Hoodia

[Guest guest]

My husband is presently taking Meridia (the drug that decreases appetite).

It's expensive (not covered by insurance), and has beaucoup side effects.

It occurred to me that Hoodia could accomplish the same thing and is

supposed to be safe and harmless. We've discussed Hoodia on the list

previously but don't remember that we reached any conclusions or a good

source for it.

So how does one choose from the many Hoodia supplements presently on the

market? And of course avoid being scammed, as many of these contain little

to none actual Hoodia in them?

TIA for any advice on this potential purchase.

[Guest guest]

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, November 2005

Hoodia

Claims, Benefits: Suppresses appetite, promotes weight loss.

Bottom Line: Products are likely to contain little or none of the alleged

active ingredient, or be watered down with other unproven weight-loss

ingredients. No one knows if hoodia is safe.

Full Article, Wellness Letter, November 2005:

Hoodia: Out of Africa

Whenever one weight-loss product loses popularity, another is quick to take

its place. Now it's hoodia's turn. As the main ingredient in TrimSpa,

Hoodoba, and many other dietary supplements, it's all the rage on the Internet,

in

health-food stores, and in office and gym talk. Hoodia is a succulent plant

that grows in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. The indigenous San tribe

(formerly called Bushmen) have long chewed the plant's stalks to curb appetite,

quench thirst, and increase endurance when they went on long hunting treks

and when food was scarce. There are many species; the one thought to suppress

appetite is Hoodia gordonii.

Years ago South Africa's national laboratory found that hoodia produced

weight loss in animals. More recently, the plant's active ingredient was

identified as P57 and patented. In 1997 Phytopharm, a British company, was

given an

exclusive license to develop P57 into an appetite-control drug. After its

first partner, Pfizer, dropped out, Phytopharm teamed with Unilever, planning

to

put P57 in diet-related food products. The substance is thought to stimulate

a part of the brain (hypothalamus) that shuts down hunger signals. That is,

it may fool you into thinking you're full even if you haven't eaten. In a

study by Phytopharm, men who took P57 cut back on calories and lost body fat.

But this is the only study done on people-and it was very small and short, and

has not been published.

Don't rush to supplement

At this time, no supplements contain patented P57. What you're likely to get

is a substandard product that contains little or none of the alleged active

ingredient, or a product that's watered down with other unproven weight-loss

ingredients. Even if a product says it is 100% hoodia, you can't be sure the

claim is true or that you're even getting the right plant species or the

right part of the plant. Hoodia is now grown from China to Texas, but no one

knows if plants outside the Kalahari region have the same effect in the body.

More important, no one knows if hoodia is safe, especially when used

regularly. The San themselves use it sparingly, and certainly not for weight

loss.

Recently, one of the researchers at Pfizer cautioned that " unwanted effects on

the liver " have been observed. And then there's the ethical issue. The San

were unaware that the plant's ingredient was being tested and patented and

did not give their consent-a case of " biopiracy. " They've since been promised

a share in the spoils, but how much that will be is unknown.

Our advice: Don't take a chance with hoodia supplements.

[Guest guest]

Francesca, the company that I trust is Flora. They have one supplement called "Hoodia Trim" with green tea and the kitchen sink in it, and one with just the Hoodia. Choose the latter. They are a great company, affiliated with Udo Erasmus (Omega 3 guy).

As for it being "safe"--certainly hoodia is safer than Meridia or overweight, which are the probable alternatives.

Earlene

[Guest guest]

Francesca, the company that I trust is Flora. They have one supplement called "Hoodia Trim" with green tea and the kitchen sink in it, and one with just the Hoodia. Choose the latter. They are a great company, affiliated with Udo Erasmus (Omega 3 guy).

As for it being "safe"--certainly hoodia is safer than Meridia or overweight, which are the probable alternatives.

Earlene

[Guest guest]

Lately I saw on article which compared all the hoodia brands. 6/17

had the claimed amounts of hoodia. Hoodoba was one of them.

Does anyone here have any experience with hoodia?

>

> My husband is presently taking Meridia (the drug that decreases

appetite).

> It's expensive (not covered by insurance), and has beaucoup side

effects.

> It occurred to me that Hoodia could accomplish the same thing and

is

> supposed to be safe and harmless. We've discussed Hoodia on the

list

> previously but don't remember that we reached any conclusions or a

good

> source for it.

>

> So how does one choose from the many Hoodia supplements presently

on the

> market? And of course avoid being scammed, as many of these

contain little

> to none actual Hoodia in them?

>

> TIA for any advice on this potential purchase.

>

[Guest guest]

I waited a few days and since nobody responded (til today) I went ahead and ordered a " trial size " of 30 tablets from here:

http://www.cellhealthmakeover.com/authentic-pure-hoodia-gordonii.html

No doubt someone in the group will now tell me that they're scam artists :-).

This was the only site I could find that gave a long detailed explanation of how to buy the stuff (of course it benefits them to do so). I fear that none of the Hoodia on the market is any good and that it's difficult to patent into a capsule that works, because I saw that Pfiser (I think it was Pfiser) or one of the other big drug companies let their patent lapse while trying to get it to the market.

I'll report to the group how the Hoodia that I ordered works (on my husband that is).

Meridia works well for him with minimun side effects. However it's expensive (not covered by insurance) and I don't like the idea of him taking this drug for the rest of his life especially if I can find a safer substitute. He loves it because he seems to able to easily curb his appetite with it.

No doubt someday there'll be another " meridia " like pill, but now there's just the hype about Hoodia and the scam artists are taking advantage.

on 12/27/2005 12:11 PM, sadiefranc@... at sadiefranc@... wrote:

Francesca, the company that I trust is Flora. They have one supplement called " Hoodia Trim " with green tea and the kitchen sink in it, and one with just the Hoodia. Choose the latter. They are a great company, affiliated with Udo Erasmus (Omega 3 guy).

As for it being " safe " --certainly hoodia is safer than Meridia or overweight, which are the probable alternatives.

Earlene