Hoodia Gordonii Central
Facts, Advice & Opinions about Hoodia Gordoni
Phytopharm's Hoodia GordoniiPhytopharm's hoodia gordonii is the product whose release many people are eagerly waiting for. In the meantime, the natural supplements market continues to sell their hoodia products to much fanfare.
On this page we will discuss what phytopharm hoodia gordonii is and distinguish it from the products being sold over the Internet currently.
First, before we talk about the natural products being sold, let's talk about Phytopharms hoodia gordonii.
Phytopharm Hoodia InformationPhytopharm is a british based pharmaceutical company that has the patented rights to develop a product that "...is botanically verified to contain pure Hoodia gordonii and has quantified levels of the chemical constituents that produce the anti-obesity effects." That quote itself comes directly from phytopharm's website.
It's important to cover a bit of background that will help our understanding: a molecule that was named p57 was discovered in the hoodia gordonii plant. This molecule p57 is the active constitutent of the plant that is responsible for its anti-obesity effects -- those anti-obesity effects are its hunger killing properties.
Also at Phytopharm's website they state: "Importantly, only Phytopharm's Hoodia gordonii product has had extensive safety studies performed and been clinically proven to reduce calorie intake and body fat."
Now, let's parse these statements from Phytopharm's website to make sense of them.
What the first statement means is that only Phytopharm can extract, isolate, purify, or alter the anti-obesity p57 molecule (because of their patent protection) and sell it in a product.
This begs the logical question: if only Phytopharm has the patent to p57, does this mean that all of the other hoodia products on the market don't work?
The answer is: not necessarily.
Here's why: although the active ingredient p57 is patented, a naturally occurring molecule itself cannot be patented. What can be patented is a naturally occurring molecule that has been altered or purified or isolated.
This mean sound a little confusing but if you give it a little thought it will quickly make sense.
What this means for all practical purposes is that as long as a hoodia product contains real hoodia, it should also contain the active anti-obesity constituent anyway -- what Phytopharm calls p57 -- because genuine hoodia supplements are made from the plant itself.
In fact, companies who sell hoodia non-prescription supplements will often make the argument that the San Bushmen who first discovered hoodia gordonii and have been eating it for thousands of years to kill hunger eat much of the plant (after cutting the stem and peeling it). So their argument is that a supplement version of this (which is ground up hoodia gordonii plant) would be closer to the way the Sans Bushmen consume it as opposed to taking isolated or purified Phytopharm's hoodia gordonii.
But it's important to remember that just because a natural hoodia gordonii product may, in fact, contain the active ingredient in it, the company cannot claim it has quantifiable levels of p57 or that their product has been proven as a weight loss aid. You are just left to presume it does if it contains real hoodia.
These companies also cannot claim their products have had extensive safety testing. Because they haven't. But their argument is: if the Sans Bushmen have been eating it for thousands of years without side effects, then it's probably very safe.
In our opinion, however, although it's good news that there doesn't appear to be any adverse side effects experienced by the Sans Bushmen from eating hoodia gordonii, this doesn't necessarily mean its necessarily safe for everyone, nor does it mean the supplements made from it are safe.
Bottomline: if you want to try one of the hoodia products that is not Phytopharm's hoodia gordonii then you should do so knowing that you are assuming certain risks.
It seems to us that if one wants to try a hoodia product that is not Phytopharms hoodia gordonii, the most important thing to look for is a product that has been independently tested to contain actual hoodia gordonii in it -- or certified to only contain 100% pure South African Hoodia from the Kalahari Desert, where it grows natively.
The fact is that hoodia gordonii is a very rare plant with a long maturation time measured in years. This limits the supply of the real stuff, thereby making it expensive (since the demand is also high).
And like anything of this nature, there are probably many unscrupulous manufacturers of hoodia products that don't even contain any real hoodia gordonii.
On the other hand, one could wait for Phytopharm's hoodia gordonii product to hit the market, but understandably many people don't want to wait.
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"...we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception." -- Tom Mangold, BBC Correspondent
"I'd have to say [Hoodia Gordonii] did work." -- Leslie Stahl from 60 Minutes, commenting on Hoodia Gordonii's appetite suppressing effects.
"Can a cactus plant be a magic bullet for dieters? Prickly bush in the Kalahari Desert could be key to weight-loss success...Could a plant from South Africa be the weight-loss secret that could help millions of overweight Americans slim down? NBC News correspondent Janet Shamlian talks about the possible magic pill we've all been waiting for." - NBC Today Show Spot
"It's very different from diet stimulants like Ephedra and Phenfen that are now banned because of dangerous side effects. Hoodia doesn't stimulate at all. Scientists say it fools the brain by making you think you're full, even if you've eaten just a morsel" - Correspondent Lesley Stahl for 60 minutes
"The hoodia plant in the Kalahari Desert could become the newest weapon in the war against obesity"
-- CBS News Report
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