While many ads for hoodia promote it as coming from cactus, that is technically not correct.
Hoodia comes from a succulent plant that looks somewhat like a cactus.
Hoodia is found only in the deserts of South Africa and Namibia.
The natives of these countries have been eating hoodia for generations.
Not as a main staple of their diet, but rather as a survival food.
They found that by eating a small amount of hoodia, they had no desire for food or drink.
Not feeling hungry or thirsty they were able to make the long trips across the desert in relative comfort.
Hoodia works by releasing molecules that go to the brain and trick the brain into thinking you are full.
Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes went into the desert in South Africa where her guide located some hoodia for her.
After eating it she had no desire to eat or drink for the rest of the day.
And she had no immediate side effects such as indigestion or heart palpitations.
When asked about hoodia, Stahl is quoted as saying, "I'd have to say it did work.
" A British company called Phytopharm did a blind study of hoodia using overweight people.
They were divided into two groups.
One group got a placebo, the other group got hoodia.
Both groups were told to follow their normal diet and exercise.
The hoodia group showed significant loss of body fat and their daily calorie count went down to about 1,000 calories.
Brown University Medical School did a study of hoodia using Zucker rats.
These rats are a special breed of rats that are obese and diabetic.
The result of the study showed the caloric intake of the rats feed hoodia was reduced by 30-50%.
This reduced caloric intake of course resulted in weight loss.
And some of the hoodia eating rats were no longer diabetic.
Scientific studies have shown hoodia does cause both people and animal to lose weight.
If you are trying to lose weight, why not give hoodia a try.