By Louise Murray
The South African Cactus extract, called Hoodia Gordonii, is now relatively well known as an appetite suppressant and is even used by celebrities such as Teri Hatcher who are trying to keep trim for TV.
However, the Hoodia extract, which is normally taken in pill form, has now been put into transdermal patches making it even more effective.
The P57 molecule in Hoodia extract has been found in published research to reduce appetite by up to 1,000 calories a day after just 15 days. This double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study carried out on overweight, but otherwise healthy volunteers also showed a statistically significant reduction in body fat content after the 15 days.
Hoodia works by fooling your brain into thinking you are full. The hypothalamus is the part of your brain which receives nervous messages about glucose sugar levels. When you eat, the food causes your blood sugar levels to increase and this message is relayed back to your hypothalamus which then lets your body know that you are full. The P57 molecule from Hoodia is 10,000 times stronger than glucose and causes the hypothalamus to fire the same ‘blood sugar increase’ messages as glucose, thus fooling the body into believing it is full when no food has actually been eaten.
The Hoodia plant is found deep inside the African Kalahari desert and thrives in extremely high temperatures and takes years to mature.The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the world's oldest and most primitive African tribes, have been eating the Hoodia plant for thousands of years, to stave off hunger during long hunting trips into the desert.
Last updated: 16 June 2006
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