If you are looking for natural herbal weight loss remedies, you’ve no doubt heard of the latest craze: hoodia gordonii cactus. Hoodia gordonii is a spiny succulent that grows in the deserts of South Africa. For thousands of years, African bushmen have chewed the plant during long walking journeys in order to stave off hunger and thirst while maintaining their energy, and that’s how hoodia gordonii extract initially got its reputation for being an appetite suppressant. Hoodia gordonii was just recently introduced to the Western diet market, advertised as a virtual miracle weight loss solution. Anyone looking for a food to eat to lose weight was pointed in the direction of a hoodia supplement. There has been some backlash to the hoodia goronii miracle myth, namely from well-meaning establishments that want to shed some light on underhanded business practices centered around the marketing and distribution of hoodia. If you want help separating the fiction from the fact, read this: Hoodia gordonii cactus – ultimate weight loss solution or scam?

– Hoodia gordonii’s active ingredient, p57, has been clinically proven to suppress the appetite and drastically caloric intake by up to one thousand calories a day! Therefore, pure hoodia gordonii is an effective weight loss treatment.

– Hoodia gordonii only thrives in a specific environment, namely that of the Kalahari desert, and attempts at producing a synthetic version of p57 proved to be too costly. Therefore, to ensure hoodia gordonii safety in cultivating it without endangering it, the government’s only option was to regulate the harvesting and selling of hoodia gordonii by sanctioning their own farms in the Kalahari desert.

– The only part of the hoodia gordonii cactus that has the active weight loss compound is the heart. Many supplements that claim to have hoodia gordonii in them are actually made with the spines and skin of the plant, which does not have a high enough concentration of p57 to be effective. This is what stained hoodia’s reputation, and it can be avoided by knowing what you are buying.

Hoodia gordonii cactus supplements do work. You just have to make sure you are buying hoodia that was grown by the government in the Kalahari desert. Look for the CITES designation before you purchase your hoodia and you will be well on your way to reaping the hoodia benefits.