Is there Any Hoodia in that Hoodia Weight Loss Product?
Copyright 2006 Richard Keir
Gotten any email spam lately with a 'warning' about buying fake Hoodia products or Hoodia products with a variety of fillers?
Of course, they assure you that THEIR product is 'the original product.'
It may be the original product, whatever that might mean, but the chances of it containing Hoodia are pretty close to zero.
Or maybe you're getting the spam about Hoodia 92--, whatever, or one about getting into skinny jeans or having men chase you, or the brickwall last 18 pounds spam with the large "disc0unts".
Obviously the spammers see this as a potentially lucrative market. If any of the spam tempts you, you really need to be aware of a few things about Hoodia.
The whole diet area is scam heaven for unscrupulous, dishonest con artists selling products that do nothing and cost a lot.
The few legitimate ones can be nearly impossible to identify among the fakes.
Legally, only one company has the license to market Hoodia as a weight loss product. Hoodia gordonii, as a weight loss product, has been patented by CSIR (the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) and patents have been submitted in territories all over the world.
Exclusive license for these patents belongs to Phytopharm, a bio-pharmaceutical company.
The main problem is that Hoodia is a slow growing succulent (it looks sort of like a cactus) which grows wild in limited areas in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
While not endangered (yet), it is listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
That means there are legal controls on collecting Hoodia and on exporting it.
Hoodia contains a molecule called P57 (catchy name, isn't it?). According to Phytopharm's Dr Richard Dixey, P57 essentially tricks the brain into feeling full. No side effects except a sense of feeling good have yet been identified but clinical trials are still underway to ensure that the Hoodia extract is safe.
Unfortunately, while P57 can be artificially made, the process cannot be scaled up to produce commercial quantities at affordable prices.
Phytopharm is, however, in the process of developing extensive Hoodia plantations. This takes time since Hoodia has never been cultivated before and all the problems of pests, plant diseases, correct growing conditions, etc. have to be figured out.
What all this really means is that right now the quantities of real Hoodia available are extremely limited. Some legitimate supplement companies have even been scammed by their suppliers into believing that they were receiving genuine Hoodia when they were getting roots, other succulents, sawdust, etc.
As a consumer, you are likely to get burned buying any weight loss product that is supposed to contain Hoodia unless it has been licensed by Phytopharm.
Food supplements (NOT labeled as a weight loss product) may or may not contain Hoodia.
Ones that may actually contain Hoodia may not have enough to have any weight loss effect. Some may contain Hoodia, but not the active ingredient (that P57 molecule).
At this point, Phytopharm is planning to bring out various food products containing Hoodia gordonii, hopefully by 2008.
Meanwhile, unless it's a Pytopharm product, if it claims to be Hoodia and to be for weight loss, at the very least the marketing is illegal and infringes on Phytopharm's rights, and, most probably, the product has either none of the necessary product or too little to be effective.
Once real Hoodia products do become more widely available, they could be extremely helpful in weight reduction and appetite control. But now? Over the internet? Scams seem to rule, so be prepared to waste your money. While Hoodia certainly appears to work - and probably is safe, your chances of actually getting Hoodia, unless you are very careful, make focusing on maintaining a workable diet and exercise program a much more certain alternative for losing weight.
.
Buyer Beware: Not All Hoodia Products Contain Enough Active Ingredients
Memphis, TN (ContentDesk) June 17, 2006 -- Ever since CBS 60 Minutes reported on the miraculous appetite-supressing qualities of a South African bushflower called Hoodia Gordonii, thousands of marketers have come up with their own Hoodia offerings.
All of these products claim to use the power of the Hoodia plant to help customers lose their appetites, and along with that, their excess weight.
But according to The University of Hawaii, there arent enough Hoodia plants in the world to produce all the pills out there claiming to use Hoodia!
What does this mean to consumers? Many of these products are using a tiny percentage of Hoodiaor worse, no Hoodia at alland marketing their product as having Hoodia as an active ingredient.Experts estimate that at least 3000 mg of Hoodia per day would be necessary for a person to lose weight effectively.
Unfortunately, many of the products marketed as Hoodia weight loss pills dont even provide half of that in...
Hoodia > Buyer Beware: Not All Hoodia Products Contain Enough Active Ingredients
Internet Fraudsters Are Dragging the Good Name of Hoodia Gordonii Through the Mud--What You Need to Know Before You Buy
Toronto, Canada (ContentDesk) August 11, 2005 -- Millennium Health Supplements (Canada) Inc., a Western Cape licensed importer of South African hoodia gordonii and internet retailer of HoodiaHoodia thinks this all-natural appetite suppressant is the most incredible discovery in the weight loss industry, but beware, hoodia scams are all around.Everyone is jumping on the hoodia gordonii bandwagon and the internet is teeming with new companies producing a wide range of hoodia gordonii products.
While there are some real hoodia products available you will have to do your homework to find them.
Many products being sold as Hoodia Gordonii are filled with "unidentifiable plant material", starch, rice powders, and in some reported cases even filled with sawdust.
Some sites even claim to have a 20:1 extract, which is not possible.
The appetite-suppressing molecule in Hoodia Gordonii cannot be isolated by giant pharmaceutical companies that would like to produce...
Hoodia > Internet Fraudsters Are Dragging the Good Name of Hoodia Gordonii Through the Mud--What You Need to Know Before You Buy
Take Hoodia diet pills with a Smart Diet, not a Starvation
Could Hoodia weight loss supplements fulfill the expectations of dieters and impact the United States obesity troubles? Today fifty million Americans are attempting to slim down with just a low five percent sustaining the weight loss they are seeking. Can Hoodia, the new comer on the scene, assist you to be in that small percentage that gets there, one of the few that will be able to lose the pounds and not have it them come back? From initial reports it may have a chance if these Hoodia pills are not abused and taken in an improper way. The Hoodia Gordonii African weight loss supplement can't do all the work by itself; you can't just take this pill, sit back and watch it do a miraculous make over on your body. Hoodia will help you to not be hungry, but this is only the beginning of the process; what follows needs to be regular meals with good nutrition and some form of physical exercise.If Hoodia... Take Hoodia diet pills with a Smart Diet, not a Starvation
Hoodia > Take Hoodia diet pills with a Smart Diet, not a Starvation
Weight Loss Effects of Hoodia Leads to Wide Public Interest
Las Vegas, NV (ContentDesk) April 13, 2006 -- The new use of hoodia as an appetite suppressant and recent research on its benefits have made doctors and scientists engaged in the fight against the global epidemic of obesity sit up and take notice. The consistent demonstration of the appetite-controlling effects of hoodia has led to wide public interest in the use of this plant as the basis of a dietary supplement for weight control. Hoodia plants of the gordonii variety are succulent plants from the botanical family Asclepiadaceae. The cactus has spines resembling a true cactus. Hoodia Gordonii and has been used for centuries by the San Bushmen of South Africa as a way of controlling hunger and thirst during hunting expeditions in the Kalahari desert.
Whole hoodia powder made from the WHOLE plant contains some fiber, organic material, antioxidants and biologically active substances. The most important of these is steroidal glycosides. These molecules actually fool the brain into...
Weight Loss Effects of Hoodia Leads to Wide Public Interest
Hoodia > Weight Loss Effects of Hoodia Leads to Wide Public Interest
Earlier Only Tribes, Now Whole World Knows How to Curb Obesity
Darkness always has a ray hope behind it; Africa is known as Dark Continent of the world. But, the tribes of Kalahari Desert have a ray of hope for millions of obese around the world. This ray of hope is a natural herb which looks like cactus and found in the desert. The name of this highly beneficial succulent plant is Hoodia .
The tribal people of Kalahari Desert for their existence depend upon hunting.
Hunting in desert is completely different from hunting in a jungle. Here, there is no availability of food, water; moreover animals are rare and one has to stay in desert for long. Despite of such an unfavorable condition, tribal people are able to stay in the desert and hunt. Hoodia helps them in their long stay in the desert, because once chewed this plant suppresses appetite for 24 hours. Yes, appetite suppression for 24 hours; no other appetite suppressant invented until now can control appetite for that much long period.
Though beneficial...
Hoodia > Earlier Only Tribes, Now Whole World Knows How to Curb Obesity
Hoodia Products
When we say Hoodia Products, the implied understanding is of Hoodia Gordonii as an aid in weight-loss programs as an appetite suppressant. But none of the Hoodia Products on the market today can be labeled as an appetite suppressant. If they do so, they will be liable for legal action for patent violation by the only company that can make that claim-Phytopharm. So they just print 100% Hoodia and trust that customers will understand.
CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) of South Africa did a 30-year study of Hoodia, after it found that the San tribe, living on the fringes of Kalahari Desert, used the plant as a hunger suppressant. They isolated the active molecule and named it P 57.
CSIR licensed British company Phytopharm to test, develop and market P 57 as a weight loss aid. Phytopharm failed in its attempt to produce P57 synthetically while working with American MNC Pfizer. Most of the new farms to grow Hoodia are tied up by Phytopharm. Phytopharm...
Hoodia Products
Hoodia > Hoodia Products
Hoodia And Weight Loss
San tribesmen of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa have one of the oldest primitive cultures in existence, maybe as old as 100,000 years. They are hunter-gatherers and go on long hunting expeditions. Given the harsh desert and scarcity of game, they chew on a succulent plant called Hoodia Gordonii to keep off hunger and thirst.
In 1937 a Dutch anthropologist recorded, this fact and in the 1960s CSIR, the South African research council, started a study on the plant. In 1997 CSIR took out a patent on a molecule of Hoodia, named P57, as an aid in weight-loss treatment. In 1998 they made an agreement with a British company, Phytopharm, to test and market the product.
Phytopharm carried out the usual clinical trails of P 57 and announced a very positive result in 2001.
In a double-blind study volunteers were given 400mg of dried Hoodia per day. After 15 days they reduced their calorie intake by 1,000 per day. The control group did not show any appreciable...
Hoodia And Weight Loss
Hoodia > Hoodia And Weight Loss
The Weight Loss Magic Bullet, Hoodia Gordonii BY MHSCI
Millennium Health Supplements (Canada) Inc. a raw material and ingredient supplier for the nutra/pharmaceutical and veterinarian industries since 1995 has recently been awarded a Conservation Certificate for export of Pure Hoodia Gordonii directly from South Africa into the North American market. Hoodia Gordonii is an all-natural appetite suppressing succulent plant (part of the aloe family) from South Africa with no known side effects or stimulants.
Although hoodia gordonii is new to the U.S. and Canada, this great all-natural product is taking over the multi-billion dollar diet industry here.
Sales in both the bulk and wholesale divisions are picking up and retail products may be reaching shelves as early as 2005.
Currently, Hoodia Gordonii for the consumer is mainly available through internet sales.
You can visit our website listed on this page for both retail and bulk Hoodia Gordonii products. MHSCI is the only company in North America that donates...
Hoodia > The Weight Loss Magic Bullet, Hoodia Gordonii BY MHSCI
Shamanism
ShamanismUpdate of an article I published many times.March 20, 2004 Shamanism is an ancient form of mysticism. Although there are many localized variations, the basic tenet is that all things are sacred and alive. Shamans are experts in this perspective and act as priests, holy persons, guides, researchers, explorers or professionals. Most have the ability to enter trance or altered states to access information related to their work.The shaman acts as a bridge. While in contact with life in other...
Hoodia puppy training Shamanism
Hoodia > Shamanism
Hoodia term life insurance Is there Any Hoodia in that Hoodia Weight Loss Product?
Hoodia vacuum cleaner Is there Any Hoodia in that Hoodia Weight Loss Product?
A Guide To Discount Contact Lenses
Contact lenses are more expensive than regular glasses. Even when the lenses are available on sale, the solutions to keep them clean and the eye drops would make up for the rest. Despite the high price, many people prefer contacts to glasses.
When it comes to contact lenses, it pays to shop around to find the best deal. Buying contact lenses usually involves paying for a whole package that might include the eye exam, contact lens, the solution, and eye drops.
Some eye clinics...
Hoodia
Hoodia > A Guide To Discount Contact Lenses