Healthy Lifestyle Blog

Hoodia gordonii is an herb found in the Kalahari Desert. Though reported to be used by the San Bushmen of Southern Africa for a variety of uses as a medicinal plant, its use as an appetite suppressant became popular in recent years. Hoodia is able to make you feel that you are not hungry by imitating the effect of glucose on the nerve cells in the brain. It makes you feel that you are full. You lose your urge to eat. In fact, the hoodia effect is much more powerful than glucose. The San Bushmen removes the stem of hoodia, the flowers, roots and spines, and peel away the outer skin before consuming hoodia when they went for a hunt which last for about a week. This is to stifle the urge to eat and drink.

The national research laboratory of South Africa, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), was able to identify the bioactive compound. They isolated the compound along with the scientists of Phytopharm, a British firm. They called the molecule p57. Further studies and clinical trial confirmed its appetite suppressing feature, something that the San Bushmen knew and used for generations. These studies also reported that there were no side effects. This corroborated also with the fact that the Bushmen have been using hoodia for thousands of years without any problems. Obesity is a rapidly increasing problem in many countries with a higher standard of affluence. Lifestyle and food practices were the major causes for obesity. The market for products for tackling the looming obesity problem is very large. Hoodia seemed to be just the right thing for the problem. Interest in p57 suddenly skyrocketed.

Hoodia gordonii was marketed as an appetite suppressant as capsule and liquid. Combined with the extracts of green tea with its natural caffeine, niacin in the form of nicotinic acid, chromium and coca extract, hoodia is promoted as tru hoodia diet. The major hitch in meeting the demand was that hoodia gordonii was found only in the wild in Southern Africa. This was not sufficient to meet the demand of the market. With limited availability, the cost was very high. Its supply too was limited and diminishing.

There were attempts to produce p57 synthetically in the lab so that this can be produced sufficiently and cheaply. This did not succeed. Hoodia had to be from the naturally collection or cultivated. This led to over exploitation that led CITES to list it as a plant that will soon have to be declared as a threatened species. With this, hoodia became a plant that came under control and restriction with regard to its trade.

Health is an important aspect of human life. Thus, you should take care of your health.

The problem of overweight has emerged as a major health problem in the United States. Over half the above 20 population in the US is estimated to be overweight. The annual expenditure on weight loss programs is projected to cross $30 billion. At the same time, a sixth of the population of the world was facing chronic starvation and hunger. There are a number of weight loss program being promoted and tried out. They include physical exercises, shakes, dieting, specialized diet, drinks, pills, capsules, weight loss diet and surgeries.

But there has been a constant search for a more effortless way to lose weight. A natural product to suppress appetite has been always been on the look out by the overweight people. The story of Hoodia gordonii emerging from Africa created a lot of excitement for those who were looking out for an appetite suppressant.

The traditional African lives are rich in culture. Traditional remedies are an integral part of their lives often combined with religious rituals. As many as 156 medicinal plants are reported to be used to manage gynecological problems alone. Most often this traditional knowledge are documented and used by corporations and commercialized without permission from the holders of the knowledge. This is referred to as biopiracy. This has come to be condemned in recent times as unethical. South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) investigated and obtained patent for the use of Hoodia gordonii as an appetite suppressant. CSIR then sold the rights to a British company. When the issue of biopiracy regarding Hoodia was raked up, CSIR acknowledged the San people as the source of this knowledge and declared a small share in the profits. A number of Hoodia products are now sold in the market. Hoodia is combined with a few other useful ingredients. Reviews of many of these products are available in the Internet. For instance the Dex L10 Hoodia Gordonii reviews will tell you what people think about this product.

The indigenous peoples inhabit a habitat for generations and centuries interacting intensely with nature. They depend on nature for their livelihood as well for survival that they revere nature as the provider of life. From these interactions and observations, they learn about the characteristics of various species and possible uses. These are then verified through repeated experimentation or from repeated similar experiences. This knowledge is then transmitted onward to the next generation. The knowledge covers all aspects of life and living including crops, food, human and animal health and even beauty care.

Overweight is a big problem. It’s more than an issue of looking sexy because the health risks associated with obesity are much greater.