It is not surprising that Hoodia Gordonii has become increasingly popular in recent years. Progress has not only ushered in developments in technology and increasing standards of living but also the availability and easy access to a wide variety of food, whether healthy or unhealthy. For this reason, obesity has become a problem to many and has sometimes been characterized as an epidemic in certain parts of the world. Thus, losing weight is a goal for most people these days, even for those who are in their ideal weight and who want to maintain that weight and stay healthy. This is an area where Hoodia Gordonii might be of great help.
Hoodia Gordonii is a Latin name of a succulent plant that grows in the arid and semi-desert areas of South America, Namibia and Angola. Its other names include hoodia, xhooba and South African desert cactus. It has clumps of green stems and resembles a cactus in appearance. It can be harvested only after its pale purple flowers appear which takes approximately five years. The unique characteristic of this plant was discovered in 1937 when a Dutch anthropologist found that the San tribesmen from the Kalahari Desert have been using it to suppress their appetite for thousands of years. Today, Hoodia, as it is more popularly called, is marketed as a diet pill without side effects.
How does Hoodia work as a diet pill? According to scientists who have done research on the plant, it fools the brain by making a person think that he is full, even if he has eaten only a morsel of food. When a person eats, the glucose level in his body rises. As this happens, the gland that controls the appetite, called the Hypothalamus, signals the brain that he is full. Hoodia works by copying the effect that glucose has on the brain; thus, it is able to suppress appetite because when it signals the brain to eat less, the person does indeed eats less.
Hoodia's immense popularity was demonstrated when 60 Minutes, an investigative television newsmagazine on CBS news, sent its reporter to Africa to try it herself. According to reports that she made, it had no after effects in the form of funny taste, queasy stomach and heart palpitations. More importantly, she declared that she was not hungry all day and did not feel any hunger pangs during mealtimes. Further, she did not feel the desire to eat or drink throughout the day. Her reports attest that the claimed effects of Hoodia Gordonii are indeed true.
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