Are Hoodia Gordonii Appetite Suppressants Effective?

Hoodia gordonii appetite suppressants are relatively new to the market, and may in fact be an effective weight loss supplement.

However, most of these diet pills currently on the market will not help you lose weight, as they do not contain the active ingredient of the herb responsible for appetite control.

What is hoodia gordonii anyway?

It is a cactus-like plant that grows in the Kalahari Desert region of South Africa. The native tribe there, called the San people, have been using the plant for centuries for its medicinal benefits, including warding off hunger, thirst and pain.

The active ingredient of this plant is called P57, which is a chemical that essentially "tricks" the brain into thinking it's full, by mimicking the effects of large amounts of food (increased glucose).

In other words, this chemical causes the same sense of fullness that eating would, so you will feel full without actually eating.

The problem is, although hoodia appears to be a safe, effective supplement, most of the hoodia gordonii appetite suppressants currently on the market do not contain P57, and therefore don't help you lose weight.

This is why most of these products are probably not the best option for you.

There are a few pharmaceutical companies currently experimenting with P57, hoping to synthesize and eventually patent it. However, it will be several years before these weight loss drugs are made available to you.

Therefore, make sure you look for hoodia gordonii appetite suppressants that actually contain P57 and other proven weight loss ingredients.

**LATEST UPDATE**

Similar to many of the "miracle diet products" including acai, mangosteen and others, hoodia has generally fallen out of favor in the past few years.

Several deals with larger manufacturers have fallen through, including one between Phytopharm (owner of the rights to P57) and Unilever which would have involved wide distribution.

It appears that the scarcity of products with actual P57 coupled with lack of real scientific evidence has quelled the public's obsession with the herb's potential. Perhaps hoodia will make a comeback at some point, but it doesn't seem likely at the moment.

For more information on hoodia as well as other "miracle" weight loss herbs that have come and gone take a look at this article.

Related Articles:

Five Powerful Weight Loss Herbs

The Dangers of Losing Weight Too Fast

A Closer Look at Acai Berry

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