The Story Of Hoodia Gordonii

A cactus like plant Hoodia Gordonii grows in the deserts of South Africa. Hoodia Gordonii is not a cactus but the plant resembles a cactus. It has the property to suppress a person’s hunger and it is being marketed as a supplement which is herbal in nature to help people lose weight.

But when did it all begin? Why are we just hearing about the Hoodia Gordonii cactus now? The answer to these questions lies in the fact that there is still little known about this rare and hard to produce plant.

An anthropologist revealed that the tribes of Kalahari took help of the Hoodia Gordonii plant to cactus to stifle their thirst as well as appetite when they travelled in the desert during the later part of 1930. Hoodia Gordonii was the plant used by the people to endure the tough journey in the desert without any harm. It is nature’s way of helping travelers.

However, as word spread about the effects of the Hoodia Gordonii cactus, more scientists became intrigued by the plant and its possible use as a weight loss herbal supplement. In the late sixties many scientists worked together to perform laboratory experiments on animals using the Hoodia Gordonii cactus. These experiments showed that the Hoodia Gordonii cactus actually did suppress appetite and thirst.

However, there have been few additional studies completed. Only one human clinical study was done on the Hoodia Gordonii cactus, and this was completed by a manufacturer of Hoodia Gordonii diet pills. There is no evidence to show how the Hoodia Gordonii cactus works to suppress appetite. Nor is there any hard proof of side effects or other possible disadvantages or benefits.

Food and Drug Administration has not given an approval to Hoodia Gordonii plant for being used in supplements for losing weight due to this reason. One can use it as a supplement for weight loss when more research has been done on it and its properties are established.

One of the biggest problems with the Hoodia Gordonii plant is that it is very uncommon and can only be grown in humid and very hot climate which is found in the deserts of South Africa. This can be reason that the weight loss supplement made from it will be expensive as well as difficult to get.

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