Hoodia Gordonii is a gift from nature that promotes weight loss.
Over weight and obesity, accompanied by diabetes and related problems, have taken over the world like a disastrous epidemic over the last few decades and people are ready to do just anything to get rid of this. This started an endless search for the natural products, synthetic medicines and diet plans which could help loose weight. Hoodia Gordonii is one of the most promising finds of this endless search.
Over the last few years, the demand for Hoodia and Hoodia based products has risen surprisingly. Hoodia may not be a known name in many Asian and African countries, because obesity has not been such a big problem here due to food habits and life style (now the scenario is changing and obesity is spreading its roots in these places too), but it is a big fuss in European and American countries. Let us know what it is, its available forms, its uses and why it is so much popular so that before you try some Hoodia product, you are well aware about it, because it is always safe to keep informed.
Although a lot of information on Hoodia is available on the net, let me give some glimpses.
What is Hoodia Gordonii? Hoodia is a succulent fleshy cactus like plant of Asclepiad family, original inhabitant of Kalahari deserts of Africa. Among its many varieties, Hoodia Gordonii is the most popular because its extracts suppresses hunger and effectively helps reducing weight and fat. It is available in market in many forms such as pills, capsules, juice, complexes, chews, diet supplements and even lollipops. Unprocessed Hoodia may show some side effects such as dry mouth, liver problems etc. Once growing naturally and abundantly in Africa, wild Hoodia Gordonii has now became a rare sight there because of over exploitation due to its appetite suppressing properties. Many think that it is a variety of Cactus, but if I say that well-known, famous, much heard and even much more misunderstood Cactus Gordonii Hoodia is not at all a Cactus, they will be taken aback. Believe me, I am absolutely right. Just like “All That Glitters is Not Gold”, all the plants with spongy and fleshy leaves and bearing thorns are not cacti. Hoodia Gordonii forms an integral component of many weight loss drugs, due to its appetite suppressing properties.
Hoodia Availability in the Market: Most of the Hoodia available in the market is not that natural African Gordonii Hoodia, but commercially grown Hoodia in other parts of the world. Does that make any difference? Apparently no! Because their properties remain almost the same, except in the commercially grown ones, you may find some traces of artificial fertilizers. If you don’t want that, make sure you are buying genuine African Hoodia Gordonii.
Hoodia as Appetite Suppressant: Hoodia is today’s word among the millions across the world those who want to shed some pounds off their bodies and look slimmer. How does it do this? The chemical composition of Hoodia resembles that of Glucose or acts as Pseudo-Glucose and is far more powerful than glucose in its glucose-like behavior. They send the brain chemical signals that the stomach is full and the body does not want food any more. When absorbed in the body, the body thinks that it has consumed some very high-energy giving food (which is not so) and gives the brain a chemical-telegram informing this. The brain, in turn, immediately rings the body, giving instructions to stop eating. This kills the appetite and the body is kept starved to use its own storage of fat to meet its energy requirements. What is the result? No energy consumed under camouflage of high energy food. What about body’s fat store? Oh! It is burnt down to ashes.
Products with Hoodia Gordonii: Due to overwhelming demand of Hoodia, many companies and laboratories came up with pills, capsules, supplements and other products containing Hoodia Gordonii. Lets see these products and their benefits;
- Hoodia Tea: Hoodia Tea is taking the world by storm these days as one of the most dependable and most favoured Hoodia based products. It really works fast and no adverse effects of Hoodia have been seen so far. Hoodia Tea is shredded and dried form of Hoodia plant which can be consumed like tea by soaking it in warm water. Most of the Hoodia Teas available in market is seldom pure Hoodia, as they come as blends of Hoodia with Green Tea and other herbs.
- Hoodia Supplements: Hoodia Supplements mean the dietary supplements which mainly contain Hoodia, along with other ingredients, and are used for losing weight. Hoodia Supplements, because of their Hoodia content, give a feeling of full-stomach and thus result in loss of appetite. This in turn results in lesser intake of food, lower energy intake, utilization of the fat stored in the body and thereby resultant loss of weight or slimming. Unlike many of the weight-loss diet supplements, Hoodia is safer (studies are still going on to explore possibilities of threats to liver) in the sense that it does not contain artificial stimulants.
- Hoodia Complex: No! It is nothing like some inferiority/superiority complex growing in you for not using/using Hoodia. Hoodia Complex is a medical preparation or composition which includes Hoodia as well as other herbs and is meant to suppress your hunger or appetite and at the same time revitalize you by pushing in some anti oxidants in your body. Apart from Hoodia extract, it contains some vitamins, few minerals, extracts of ingredients like Green Tea, St. John’s Wort, Cocoa seeds, Garcinia Fruit, Gymnema leaf and components like sorbitol, stearic acid etc. The composition of Hoodia Complex may vary according to the manufacturers and the above ingredients should not be considered as the standard ones, although more or less they remain same.
- Hoodia Pops: Have you ever thought of licking a lollipop all the time and still losing weight? I bet many of you haven’t unless you heard of those Hoodia Pops. Hoodia Pops are lollipops containing Hoodia extract with some other herbal extracts, flavored and artificially sweetened. These Hoodia Pops have taken the celebrities on fire these days, not merely because they help lose weight, but rather due to the fact that they are handy, state of the art and new. These pops help you lose weight two ways, first, due to presence of Hoodia in them which kills your appetite and second, they keep your mouth engaged.
- Hoodia Dex-L10 Gordonii: Hoodia was much in demand across the world, because it was really helping people out with losing weight, and it is then when the Delmar Laboratories, Nutralab Inc. came up with a product range with the name Hoodia Gordonii Dex, more precisely, Hoodia Dex-L10. A whole range of dietary supplements, more precisely, appetite suppressants, is sold under this series name. These products include Hoodia Dex-L10 Basic Diet Pills, Hoodia Dex-L10 Complete (a mixture of Hoodia with some herbs) and Hoodia Dex-L10 Gordonii Soft Chews, the latest of them. As the name suggests, the chief ingredient of these products is the extract of the plant Hoodia Gordonii, a succulent plant of Asclepiad family, which is native to the Kalahari Desert of Africa and is known for its appetite suppressing properties.
- Hoodia 57: Hoodia 57 is yet another Hoodia Gordonii based appetite suppressant drug. It is one of the latest entries in the world of Hoodia based drugs and is believed to be the most powerful among them, and yet the safest one. Hoodia is otherwise very safe except that Dry Mouth in some cases where you feel thirsty (you cannot call this adverse since it is no way bad for the body) and some studies showing some effects on liver. Hoodia 57 overcomes even that. No wonder that Hoodia 57 is one of the most popular weight-loss drugs among the celebrities and stars that gives them that dream 0-size.
Side Effects of Hoodia Gordonii: Almost ninety percent of Hoodia Gordonii users are of the belief that it has no side effects at all on the body (It is true to some extent, if not absolutely). There are two reasons behind this. The first one is that its side effects do not show up or are no detected quickly, unlike Caffeine in Green Tea and other stimulants in other appetite suppressants. Second, even if some people know about it, they tend to ignore it, just overwhelmed by the weight reducing effects of Hoodia and the fact that it is in high fashion today. You take Hoodia and you fall in the same line with Brittney Spears! But let me tell you, Hoodia has side effects. The most common is a sticky, dry mouth, followed by some suspected damage to liver in the long run and lastly, the risk of seriously depriving the body of energy, without even a hint. These side effects are due to some of its constituents which are difficult to remove while processing. Still, since Hoodia products are herbal and most of its preparations do not contain harmful synthetic chemicals or stimulants, they are safer than most of the weight loss drugs available in the market that cost on heart and metabolism.
Conclusion: Hoodia Gordonii may be one of the most effective natural products for weight loss, but it is not totally safe. So, indiscriminate and very long term uses should be avoided. Further, one should not depend completely on Hoodia for losing weight; rather, he should use them in accordance with daily exercises & work outs. So, use Hoodia with caution and only when you need it that much.
This article is contributed by Aparup Mukherjee.
Sources: Various reports published on internet.
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