Hoodia gordonii is a plant that is grown in the desserts of South Africa. It has been known for centuries by the local population to be an effective appetite and thirst suppressant which can be a very helpful tool when you are trying to lose weight. Hoodia comes in capsule, liquid, soft chew, and even tea form and is readily available at health food stores and online. Hoodia isn’t a brand, it’s an ingredient so you have many brands to choose from, just make sure that you find a brand that has only pure hoodia and check the concentration since it can range from 250 mg all the way up to 1,000 mg per tablet and that is one factor that can cause a variation in hoodia results.

There are approximately 20 varieties of hoodia but the appetite suppressant is only found in the hoodia gordonii which is often referred to as a cactus, but in reality it is a succulent and can take up to 5 years to mature and be harvested.

In all the years that it has been sold as a diet supplement, there have been no signs of any negative side effects associated with the consumption of hoodia, and if you look at the bushman of Africa who have been eating the plant for centuries with no ill effects it would seem to suggest that this is a safe diet supplement. It’s important to remember that one of the side effects is also a decrease in thirst so make sure you drink plenty of water throughout your day, even if you don’t feel thirsty.

There haven’t been many studies done to ascertain the true effectiveness of hoodia. The only one that I have been able to find took 18 subjects and divided them into two groups, one group received a hoodia supplement and the other a placebo. After 15 days the group who was given the hoodia had lost weight and were eating an average of 1,000 calories per day less than those taking the placebo.

There was also a test done on rats which injected the hoodia directly into their brains with the effect being a reduction in the amount they ate. That study has to be taken with a grain of salt since it was performed on rats and since the hoodia was directly injected into their brains rather than administered via pill form as would be the case for humans.

While there is no real substantiated medical proof that hoodia is an effective diet aid, the anecdotal evidence, while not scientific, would seem to suggest a correlation between hoodia intake and a reduction in appetite. The bottom line is this: even if there is limited scientific study that backs up the claims of what hoodia can do, there is also a lack of evidence suggesting it can be harmful so what have you go to lose? Why not give it a try for yourself and you can find out what hoodia results you get… which is all that really matters anyway!

Tags: Africa, Appetite Suppressant, Brains, Bushman, Cactus, Calories, Calories Per Day, Centuries, Concentration, Consumption, Desserts, Diet Supplement, health food stores;, Healthy Diet, helpful tool, Hoodia Gordonii, Ill Effects, Losing Weight, Placebo, Pure Hoodia, Rats, South Africa, Succulent, Thirst, Variation —

Many of us have struggled with our weight at some point in our lives. We all know that it takes discipline to eat right and get enough exercise. The problem is that knowing and actually doing are two different things. There can be many reasons why it’s tough to get all the exercise we need and / or eat right, difficult but not impossible. If you were looking for something that may be able to help you achieve your goals and were thinking of using a supplement, your next question would probably be: Hoodia does it work?

As with most things, everyone has their own opinion. If you ask 100 people you’d probably get about 100 different answers. The fact is that most people will get some help with their weight loss efforts by using Hoodia, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do anything, which is the mistake that many people make. No matter how great a supplement is you will still need to get plenty of exercise and eat properly.

There are three main things that Hoodia can do to help you lose weight:

1. Hoodia has a compound that sends a signal to your brain telling it that you are full and don’t need any more food. That trigger can help you eat far less without feeling like you are being deprived. A recent study took a group of obese people, half who were given Hoodia and the other half were given a placebo, to monitor the effectiveness of the Hoodia supplement.

The patients were told they could eat as much as they wanted and they weren’t exercising, just eating and relaxing. After about 2 weeks the patients who were taking the Hoodia supplement were taking in an average of 1000 calories less per day and had lost weight compared to those who were only taking the placebo.

2. The second benefit of Hoodia is that it has been reported to stop food cravings altogether. Many people will say that any supplement that helps control hunger really won’t work for them since they eat because they are bored, feeling down, or something just looks good… in other words they eat even when they’re not hungry. If that describes you than you’ll be pleased to know that Hoodia can help lessen your desire to eat all the time and not just control your hunger. Of course, this effect hasn’t happened to everyone so you would have to try Hoodia first to see if it will work for you too.

3. If Hoodia can help you stop ‘binge eating’ or just grabbing the closest thing because you are either hungry or bored, than it will be easier for you to limit your food intake to just those things that are healthy. That is the one component that can make a big difference in your weight loss goals.

If you want to lose weight you might as well get all the help you can to make permanent, healthy changes. So if you’re asking : Hoodia does it work, the answer would be yes, for most people it works very well and it will very likely work for you too.

You should consult your personal health care provider, prior to taking any weight loss supplement.

Tags: Benefit, Brain, Calories, Control Hunger, Discipline, Eating Habits, Food Cravings, food intake;, food;, Hoodia, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Mistake, Placebo, Two Different Things, Weight Loss Efforts —