Hoodia Gordonii

Description of Hoodia gordonii

Hoodia is a a leafless succulent that grows up to 50 cm high with fleshy, ribbed and thorny stems.

The plants put off a smell of decaying flesh, just to attract flies and blowflies to its flowers, which are needed for pollination.

It is a plant that only grows in the South African Kalahari desert and the harvest of this plant is carefully controlled to prevent it from being harvested to extinction.

This plant was the "food" eaten by the Bushmen - also called the "Khoi-San" tribe, for thousands of years while hunting for their food, which not only stopped their hunger, but also increased their energy levels without any known side effects.

A large pharmaceutical company patented the "P-57" ingredient found in Hoodia, but a dispute exists between the company and the Khoi-San tribe.

Parts used

The fleshy part of the stem is used - and in commercial applications it is this part that is dried and used in a powder form to make pills or capsules.

Properties of Hoodia gordonii

It is a most effective way to control appetite, and is taken by many for weight loss.

Although the P-57 compound is being disputed, it also contains cardiac glycosides or bio-chemically related compounds such as pregnane derivatives.

In a clinical trial, it showed that people using Hoodia reduced their caloric intake by 1,000 calories per day - with no effort, and without even being aware of the effect.

Hoodia reduces the impulse of hunger, as it "tricks" your hypothalamus into believing that you have eaten. The hypothalamus is the gland that sparks hunger, and the hypothalamus is only satisfied when your blood glucose level reach a certain area after the intake of food.