Hoodia is a Succulent botanical and is part of the Genus: Trichocaulon and belongs to the Family Name: Asclepiadaceae. There are approximately twenty plants within the Hoodia genus family, however, Hoodia Gordonii is the unique plant that South African San bushmen have used for generations to endure long hunting expeditions.

Hoodia (or Hoodia Gordonii) is a South African dwelling plant that the San bushman have used to help endure long hunting expeditiions for generations. Hoodia Gordonii is actually a succulent not to be confused with a cactus. It belongs in the succulent family of Asclepiadaceae along with stapelia, stephanotis and vinca. There are approximately 20 species in the genus of Asclepiadaceae. As it grows it forms stemmed clumps approximately one foot high and bears, pale purple saucer-shaped flowers in shades of red or purple brown.

Hoodia enhances your mood therefore you will not become irritable or weak while you are on the program. The San Tribe could go without food for 24 hours after eating Hoodia, and in the same process hunt for food in the harsh Kalahari desert. It is therefore also known to maintain a high energy level.

One of the active ingredients in the herb is a chemical compound called P57, which is thought to be at least partly responsible for the appetite-suppressing effects of hoodia gordonii. But this is probably an oversimplification, since herbs typically work with an assortment of chemical compounds, not just one chemical.

So you've bought a supply of hoodia, and now you want to know how to use it. To cover this, There are experience in using hoodia for weight loss. The optimal way is taking hoodia tincture every morning and afternoon. Easy enough, right?

When you eat hoodia, the saying goes, your hunger will simply be gone -- gone -- for around six hours. During those six hours, you won't crave anything. You really won't want to eat at all. The food still smells good, as usual, and they taste the same if you eat them, but you don't want to eat them! At least that's what the hoodia advocates claim will happen.

Your body creates the illusion of hunger even when you're not really needing calories. And your body, like mine, doesn't know when to turn it off.

The hunger signal is only turned off when your hypothalamus thinks you've eaten enough food. Your hypothalamus -- part of your body's endocrine system -- decides this by sensing the rise of sugar (glucose) in your blood. Eat enough carbohydrates, and your blood sugar rises, which convinces your hypothalamus to tell your brain that you're no longer hungry.

Normally, to get your hypothalamus to turn off the hunger switch, you'd have to eat a moderate amount of food. And your hypothalamus isn't very quick on the draw either: it takes around 20 minutes to figure out what you've eaten, and by that time, you've probably eaten another 800 calories. So by the time your hunger signal gets turned off, you've already overeaten yet again.

Consuming hoodia is surprisingly simple: slice off a piece of the succulent, peel off the thorns, and just start chewing on it. You don't even need to swallow it. The taste is rather bitter by most Americans' palettes, but after several minutes of chewing, you've already started absorbing the chemical. Guess what? Your hunger is vanishing with each passing moment.

The San Tribesmen, the original discovers of the plant, also say it makes you feel stronger, more energetic, and more focused. Nobody complains of any side effects whatsoever, and the plant has been chewed for literally thousand of years by various generations of the San, with no ill effects known whatsoever.

As far as scientists know, there are no negative side-effects. The local san, whose ancestors have been using the plant for thousands of years, claim that there are no negative side effects. So Hoodia can be used in conjunction with prescription medications.

There are no known adverse side effects as a result of taking Hoodia in conjunction with prescription medications and other herbal supplements. However, if you are presently using any prescription medication and are under the care of a physician, you should always consult your physician before taking any supplement medication.

The quickness and degree of results will vary depending on the frequency of use and other factors. However, you should start to see the beginning of the weight loss process within two weeks. Please note that the same as with any weight loss supplement, better results will be realized when taken in conjunction with a healthy diet and reasonable exercise.

Hoodia Gordonii is a plant - a leafless succulent. Not a Cactus nor a Herb. In South Africa Hoodia Gordonii is classified as a foodstuff, which is testimony to how safe the product really is.

There are 13 species of Hoodia which are native to Southern Africa but ONLY ONE variety - the "Gordonii" has the needed natural ingredients for weight loss. If you purchase the cheap imitation products sold by people out of their garage that you see on EBAY, and in the Google and Yahoo ads you will NOT have the results shown on the Personal Diet Results pages. Folks I have been through this over and over - read about the nineteen companies that have sent me Hoodia Gordonii Cactus products to test and how only a couple of them really work.

So buying hoodia is very difficult. It's expensive. And, naturally, there are a lot of fakes on the market. Even now, there are only a few hundred acres of hoodia growing on commercial farms, and the plant is highly susceptible to being wiped out by rather mysterious conditions.

Hooray for Hoodia! I lost 5 lbs in eleven days. Three family members including myself have learnt a great deal about Hoodia. It appears that the San tribe did not reveal all, especially the benefits for men, if you know what I mean - S.A - (USA)

After years of careful research, scientists isolated several compounds in this all-natural food that was responsible for dramatic weight loss, P57, which has been widely reported, is but one of several chemical compounds found in the Hoodia succulent. Not only was it proven completely safe, it contains no stimulates that could contribute to the jittery feeling associated with weight loss products of the last decade.

Mass global interest has been shown for Hoodia since Pfizer, the international pharmaceutical giant, started to research Hoodia's potential to help people with obesity. Pfizer recently discovered Hoodia and decided to invest millions into researching the plants benefits as a new drug that would help with obesity. The research published by this company has catapulted Hoodia into the international spotlight.

To be eligible for export to the USA and all other nations, Hoodia farmers must obtain a C.I.T.E.S. certificate which is issued on a per export-shipment basis.

The Hoodia Gordonii plant originated in the southwestern part of Africa and grows best in the semi-arid areas of South Africa primarily the Kalahari. In its native habitat it is extremely difficulty to identify because it looks similar to succulents of the same family of which there are many. Only an experienced botanist or as the case in South Africa with Hoodia Gordonii a San people can identify the plant prior to it's blooming.

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