Hoodia Diet

What is the Hoodia Diet?

Before the Hoodia Diet, there was just the hoodia plant, containing P57, the active ingredient in hoodia gordonii. First noted in 1937 by a Dutch scientist who noticed that the Bushmen of South Africa used hoodia to suppress appetite, it was not until 1963 that scientist started studying this wonderful plant with the hope of developing an appetite suppression hoodia diet pill, that could be used without side-effects.

The hoodia diet is based on hoodia gordonii, a delicious cactus-like plant that grows in extremely hot environments. It takes over 5 years for the plant to grow until it can harvested, yielding succulent cucumber-like flesh and the steroidal glycoside P57, found only in hoodia gordonii and on which the whole hoodia diet is based.

Because of its obvious rarity, the hoodia plant is expensive, and many of the hoodia diet pills on the market contain only a fraction of the advertised hoodia content. This has led to investigations on the actual success rate of the hoodia diet. CBS correspondent Leslie Stahl, of 60 Minutes, traveled to Africa and with the help of a local Bushman, found and ate a hoodia plant. Her report that she lost appetite and thirst for the entire day after consuming hoodia, apparently without suffering any heart palpitation or indigestion, greatly contributed to the popularity of the hoodia diet.

Hoodia gordonii can now be found sold in pills, teas, liquid or powder form, all there to feed the hoodia diet frenzy. Because the hoodia diet is so popular, great care must be taken as to where you procure your hoodia supply. While some scientific doubt remains as to the effectiveness of the hoodia diet, it is certain that the hoodia diet, combined with sensible food intake and moderate exercise, has proven successful for countless dieters. As with all diets and weight loss programs, always consult a physician before embarking on the hoodia diet, or any other.