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Hoodia: Is the Kalahari Diet Pill the Biggest Scam of the 21st Century?
There appears to be a renewed interest in Hoodia diet pills. Along with Acai berries and green tea from the Wu-Yi region in China, Hoodia seems to be yet another weight loss gimmick that is not actually founded on any scientific evidence. However, there really may be more to it, so before we declare Hoodia another weight loss scam, lets examine the evidence and determine if the rise of the Hoodia diet pill / cactus diet over the last decade is justified.
The active ingredient in the Hoodia cactus was discovered by western scientists very recently. However, the plant has been used by Kalahari tribesmen for generations, possibly thousands of years, as a means to ward off hunger during long hunting trips. The Hoodia cactus thrives in extremely high temperatures and takes many years to mature. Its flowers smell like rotten meat and are pollinated mainly by flies. It is surprising that anyone ever decided to sample the flesh from this cactus.
Hoodia has no known side effects, other than its possible appetite reducing effect. This makes it an ideal weight loss aid, if used responsibly. The active ingredient in Hoodia is a previously unknown chemical, which the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research named P57 in 1977. British bio-pharmaceutical company Phytopharm bought the rights to Hoodia, and started working on developing it as a weight loss pill. They then sold the development and marketing rights to the giant Pfizer Corporation who took over development. The deal allowed Phytopharm to develop semi-synthetic variants of t he drug by itself while Pfizer developed botanical versions, Pfizer released the rights to the primary ingredient in 2002. This may come as a surprise now, considering the huge market that Hoodia now represents. It has been suggested that for Pfizer to release something dealing with obesity they must have believe that there was no merit to its oral use. Pfizer states that development on P57, the active ingredient of hoodia, was stopped due to the difficulty of synthesizing P57. Jasjit Bindra, lead researcher for hoodia at Pfizer, states there were indications of unwanted effects on the liver caused by other components, which could not be easily removed from the supplement, adding;
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“Clearly, hoodia has a long way to go before it can earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Until safer formulations are developed, dieters should be wary of using it.” Jasjit Bindra, Hoodia specialist, Pfizer.
However, the obstacles seem to have been overcome, as Hoodia, in many forms, is now widely available.
How Does Hoodia Work?
In 2003 Phytopharm were still convinced of its effectiveness, and described the process:
There is a part of your brain, the hypothalamus. Within that mid-brain there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar. When you eat, blood sugar goes up because of the food, these cells start firing and now you are full. What the Hoodia seems to contain is a molecule that is about 10,000 times as active as glucose. It goes to the mid-brain and actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you were full. But you have not eaten. Nor do you want to.” Dr Richard Dixey, Phytopharm, 2003.
So Hoodia works simply by tricking the brain into thinking that you are not hungry at all. In one non-scientific study of people taking Hoodia, subjects ate on average 35% less than normal, which is a significant reduction in daily calorific intake. Certainly enough to trigger weight loss. However, there is still no published scientific evidence that hoodia works as an appetite suppressant in humans (observations and studies are not the same as scientifically proven results). Although there are more reports now strengthening the case for Hoodia, some medical weight loss experts remain sceptical and do not recommend hoodia to obese patients.
Marketing of Hoodia and Internet Spam
A lack of scientific evidence or regulatory approval have not stopped companies from marketing Hoodia gordonii with claims that it can lower blood pressure and reduce the appetite. Many companies have even claimed that celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey vouch for the effectiveness of Hoodia. However, the original article that appeared in a magazine in 2005 only mentions that Hoodia may be a tool for aiding weight loss, as it is used by the Kalahari tribesmen. There is not actually any evidence of Oprah Winfrey endorsing its use, or even actually ever using it.
Hoodia Today
In November 2008 Unilever pulled out of deal with Phytopharm to continue commercial development of Hoodia. Reasons have not been disclosed. However, it could indicate that scientific trials have proved inconclusive, simply meaning that it may not be a wonder drug for obesity after all.
Hoodia gordonii products are currently being marketed in a variety of formats to include: capsules, tablets, liquid tinctures, coffee and infusions, syrups, protein shakes and even diet fruit bars.
Whether you chose to try Hoodia is up to you. But be warned, like Acai berries and Green Tea, there is still no firm evidence that it will help you to lose weight. Hoodia could well prove to be one of the biggest diet scams of the 21st Century, driven almost entirely by internet spam.
Some people are proclaiming Hoodia to have ever increasing benefits, which include:
- Increase energy
- Have a aphrodisiac quality
- Cure hangovers
- Control appetite
- Reduce blood pressure
- Fight Cancer
- Stop the ageing process
It seems that no matter how little scientific evidence is found for supporting the health benefits of Hoodia, people continue to peddle it online. If it really was a perfect diet pill with no side effects, then it would have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and be available on prescription by now. However, it is not. Still the advice for obese and overweight patients is to eat a calorie controlled diet and exercise.
If you wish to try it for yourself, Hoodia Gordonii, Hoodia tea and Hoodia capsules are available from Musclesurf and Holland and Barrett. Be warned, as some celebrity websites are claiming that it has caused some people to lose too much weight. However, there are conditions called anorexia an bulimia which could explain the unhealthy weight loss experienced by some celebs. Blaming a pill could just be a sign that they are living in denial of their condition.
Further scams:
- Wuyi Green Tea – A Likely Weight Loss Con
- The Truth About Acai and Natural Weight Loss
Just because it appeared on Oprah Winfry’s show does not mean that Green tea works. Is it a con? Make up your own mind, but read this article before buying WuYi “weight loss” tea.
Is the humble Acai berry another diet wonder pill, or is it just another marketing con?
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I would just like to say that back 2004 I saw the documentary,”the anti-fat pill and the bushmen”, this is where i first heard of hoodia. I immediately looked it up online and ordered some, it was quite expensive and came directly from South Africa. within a day or two I noticed that I had more energy, felt better, and less food cravings. I did lose weight but it was short lived because I could not afford to buy more. in 2006 or ‘07, I can’t recall exactly I tried to buy more, this time it was quite difficult to figure out which company to buy from etc.. the price was still expensive but I tried it again anyway. i did not have the same results. the reason I think is that the strength isn’t as strong and/or there are fillers, whatever it was it wasn’t the same stuff. now I am completely sceptical of anything that says it has hoodia in it.
Thanks Natalie, it is good to hear some first hand experience of the product. Very sensible to be sceptical now. Maybe the same applies to the likes of Acai and Green Tea (or as German scientists have recently revealed, White Tea).
Advertising rules are certainly lacking in some countries, so even the slightest trace of a product allows a company to claim it “contains” ingredient X.