Hoodia for Weight Loss

A natural weight loss product called Hoodia has enjoyed recent popularity. It comes from the plant Hoodia gordonii. This plant is also called Kalahari cactus and Xhoba. It grows in the arid Kalahari on the border of South Africa and Nambia. A native people called the Xhomani bushmen or San people have been using the plant on hunting trips for thousands of years to reduce their sense of hunger and thirst. An organization called the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa began investigating this phenomenon. In 2003, the CSIR reached an agreement with the San people to share in royalties from the sale of drug products derived from Hoodia gordonii. In 1997, the CSIR approached Phytopharm, a British company which develops drugs from plants, about collaborating on developing the active ingredient. Phytopharm has subsequently sold licenses to Pfizer and Unilever. However, it is currently marketed by other companies as a natural product to curb appetite and aid in weight loss.The chemical isolated from Hoodia gordonii that is believed to cause appetite suppression is P57AS3, or more commonly called just P57. It comes from dried extracts of the plant's sap. Studies on rats, mice, and dogs have shown that P57 causes weight loss with little side effects. Research has lead scientists to believe that it increases the naturally occurring chemical ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) in an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus has a number of functions, mainly dealing with the regulation of hormones and other body processes. ATP is basically the fuel on which our bodies run. If ATP is low in the hypothalamus, the brain may sense that the body is low on energy and needs to eat. If ATP can be kept high, the brain may decide that the body has plenty of energy and does not need to eat. This mechanism is just a theory at this point, and more research needs to be done.Phytopharm has done some initial research on humans. It has examined the safety and tolerability of P57. One very small study on 19 overweight men that lasted only 15 days showed that P57 caused a 30% decrease in the amount of calories they ate as well as a weight loss of 1 kg (2.2 lbs). However, these data have not been peer reviewed in scientific journals.Hoodia does seem to offer some promise to a new and relatively safe diet pill. Any therapy that has few or no side effects and is effective in helping people lose weight is a much welcomed drug. The research is still new, and there is much more that needs to be done to understand the effects of the P57 compound. Even in light of the positive outlook, it must be remembered that drugs and most all supplements seem to have side effects. Much of the time, it takes several years for side effects to become apparent. Natural products can have potentially devastating consequences. As an example, Ephedra was banned by the FDA because it was linked to heart attacks, strokes, death, etc. One must be careful about taking any supplement because of this. Products marketed as natural supplements are not subject to the same scrutiny of safety and effectiveness as drugs. With this caution, hopefully, researchers will use Hoodia gordonii to develop a safe and effective weight loss medicine.

Adding Acai Berry Supplements to Your Diet

Supplements & Vitamins

Supplements & Vitamins