Weightloss: The latest diet miracle from the african desert tricks your brain into thinking you're full

The weight loss industry has a new rising star. Its called hoodia gordonii. And its no wonder hoodia is getting so much attention. Apparently its a non-stimulant that induces weight loss by taking away the feeling of hunger without limiting food intake, changing the diet, or adding an exercise regimen. It tricks your brain into thinking youre full so you eat less.

But its not just your brain that can be tricked when it comes to hoodia. In preparing this story, we learned that a number of hoodia products do not contain the only variety of the plant shown to suppress your appetite. Luckily, there are some sure-fire ways to know youre getting the real thing. For a guaranteed hoodia gordonii product, try Hoodia Supreme, available for the first time in the UK.

Weightloss: Native food turned modern appetite suppressant

For thousands of years, hoodia gordonii has been a native food of the San tribesmen in the South African Kalahari Desert. In an interview with ABC News, Andries Steenkamp, a spokesman for the San people, said, I learned how to eat it from my forefathers. It is my food, my water and also a medicine for me. He also said, We San use the plant during hunting to fight off the pain of hunger and thirst.

The awareness of hoodia gordonii as a traditional food stems back to the 1930s when a Dutch anthropologist discovered the use of it during the Sans long hunting trips. But hoodias potential as an appetite suppressant didnt become clear until the 1990s when South Africas National Laboratory tested it as part of a study of indigenous foods. As part of the screening process, extracts of plants were made and tested for toxic effects. The scientists isolated a molecule they called P57 and found that it caused a decrease in appetite and body weight in laboratory animals and the decrease didnt appear to be due to any sort of toxic effect.

Weightloss: Mind games

Typically, when you eat, your body produces glucose, which sends a signal to the hypothalamus indicating when youre full. Hoodia appears to act the same way, but the P57 molecule is almost 10,000 times stronger than glucose. So even when you only eat small amounts of food, your body thinks its full.

Scientists at the Brown University Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, conducted a series of experiments to discover how P57 worked in the brain to produce the feeling of fullness. They injected minuscule amounts of P57 directly into the brains of normal, healthy rats. In multiple trials with the injected rats, food intake was reduced by 50 to 60 per cent during the first 24 hours after the injections, and the effect lasted for about 24 to 48 hours.1

The researchers determined that P57 appears to increase ATP (energy-carrying molecule found in the cells of all living things) levels in the hypothalamus. In the rats that were fed a normal diet, they found that injecting the brain with P57 increased the hypothalamic ATP (energy) levels two-fold as compared with controls. Since ATP is created in the body by the metabolism of food, it would seem that less food should result in less ATP unless some other factor temporarily stimulates increased production of ATP. And apparently thats what P57 does. When these underfed rats brains were injected with P57, their hypothalamic ATP levels rose to about normal. On the other hand, the ATP levels in the control rats remained low.2

In 2001, Phytopharm, the biopharmaceutical company that owned the license for the P57 extract, completed a very small double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study in 18 overweight but otherwise healthy volunteers, using an extract of hoodia gordonii. Large doses of extract caused a statistically significant reduction in the average daily calorie intake. In addition, researchers also observed a statistically significant reduction in body fat content as compared to the placebo group after two weeks.3

In 2003, BBC-2 news correspondent Tom Mangold reported on his own experience with hoodia during a trip to Africa. He said, At about 6 p.m., I ate [a piece of hoodia] about half a banana size, and later so did my cameraman. Soon after, we began the drive back to Capetown. The plant is said to have a feel-good, almost aphrodisiac quality, and I have to say, we felt good. But more significantly, we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception. Dinnertime came and went. We reached our hotel at about midnight and went to bed without food. And the next day, neither of us wanted nor ate breakfast. I ate lunch but without appetite and very little pleasure. Partial then full appetite returned slowly after 24 hours.4

Weightloss: More than just a weight loss pill

Deb Vickery, a representative at Stella Labs, an established US supplier of hoodia gordonii, suggests that perhaps the biggest benefits will be seen in the morbidly obese, whose weight problem is compounded by depression. Many people experience a feel-good effect with the native plant in its natural form. Vickery says it gives you an overall sense of well-being.

And as if thats not enough, imagine feeling good, controlling your weight, and reversing diabetes. Obesity and type 2 diabetes go hand-in-hand, and weight loss in obese individuals tends to reverse the symptoms of diabetes. So if hoodia can help you decrease your weight, it may help you control type 2 diabetes as well. Two papers published a few years ago claimed that hoodia produced modest decreases in blood glucose in both lean and obese (but nondiabetic) rats.5 Although the jury is still out on this, any degree of reversal of diabetes is positive.

Weightloss: Is hoodia all its cracked up to be?

The science behind hoodia seems to be very promising, but the problem is that many products are not the real deal. Laboratory tests conducted by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals in Costa Mesa, California, US, show that approximately two-thirds of the tested hoodia supplements contained no identifiable hoodia gordonii.6

While it seems cut and dry to establish if a product contains hoodia gordonii, it is infinitely more involved to establish the value of the hoodia gordonii in the ones that do. First, even though there are about 20 species in the hoodia family, hoodia gordonii is the only species with the natural appetite suppressant. Second, laboratories have different testing methods and therefore come to different conclusions as to bioactive molecules and purity standards. This can lead to conflicting results.  

Weightloss: Put your hoodia product under the microscope

If you want to try hoodia, here are a few pointers to determine if its the real thing. First, check to see if it was legally exported out of Africa. Exportation of hoodia from the regions of Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe has been outlawed by the governments in those places, and the only legally exported hoodia gordonii must be grown and manufactured in South Africa. If it was, it should have a Certificate of Origin detailing that it is indeed out of Africa. It should also have a permit by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

CITES enforces an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade involving specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It also helps ensure that all harvest operations and trade of hoodia plant material are controlled at an international level in order to conserve indigenous plant populations within South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.

The product that we mentioned earlier, Hoodia Supreme, carries this CITES seal on the front of its label. If you are looking at other hoodia products, and you cant find the seal on the label, you should call the manufacturer and verify that they have the CITES approval and after and after relevant documentation for their product.

But be careful, some CITES permits may be false. Mike Adams, known as the Health Ranger, conducted an extensive investigation into the hoodia phenomenon as reported on NewsTarget.com. In a report called Diet Pill Supplement Scam: Two-Thirds of hoodia gordonii Pills Sold in the United States Are Counterfeit, he says, Not surprisingly, some web sites are counterfeiting the CITES certificates with help from Photo-shop. By photo-editing the certificate found on DesertBurn.com or some other website, they can create their own genuine-looking CITES certificate, even though their hoodia remains counterfeit. A real CITES certificate will clearly show the name of the importer and exporter for the hoodia. A fake CITES certificate will usually have these whited out.7

However, if you visit the manufacturer of Hoodia Supreme, Natures Benefits website, www.hoodiasupreme.com, you may wonder why they have some information blacked out. Vickery at Stella Labs, whose company supplies the hoodia, indicated that parts are blacked out because Stella Labs does not publicly disclose information that would lead others to its original source for fear that others may approach that source and outbid Stella Labs for the right to export. This sounds logical, but still, it has made a lot of people doubt the validity of the Stella Labs products.

Craig Payton, managing director of Stella Labs, said, Ingredient suppliers and distributors worldwide were scrambling to sign deals. Id say we got lucky, but three years ago, we saw it coming [and] we had the contacts in place to make it happen. 

According to Vickery, the weight-to-yield ratio on the product is another way to spot counterfeit hoodia products. She said, We are talking about succulents. Hoodia gordonii has a weight-to-yield ratio of 20:1 all hoodia gordonii. So products claiming varying ratios are most likely misleading you. 

Weightloss: What to take for best results

The recommended dose for Hoodia Supreme is one to two capsules per day with an 8oz. glass of water.

Since hoodia is a food product, it has no reported incidences of overdosing or of negative cumulative effects. But you should not take this product if you are pregnant (and it is not recommended for children). Allergic reactions may occur, as with all plant material. Reduced calorie intake can also affect the control of diabetes mellitus. Before trying this product, you need to speak to your doctor to make sure that this product is appropriate for you to take. You should only use hoodia under their guidance.

Sources:

1. Brain Research 2004;1020:1-11
2. ibid
3. Phytopharm 12/05/01 Hoodia gordonii fact file
4. Mangold, Tom. Sampling  the Kalahari cactus diet. BBC Twos Correspondent; May 2003
5. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 2001;7;15(4):A404
6. Diet pill supplement scam: two thirds of Hoodia Gordonii pills sold in the United States are counterfeit, News Target, 8/30/05
7. ibid