How Hoodia Balance Works

Hoodia gordonii (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is also calledhoodia, xhooba, khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, and SouthAfrican desert cactus. Hoodia is acactus that’s causing astir for its ability to suppress appetite and promoteweight loss.60 Minutes, ABC, and the BBC have all done stories onhoodia.

Hoodia gordonii can be found in the semi-deserts of South Africa,Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. Hoodia grows in clumps of greenupright stems andis actually a succulent, not a cactus.

It takes about 5 years beforehoodia’s pale purple flowers appearand the cactus can be harvested. Althoughthere are 20 typesof hoodia, only the hoodia gordonii variety is believed tocontainthe natural appetite suppressant.

Although hoodia was"discovered" relatively recently, the SanBushmen of the Kalahari desert havebeen eating it for a very longtime. The Bushmen, who live off the land, wouldcut off part of thehoodia stem and eat it to ward off hunger and thirst duringnomadic hunting trips. They also used hoodia for severeabdominal cramps,hemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion,hypertension and diabetes.

In1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen notedthat they usedhoodia to suppress appetite. But it wasn’t until1963 when scientists at theCouncil for Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), South Africa’s nationallaboratory, beganstudying hoodia. Initial results were promising — lab animalslost weight after taking hoodia.

The South African scientists, workingwith a British company named Phytopharm, isolated the active ingredient inhoodia, a steroidal glycoside, which they named p57. After getting a patent in1995, they licensed p57 to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20million on hoodia research.

How does Hoodia Balancework?
Simply put, the brain is tricked into thinking there is enoughenergy (blood sugar) and doesn’t need to eat, so it shuts down the hungermechanism.

How long does Hoodia Balance
take to work?
Theconsensus is that hoodia can take up to 1 to 2 weeks to kick in, however, manypeople notice the appetite suppressing effects within 1/2 hour of taking a doseof hoodia.

How to take Hoodia Balance?
An hour beforea meal with a glass of water. Ensure adequate water intake, because hoodia willalso shut off your thirst mechanism.

Side effects of Hoodia Balance?
There are no published reports of any side effects after use ofhoodia.