hoodia gordonii | Hoodia Safety

Hoodia Safety


Just how safe is hoodia really? We know it can be a helpful weight loss or diet tool when taken in combination with an exercise regime and key dietary change, but it isn’t a magical weight loss tablet. Taken by itself, hoodia (yes, even the pure or real hoodia) doesn’t have the ability to make you look in shape or slim, even though there is no doubt it can help you in that direction if you are prepared to keep fit and eat the right things.

Authentic hoodia has an extensive safety range, especially when you compare it to certain other pharmaceuticals that are available out there. The plant is classes as a succulent, not a type of drug, and if you have chewed on various cacti before, you know that the taste is dreadful but it certainly won’t make you ill. There could be some exceptions to this, particularly with some poisonous succulents, however hoodia is definitely not one of them. You must also remember that people of the San tribe have been chewing on it for generations! Native usage of plants and herbs is essentially a good sign of continuing safety, this despite the fact that conventional medications ignore such cultural proof.

In the nineties, the CSIR (the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) in the continent of Africa carried out a study of the different food the Bushmen consumed. They did tests on various natural food types, mainly to make certain that the foods being consumed were non-toxic. When the Hoodia Gordonii plant was tested, they first tried animal tests (rats) in order to determine if the plant was safe or toxic.

The CSIR came up with some fascinating results after the animal testing concluded. Hoodia Gordonii was non- toxic. Not only that but it also seemed to cause the test rats to lose weight! By 1997, an ingredient named P57 was isolated by the CSIR and this is the ingredient that is responsible for this weight loss.

Their results cemented the way for the so-called Hoodia Gordonii Cactus Diet, introduced to the world in 2004. This is a diet though that is not really such a new notion, as rather an older idea made easier. Since this plant, which appears cactus-style, is a vegetable anyway, it is considered 100% healthy and safe. The plant was consumed by Bushmen during lengthy journeys into the desert to stave off hunger.