Hoodia For Weight Loss - Important Advice And Review

Hoodia is a cactus-like plant which one can find growing mainly in the semi-desert regions of Botswana, Angola, South Africa and Namibia.

In the past few years it has become immensely popular as a weight loss product. Its popularity comes from claims that the San Bushmen who live in the Kalahari Desert relied on it solely to stave off their hunger and thirst during their long and arduous hunting trips. They were believed to have cut off the stem and eat this bitter-tasting plant with no side effects for hundreds of years.

There are more than thirteen kinds of hoodia on the market today. The only active ingredient that has been identified so far is a steroidal glycoside called p57. It is thought that only the gordonii cactus actively contains this ingredient.

Today its by-products are sold in powder, capsule, tea or liquid form in health food stores, in major super stores such as WalMart and on a select group of websites on the internet.

There is a manufacturer called Phytopharm which cites a clinical trial that involved eighteen human volunteers. This study revealed that those taking the product reduced their food intake by about 1,000 calories each day and lost weight safely.

There have also been many widespread reports of products that are counterfeit. It has been estimated that approximately 80% of all products on the market today are either contaminated or counterfeit. For this reason it is absolutely essential that you purchase a product that can prove that it contains Hoodia Gordonii and can vouch for its authenticity with Certificates of Authenticity.