A Guide to Hoodia Cactus Plant Extract

You might have surely heard about ‘Hoodia cactus plant extract’ by this time as it has been broadcasted by numerous major media sources, like the ‘BBC’, ‘The Today Show’, ‘CBS’ and much more. Because of this, Hoodia Gordonii products have quickly ascended to become one of the fastest growing segments of the ‘diet supplement market’.

Before choosing a Hoodia product you should know that there are many kinds of Hoodia plant, but only the Hoodia Gordonii type has an astonishing ‘appetite suppressing’ quality. These properties have been known about for centuries by a primitive tribe known as the ‘Sans Bushmen’. During mid 1990s an institute called the C.S.I.R. ‘Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’ was conducting a study of native plants eaten by the ‘Sans Bushmen’. Basically, the study was to see what foods, the ‘Sans Bushmen’ were taking that protected the toxic compounds. When the C.S.I.R. studied Hoodia Gordonii, they found it was not only non-toxic, but also it helped to suppress the appetite of animals it used to feed to.

Hoodia Cactus PlantFinally, the C.S.I.R. isolated the active ingredient responsible for the ‘appetite suppressing’ effects and called it ‘P57′. This is the ‘Hoodia cactus extract’. They then sold the rights of ‘P57′ to a British pharmaceutical company called ‘Phytopharm’. You may be wondering how it can be there are so many Hoodia products on the market if only ‘Phytopharm’ has the rights to ‘P57′. The answer lies in the patent laws. You know that, only ‘Phytopharm’ can extract the active molecule called ‘P57′ from Hoodia Gordonii and use it in their product line. But a whole natural plant – in this case the Hoodia Gordonii plant- cannot be patented. As a result, other companies’ can very well produce supplements or products made from Hoodia Gordonii and sell them legally.

The important thing for consumers right now is to make sure that they are buying a product that contains genuine South African Hoodia Gordonii.

The Truth About Hoodia

Since hoodia has been released to the market, there have been a lot of different claims about what it can and cannot do. There are probably hundreds of products, some of which make false claims, and it can be difficult to decide who or what to trust. Since I believe that hoodia does have tremendous benefit, rather than let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch I wanted to take some time to discuss what hoodia can and can’t do for you in regards to weight loss.

First, let’s talk about where hoodia comes from. Hoodia is derived from a cactus like plant called Hoodia Gordonii that grows in the desert of Africa. It is mostly prevalent to the Kalahari Desert, but there are some small regions where it has spread its reach. The San Bushmen have been using hoodia for centuries to stay hunger free during long hunting expeditions. It wasn’t until recently that the benefits of hoodia were actually discovered, but lucky for the rest of the world, they were.

The ingredients in hoodia are able to trick your brain into thinking that it is full. There is a chemical process that is more complex than can be discussed in this article, but the truth is that hoodia does have the ability to help you lose weight by suppressing your appetite. The common formula is to use pure hoodia extract and encapsulate it into an easy to use supplement. Typically, 2 pills in the morning will be enough to help you start losing weight.

Now let’s talk about what hoodia isn’t. Hoodia won’t increase your metabolism, in fact if you don’t eat enough throughout the day it might actually lower your metabolism. Therefore, you need to make sure that you do eat something. Also, hoodia won’t target fat cells or anything like that. It works by simply causing you to eat less, nothing more and nothing less. Although this might sound simple, just try to imagine what it is like to try to diet. Eventually, regardless of the difficulty of the diet, you give up and start binging on all the foods you’d previously given up. This isn’t productive and is the exact reason why hoodia works. You don’t have to worry about dieting because you simply eat less naturally.

Hoodia won’t take the place of eating right and getting exercise, but it will certainly enable you to lose weight. By consuming fewer calories than you burn each day, the fat will start to slowly melt away. The key is to take the long and steady course so that the fat stays off forever. Forget about diets and hyped up diet products, hoodia is the way to lose weight that won’t come back.

Combine hoodia with healthy eating and some moderate exercise and you’ve got the recipe for creating a perfectly toned body that you’ll be ready to show off all year long. Quit using methods that don’t work and stick with something that works naturally. Hoodia is the answer to long term weight loss success.

Hoodia’s Effect on your Metabolism Rate

If you know anyone who has tried a pure source of real Hoodia Gordonii, then you may be jealous at their results right now. Perhaps you heard of a celebrity using it to to get into shape. Whatever the case, you know that initial trials have shown that Hoodia does seem to be very effective at controlling the appetite of those that take it. In fact, a trial recently showed that people on real Hoodia decreased their caloric intake by up to 1,000 calories per day within a 15 day period.

On the face of it, statistics like that definitely cause anyone who wants to lose weight to take notice. Think about it – how nice would it be if you could just pop a pill, sit back and watch the pounds melt off you? Doesn’t it seem too good to be true. If you look at the science behind how your body works, you will see that, unfortunately, it is too good to be true long term.

The reason you can’t just depend on the Hoodia comes down to a process your body goes through when it experiences a drastic reduction in calories, called your starvation response. As a human being this is a built in function of your body. Everyone has one.

Let’s dive into this a little more deeply:

Before you take your Hoodia, your body becomes used to a certain level of calories that you take on a daily basis. These calories are basically made up of the calories in the food you take, less the calories your body burns throughout the day, whether it is from running its natural processes, or from any sort of exercise you do.

When you suddenly decrease the amount of calories you consume, your body notes it. Initially it may not react, thinking it is just a one-off. That’s why you will start to lose weight in the first few weeks.

But your body is smart. It starts to adapt to the circumstances it faces. Because the circumstances for its survival have changed, it starts to change with it.

For example, back, many thousand of years ago, when we were hunter/gathers, this was the key to survival. You may hunt down a big animal, be able to feast on it for a day or two, even a week, but then have nothing substantial for days on end while you went hunting for the next kill.

When your body finds itself deprived of nutrients for an extended period of time, it slows down the burning of the nutrients and calories that it does have. It does this to give yourself the greatest chance of survival, until your next meal.

The rate at which your body burns calories is commonly called your metabolism rate. The slower your metabolism rate, the slower your body burns the stored calories you have (including fat). As your metabolism rate decreases, your body utilizes less of the calories you do take in, and stores more of it as fat.

By having an extremely low metabolism rate, our forefathers (the hunter/gatherers) were able to survive for days without eating. Their bodies were used to going into what’s called ’survival mode’ or coping with the ’starvation response’ (as I mentioned above).

So the lower your metabolism, the more calories you will store (including more fat cells), and the fewer calories you’ll burn off, no matter what activity you do.

So lets now confirm how all this relates to Hoodia, and more specifically how it changes your metabolism rate.

I hope you see here that Hoodia is going to decrease your metabolism rate, the better it works. That’s because it causes you to feel full, and so, you will most probably decrease the amount of calories you eat on a daily basis. When you do this, your body automatically responds by lowering your metabolism rate. So, now with a lower metabolism, if you overeat even a little, it means you’re going to gain weight much more quickly than you lost it. That’s a big negative.

So when you do decide to take Hoodia or any other weight loss supplement make sure you understand how it works, and how that will affect your body. You want to make healthy, effective changes that will give you a long term impact.

Do not Buy the Hoodia Patch Until You Have Read This

There is no doubt that Hoodia Gordonii is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. There is also no doubt that Hoodia is completely natural and completely safe to take…… or is it?

Hoodia is completely natural as it is a plant from the succulent family found in South Africa. This plant has been used for it’s medicinal qualities as well as being used as an appetite suppresser for thousands of years.

The old Sans bushmen of South Africa would use this plant when going on long hunting trips. They would chew the roots of the plant and it works by sending a message to the brain telling it that you are full. This way when they knew that food would be scarce for them they could suppress their appetite and they wouldn’t feel hungry.

These days scientists have done testing and trials on Hoodia and have a molecule in the plant which they called the P57 molecule. This molecule is the part of the plant that sends the signal to the brain telling it that the stomach is full.

The testing of Hoodia also found that there were no negative side effects with the product and that it is completely safe to use.

Hoodia is perfectly safe to use if……

And here is the big if…..

You make sure that the Hoodia that you buy is 100% pure Hoodia Gordonii and not a replicated product trying to sell a synthetic product under the Hoodia name. There are fake products out there just as there are with almost anything so it is important to make sure you are buying the genuine product. It is only the genuine product that has undergone testing and is sure to be safe.

Hoodia patches have not undergone testing and so they have not been proven to be safe. Even patches like nicotine patches underwent testing before they were released on the market.

So if you are considering using Hoodia to lose weight, then by all means use Hoodia as it is extremely effective but please play it safe and use the pills and not the patches, and make sure that they are 100% pure Hoodia and not a copycat pill.

Hoodia Gordonii Plus – Fast and Effective Weight Loss System

A lot of people are concerned about their weight and have tried several weight loss systems to no avail. Nowadays, there is an herb that is gaining popularity as an effective and safe way to lose weight. Hoodia gordonii plus is the herb that is gaining popularity and known to be an effective start in the weight loss program of many people.
Hoodia Gordonii Plus is known for its appetite suppressing properties. It also contains metabolism boosting properties which allow a person to lose weight safely. There are no reports of the herb containing harmful ingredients based on research. A lot of diet pills nowadays contain Hoodia gordonii but not all of them have the Hoodia gordonii plus. The plus indicates that the herb is 100% pure South African Hoodia extracted from the Kalahari desert, where it was first observed to show its appetite suppressing properties.
Not all diet pills in the market contain Hoodia gordonii plus so if you are planning to buy one which contains pure Hoodia gordonii, ask for the C.I.T.E.S certificate and the Analytical report since these documents certify that indeed the hoodia found in their products are of the plus variety. Major pharmaceutical companies are unsuccessful in developing hoodia gordonii plus due to the contested claims from the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa. Thus, you will only be able to buy Hoodia from independent distributors.
Basically Hoodia gordonii works by tricking the brain that there is enough energy or blood sugar so that it won’t feel the need to eat. This will eventually shut down the hunger mechanism. To experience the full effect of the herb, it will normally take two weeks for it to kick in. But people who have been taking it notice the appetite suppressing properties within a day of taking it. However, when you take this supplement make sure that you drink a lot of water because it will also shut off the thirst mechanism as well.
Apart from Hoodia gordonii, effective weight loss pills also have magnesium, Garcinia Cambogia extract, and Green Tea as their ingredients. Magnesium is an important nutrient that is needed by the body for blood clotting, muscle relaxation and adenosine triphosphate manufacturing. Garcinia Cambogia is a natural extract known to prevent conversion of excess calories to body fat. It also suppresses appetite by synthesizing glycogen and signal’s the brain’s hunger center that an adequate amount of food has been eaten. This extract is indeed very effective in controlling obesity and lowering cholesterol levels. Green tea, on the other hand, is a power antioxidant which lowers cholesterol levels and prevents the abnormal formation of blood clots.
It is a great discovery for medicine that such herb exists but it shouldn’t be treated as a wonder pill. Its purpose is to aid those who have trouble losing weight but effective weight loss is generally a combination of exercise and good diet. As a reminder, you should consult your doctor before taking this supplement or any other supplement for that matter.