Between diet pills, meal replacements, low-calorie entrees, artificial sweeteners and weight-loss programs, Americans spend an estimated $55 billion a year on products that claim to help them reduce their waistlines, all the while getting heavier and heavier [1]. The latest is hoodia, contained in products such as the Apple Patch Diet, which claim to aid weight loss through suppressing the appetite.
Discovery of Hoodia
Hoodia is described as an “ugly cactus-like plant” that grows in the African Kalahari desert, thriving in extremely high temperatures and taking years to mature. The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the world’s oldest and most primitive tribes, have been eating the plant for thousands of years in order to suppress their hunger on long hunting trips [2].
The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research discovered that the plant contains a previously unknown molecule, named P57, which is believed to be responsible for curbing hunger [1].
The Council patented the molecule, and then sold the license to a British bio-pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm, to develop it. Phytopharm in turn sold the development and marketing rights to the Pfizer Corporation. Pfizer began research, but halted it only a few years later after middling lab results. Since then, Unilever (the maker of Slim-fast) has bought the license to commercialize it [3].
Is it Safe? Does it Really Work?
The big question is whether hoodia is as safe and effective as sellers claim it to be. Allison McCutcheon, a medicinal botanist at the University of British Columbia, recognizes the San’s knowledge of the plant and its effects, but is wary of how it is being marketed. “There’s an ethno-botany behind hoodia that gives you some reason to think maybe there’s something here,” she says. “On the other hand, when I look at the science, I’m amazed at the types of claims that are being made” [3].
In 2003 a BBC correspondent traveled to the Kalahari to investigate the hoodia plant. He describes how the plant staved off his hunger and that of his cameraman’s for nearly 24 hours: “we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us were full. It was a magnificent deception” [2].
Nonetheless, health experts remain unconvinced by the few studies and research done on the plant and are reluctant to accept that hoodia is either safe or effective [1]. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says a number of companies have failed to convince them that their hoodia-based products are safe, while Health Canada hasn’t approved any hoodia products for sale either [3].
Reason and Caution
When considering incorporating hoodia into your diet for weight loss, it is important to be reasonable in your expectations and cautious as to where you are buying the product. There are many suppliers who are selling untested or fake hoodia-based products in health stores and online [3].
Hoodia may not be the solution for deeper issues that lead to weight gain, such as emotional overeaters or those who eat out of boredom. Additionally, cutting food intake can actually reduce metabolism, as the body believes it is starving and preserves, rather than burns, fat stores.
Sources
1. Law, Jaclyn. "The Skinny on Hoodia." Canada.com: Body and Health- Weight Loss Management.
2. Mangold, Tom. "Sampling the Kalahari Hoodia Diet." BBC News; May 30, 2003.
3. Hawaleshka, Danylo. "Hoodia Gordonii: Appetite Suppressant Is Diet World's Newest Fad." MacLean's magazine; August 1, 2005.
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