long as customers keep buying it in the hopes of losing weight. In fact, there are really two camps of counterfeit hoodia sellers in the United States: 1) those who know they're selling fake hoodia but don't care, and 2) those who don't want to know whether their hoodia is fake or genuine, so they don't ask the tough questions of their suppliers.

Truth Publishing believes the counterfeit hoodia gordonii supplement market is made of both types of companies: there are several high-end companies whose hoodia products tested as unconfirmed even though the companies have a strong track record of quality control and honesty. On the other hand, there are definitely fly-by-night companies (one of which was already exposed in a previous Truth Publishing article on hoodia supplements) that will blatantly sell practically anything to anybody, as long as they don't get caught. It's a code of behavior similar to many pharmaceutical companies, but with weight loss pills instead of medications.

It is important to note that even counterfeit hoodia supplements have never been known to actually kill people (as many prescription drugs most certainly do). Yet that is no excuse for the dishonest practices by those hoodia supplements companies who knowingly sell counterfeit products to consumers.

What's in the hoodia pills if not hoodia?
One obvious question from these results is: if it's not hoodia in these supplements, then what's in there? From a source that wishes to remain anonymous, Truth Publishing has learned that the most common "adulteration" found in non-genuine hoodia supplements is a succulent with a similar physical appearance as hoodia, but without the same chemical composition. In other words, it looks the same, but doesn't have the same active ingredients as genuine hoodia gordonii.

This reveals and interesting point. When hoodia gordonii is harvested in the wild in South Africa, the economic incentive to find more hoodia gordonii results in people digging up practically any succulent that resembles hoodia in physical appearance. Ultimately, they get paid the same whether it's hoodia or not, because as long as there are buyers willing to shell out US$225 / kg for adulterated or counterfeit hoodia powder, there will always be plenty of individuals or organizations in South Africa who are willing to provide it. After all, harvesting wild cactus for $225 / kg is a lucrative business in South Africa (or any country, for that matter).

At the same time, due to the massive harvesting effort of wild hoodia gordonii (the raping of the land, actually, for this lucrative herb), South Africa, Botswana and Namibia have classified hoodia gordonii as an endangered species. Its harvesting and exporting is now controlled and must be authorized by the government.

The real thing: a CITES certificate
In South Africa, this authorization is provided by a CITES certificate. C.I.T.E.S. stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Hoodia gordonii was added to the CITES schedule during a 2004 meeting in Bangkok. The official CITES listing for hoodia now reads:

Botswana , Namibia , and South Africa submitted a proposal to the 14th Conference of the Parties of CITES to list all species of Hoodia on Appendix II. This proposal was accepted in January 2005 and it is now prohibited to trade in any parts and derivatives of any Hoodia species without a permit. A permit can only be obtained from the relevant permitting authorities of each country and can only be issued for trade in cultivated plants or wild plants where the trade can be shown not to have a detrimental effect on wild populations (a CITES non-detriment finding). The listing of Hoodia makes provision for exemption from CITES permits where traders participate in controlled harvesting and production systems in collaboration with the CITES Management Authorities of Botswana/Namibia/South Africa, but no such agreements are yet in place. Importing countries must ensure that a valid CITES export permit has been issued by the country of origin for any trade.

Because all genuine hoodia gordonii exported from South Africa must have a CITES certificate, the display of such a certificate by hoodia resellers is one of the ways consumers can confirm the authenticity of the product. See a CITES certificate on the DesertBurn.com website. Desert Burn also displays the sellers license and growers license, providing the most documentation of all hoodia resellers in the United States.

Not surprisingly, some websites are counterfeiting the CITES certificates with help from Photoshop. By photo-editing the certificate found on DesertBurn.com or other websites, they can create their own genuine-looking CITES certificate, even though their hoodia remains counterfeit. A real CITES certificate will clearly show the name of the importer and exporter for the hoodia. A fake CITES certificate will usually have these whited out.

This is why laboratory testing of the hoodia sample is the only way to be 100% certain of its authenticity. And, again, only six products passed the laboratory testing conducted by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals:

Hoodoba Pure (our #1 choice, 100% vegetarian with no fillers or additives)
Desert Burn
Dr. Wheeler's Afrigetics
King Hoodia
Hoodia Max

If your hoodia diet pills aren't working...
The high prevalence of counterfeit hoodia supplements sold in western countries may help explain why some hoodia users complain the herb isn't working for them. The reason is simple, it seems: they're not taking genuine hoodia gordonii.

The solution is to switch to a brand of hoodia that has been 100% authenticated as genuine, such as Desert Burn, Hoodoba, King Hoodia or Hoodia Max.

The other reason your old hoodia supplement may not work is because of the digestibility factor: many people have such poor digestion that they never absorb all the active ingredients in genuine hoodia powder. So they may be taking genuine hoodia but still not getting the effect they were expecting. The solution to this? Hoodia gordonii tincture.

Hoodia gordonii tincture
One company currently sells hoodia gordonii tincture (hoodia herb soaked in alcohol to extract the herb's active ingredients): Hoodoba (Hoodoba Hi-Potency Elixir).

For some people, tinctures work better than pills due to the digestibility factor. This benefit is especially prevalent in people over the age of 60 who typically suffer from low production of HCL stomach acid, but it can vary greatly from one individual to the next.

The bottom line on hoodia gordonii supplements
The good news on hoodia is that there are known sources for acquiring the real thing, and there are packaged supplements available right now that contain 100% genuine hoodia. The bad news is that if consumers aren't educated about what's genuine, perhaps two-thirds of them are buying products with no verifiable hoodia gordonii content.

And that's bad for the entire supplements industry, because it creates a negative experience for those customers. They might take their counterfeit pills for a few weeks, then realize their appetite is exactly the same as before. So they blame the hoodia pills and declare that hoodia doesn't work. But the reality, of course, is that they weren't taking hoodia. They've been duped, just like many of the supplement manufacturers who think they're selling genuine hoodia but who are actually shipping adulterated supplements that may contain no hoodia gordonii whatsoever.

Finally, it is important to realize that even when taking genuine hoodia gordonii supplements, no pill will cause you to lose weight, all by itself, unless you combine it with sensible changes in your lifestyle that include moderate exercise and avoidance of certain food ingredients such high glycemic ingredients (sugars, white flour, etc.) and artificial fats (hydrogenated oils and trans fats).

If you are depending on hoodia alone to make you lose weight, without engaging in some form of exercise, then it probably doesn't matter whether you're taking the real thing or not: you won't lose body fat either way. In contrast, if you do take up a sensible exercise program, and you combine it with an effective appetite suppressant such as hoodia gordonii, your results are likely to be accelerated.

Healthy weight loss should never exceed two pounds of body fat per week. Any weight loss beyond that is likely to include loss of lean body mass (muscle) and skeletal mass (bone density). Most nutritionists recommend sustained weight loss of no more than 1-2 pounds of body fat per week.

Full hydration (drinking lots of water) during any weight loss effort is very important. Don't fall for the trap of trying to lose weight through dehydration and starvation, aided by an appetite suppressant herb. This can be medically dangerous. Drinking lots of water may make you feel bloated, but remember: water has no calories. Drink all you need. It won't add an ounce of fat, ever.

As always, be sure to work with a qualified health practitioner before attempting any weight loss program, exercise program, or dietary supplement (including hoodia). If you choose to purchase and consume hoodia supplements, do NOT take the word of hoodia websites that display lab analysis documents. Such documents may be counterfeit or crafted as part of a bait-and-switch tactic. Only purchase the supplements that have been verified here as containing 100% genuine hoodia gordonii.

Again, that list of authenticated, genuine hoodia gordonii is:

Hoodoba Pure (our #1 choice, 100% vegetarian with no fillers or additives)
Desert Burn
Dr. Wheeler's Afrigetics
King Hoodia
Hoodia Max

Remember, Truth Publishing accepts no advertising from these companies and earns no affiliate fees, commissions of kickbacks from these products. We are a consumer advocacy group dedicated to public education about health, nutrition and medicine safety.

My own experience with hoodia.

2009-02-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

My own experience with hoodia
In addition to my skepticism about the studies conducted on hoodia so far, my own experience with hoodia uncovers some additional questions. Naturally, I tested hoodia on myself for quite some time (several months). During that time, I carefully noted my level of hunger three times a day (rating my appetite on a scale of 1 - 10), and noted my dosage of hoodia gordonii. Here's what I learned:

Hoodia does help suppress your appetite, but there are many caveats, as you'll see below.
The dosage of hoodia necessary to truly suppress my appetite was far, far larger than the dosages claimed by many websites selling hoodia. While some hoodia formulas contain only 100mg of hoodia per serving, I found that I needed 1000mg of hoodia three times a day to have any real effect. That's three grams of hoodia per day, and the cost adds up quickly.
Hoodia does not counteract the blood sugar drops that occur following the consumption of refined carbohydrates like soft drinks, cookies, white bread, white rice and other simple carbohydrates. In fact, on days that I ate carbs, my appetite wasn't lowered at all. Hoodia only appeared to work in conjunction with a controlled carbohydrate diet. And some would say that a controlled carb diet works by itself anyway (which is partly true, but in my case, I also have to give some credit to the hoodia).
Hoodia in no way stops your body from feeling intense hunger after a heavy workout. When I engage in strength training, I feel ravenous within minutes. Of course, I train harder than 99% of the people out there, but let this be a lesson: if you work out hard, you're still going to feel hungry, hoodia or not. In other words, hoodia doesn't cause your body to lose its mind. Your muscles still scream out for calories.
Note: I have recently received lab analysis verification of the authenticity of the hoodia gordonii from Hoodoba - Hoodia Gordonii Diet Pills, which is now my #1 recommended source for hoodia capsules.
In other words, in my experience, hoodia was a help, but it was not at a miracle pill. It didn't just shut off my hunger like a light switch. It was an aid, yes, but I had to take a lot of hoodia to have any effect, and I still had to control my food choices or the hoodia offered no help whatsoever.

How I use hoodia
With this said, it is notable that I still use hoodia, and here's how: I now use the tincture exclusively, and I use it in the evening to help control late-night cravings. Even though I'm skeptical about the safety of long-term use of this product, I consider it safe for occasional use -- but that's just my own opinion, and I know I have stronger liver function than most people. Your results may vary. I personally believe hoodia to be perfectly safe, and I have chosen to make it part of my collection of nutritional supplements that I use to maintain ideal health and body weight. Whether you make the same choice is entirely up to you.

Hoodia does not release you from responsibility
If you choose to purchase hoodia, make sure you have realistic expectations about what will really be required to lose weight. On the Internet, hoodia is frequently promoted as a magic bullet solution. "Lose weight almost like magic!" But in reality, it isn't magic, and weight loss isn't really automatic. Let me explain:

Taking hoodia is not a license to eat. If you keep eating like you always have, you're going to gain weight. Hoodia doesn't change the laws of physics. What is does is suppress your hunger, allowing you to take control over your eating instead of letting your genes do the driving.

The only way you're going to lose weight is to eat less. Hoodia, in large enough doses, may give you the tool to do that, freeing you from the prison of hunger pangs. But hoodia can't control your arms, your mouth and your tongue. If you keep on eating, you're gonna get fat, plain and simple.

Also, hoodia isn't going to get you into shape. If you really want to lose weight, the best thing you can do for your body is boost your resting metabolism. And the number one way to do that is to add some lean muscle mass to your body by engaging in cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, and so on) and strength training.

Just because the people in the hoodia study sat on their butts and still lost weight doesn't mean that's the best way to do it. I suggest you go do something while taking hoodia. With your hunger turned down and your metabolism turned up, you just might find yourself burning 1500 calories a day or more, causing even more rapid weight loss!

Don't starve yourself
One more warning for the truly desperate: I know there are a few people out there who are thinking, "I'll just take a mega-dose of hoodia and turn off my hunger completely. I won't eat for days, until the fat disappears, and then when I'm slim and trim I'll start eating again."

This sort of plan is not only medically dangerous, it is utterly stupid. Only a fool would attempt to lose weight in such a radical way. Don't even try it. Fact is, if you're losing more than a pound a day, you're ill in some way and need to feed yourself some healthy nutrition!

Don't mega-dose with hoodia. If you take twenty pills or drink an entire bottle of hoodia tincture, chances are you will just make yourself sick and waste your money.

Don't be stupid with this: lose weight gradually. Drink a lot of clean water, exercise regularly, lay off the refined carbs, and take hoodia in reasonable doses (I take around 30 drops of hoodia tincture each evening).

And, as always, get some medical advice from a competent practitioner. If your goal is to lose weight, educate yourself about nutrition first. Do your homework. Be healthy, okay?

Why Hoodia Gordonii, Is nature’s most effective appetite suppressant

2009-02-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

But is it really true?

Let's take a hard look at the science and reality of using hoodia. First, there's the problem that there's only one decent study on hoodia, and it was conducted on a small number of people, all of whom were obese. Even if the results of that study hold out for larger numbers of obese people, it doesn't mean it will necessarily help people lose that last ten pounds of body fat. As you approach a greater level of fitness, your body chemistry adapts, and going from 20% body fat to 15% is nowhere near as easy as going from, say, 30% to 25%.

Clearly, the science is sparse on hoodia so far. That doesn't mean it doesn't work, only that the level of research conducted so far does not convince me that hoodia is useful for appetite control across the entire population. We need a lot more research before arriving at that broad conclusion.

Secondly, there have been no widespread clinical trials examining the safety of hoodia as a nutritional supplement. Although no problems have been reported to my knowledge, and the African tribesman apparently chew hoodia with no ill effects, the fact is that hoodia may have side effects we do not yet fathom when distributed to the public at large. Although there's nothing in the research that shows hoodia to be dangerous for people who wish to experiment with this appetite suppressant, there's also nothing to show that it's 100% safe for everyone.

This isn't a traditional Chinese herb that has thousands of years of medicinal use to back it up, for example. It's not something that comes with a convincing amount of evidence for long-term use by indigenous cultures. Even the San tribesmen only used it sparingly. They weren't taking this herb every day like many Americans plan to. And what is the safety of this herb for pregnant women? I don't think that question has been sufficiently addressed.

What evidence is that Hoodia works as an appetite suppressant?

2009-02-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

IF ONLY YOU WEREN'T SO DARNED HUNGRY ALL THE TIME...

It’s true that you eat for a lot of different reasons, but feeling hungry can drive you to distraction. You know you should stick to your diet (what ever the current one is), and you know when you’re eating more than you need. But, what can you do about always feeling hungry? It’s just not fair.

Hoodia Balance might just be the answer you’re looking for. Combined with a sensible food program, exercise routine, and drinking plenty of water, the ingredients in Hoodia Balance will help you to regain your slim body easier and faster.

If you weren’t hungry all the time, you wouldn’t be tempted to snack between meals. You could easily say “No,” to second helpings. You would find it easy to push away from the table feeling satisfied.

A great deal of research is being conducted into the effects of satiety (the feeling of being full) on overeating. Hormones circulating through the body convey messages to the brain to indicate hunger of “fullness.”

Hoodia gordonii

2009-02-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

Hoodia Balance

On November 21, 2004 CBS correspondent, Lesley Stahl reported on 60 Minutes that a strange

little plant, Hoodia Gordonii, “... is a natural substance that literally takes your appetite

away.” According to CBS, “Scientists say that it fools the brain by making you think you’re

full, even if you’ve eaten just a morsel.”

Now, word of this amazing plant is spreading like wildfire across the country and taking the

consumer market by storm. Many are calling the discovery of Hoodia Gordonii the breakthrough of

the decade.

Hoodia Balance contains a massive 750MG of 100% pure certified South African Hoodia from the

Kalahari Desert. With the media storm surrounding hoodia, the product is in extremely high

demand. That coupled with the fact that there is a very limited quantity of real hoodia

gordonii available from South Africa, the opportunity for counterfeit, fake and diluted hoodia

products is running rampant. There are two certified documents required to prove the

authenticity of pure South African Hoodia which we are proud to display. They are the C.I.T.E.S

Certificate and the Analytical Report.
Hoodia Balance is a Fast and Effective Health Supplement

It’s true that you eat for a lot of different reasons, but feeling hungry can drive you to

distraction. You know you should stick to your diet (what ever the current one is), and you

know when you’re eating more than you need. But, what can you do about always feeling hungry?

It’s just not fair.

Hoodia Balance might just be the answer you’re looking for. Combined with a sensible food

program, exercise routine, and drinking plenty of water, the ingredients in Hoodia Balance will

help you to regain your slim body easier and faster.

If you weren’t hungry all the time, you wouldn’t be tempted to snack between meals. You could

easily say “No,” to second helpings. You would find it easy to push away from the table feeling

satisfied.

A great deal of research is being conducted into the effects of satiety (the feeling of being

full) on overeating. Hormones circulating through the body convey messages to the brain to

indicate hunger of “fullness.”

WHAT IS HOODIA GORDONII?

If you missed the 60 Minutes program, the program described Hoodia as a small, succulent plant

that grows only in the remote region of the South African Kalahari Desert. There, the

indigenous San Bushmen have eaten the plan for centuries, to stave off hunger during their long

and arduous hunting trips.

This small plant looks like a dill pickle with spines on it. It grows slowly in its harsh

environment, and takes four or five years, or more, before it is ready to harvest.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, joined forces with

the South African San Council. They agreed to work together on the usage of indigenous plants

for the benefit of both parties. They also committed themselves to the conservation of natural

resources.

Because of tremendous worldwide demand for the Hoodia plant, it has become endangered by

over-harvesting. Now, certification is required to prove that the product is authentic Hoodia

Gordonii.

Real Hoodia Gordonii only grows in the semi-arid desert of South Africa – not in China, or

Mexico, or the United States. With Hoodia Balance you can be assured of getting the real,

organic Hoodia ingredient. That’s because our Hoodia is approved by the Western Cape

Conservation Authority of South Africa, and is certified to be 100% authentic.