Hoodia Gordonii is probably one of the most talked about weight loss supplements available today. One reason for this is that a number of studies have proven Hoodia Gordonii as an effective and powerful diet supplement.

Studies show that Hoodia Gordonii contains potent substances that not only efficiently suppress your appetite so you don’t feel hungry, but will increase your energy level so you don’t feel tired and sluggish while you’re dieting. Additionally, it will improve your body’s ability to metabolize fat more effectively so that weight loss can occur more quickly.

Another benefit of Hoodia Gordonii is that it is an all-natural plant product and has no known side effects.

However, while Hoodia Gordonii has enjoyed a wide amount of successes with dieters, many unscrupulous companies have surfaced to take advantage of the success that Hoodia receives.

The primary reason for this lies in economics. At approximately $350 per kilo, the business of selling Hoodia Gordonii offers lucrative returns for companies selling this highly sought after product. Additionally, in the United States alone, about $300 billion a year is spent on weight loss and obesity. It is clear, therefore, that many consumers may be desperate to find a product to help them lose weight.

Consequently, this combination of a highly profitable product being sought after by desperate consumers has resulted in a hotbed of dishonest practices which include some of the following:

1) Filling Hoodia capsules with less than the promised amount of Hoodia that is advertised on the product packaging. For example, a company may advertise that their product contains 100 mg of Hoodia, but when tested, their product may only contain 50 mg.

2) Mixing in unidentified fillers with genuine Hoodia. Often, many distributors sell Hoodia that has been adulterated with other substances similar in appearance to genuine Hoodia.

3) Using fake certificates to lure unsuspecting consumers to buy their product. Although some Hoodia plants have been known to grow in other countries, the variety of Hoodia that is the most effective in weight loss is grown in South Africa. However, in South Africa, Hoodia is an endangered plant and as such, any Hoodia exporter must have a CITES certificate for the Hoodia that is harvested there. Unfortunately, however, many companies have been using forged certificates to sell their product.

Whilst there may be deception amongst some Hoodia sellers, genuine Hoodia is still attainable. One way to locate genuine Hoodia is to get recommendations from family, friends or co-workers. By getting a recommendation through word of mouth, you may be able to turn up a seller who is selling genuine Hoodia.

Another way to find genuine Hoodia is to cut out all the middle men and buy Hoodia from a company who is a direct importer of the product. One reason for this is if you buy from a distributor you may run the risk of purchasing adulterated Hoodia that has been passed off on the distributor as genuine Hoodia. When you purchase from a company that imports their own Hoodia, you should be able to check to make sure that the seller has a CITES certificate, which was mentioned earlier.

Additional certifications that you may be able to check for when you buy from an importer include: certification from an independent laboratory authenticating the Hoodia being sold and an import license called Certificate of Analysis or C&A, as it’s commonly called. This is a document which is required for Hoodia that is being imported into the country by custom officials.

And lastly, it is important to bear in mind that genuine Hoodia is a powerful appetite suppressant which has been proven to be very effective. If you are taking Hoodia Gordonii and you do not see results in a short time, you may want to switch to another brand of Hoodia that may give better results.


- Patricia Zelkovsky

Short of flying to Africa and scouring the Kalahari Desert for a Hoodia Gordonii plant, it’s hard to find 100% pure Hoodia on the market just yet. However some forms, that the plant is sold in, are more potent than others.

The biggest reason that you want to use the most effective form of Hoodia is to ensure that your appetite is supressed successfully. Most people fail to loose weight because they give in to the hunger and cravings. If you manage to use a potent form of Hoodia, you could well be on your way to loosing weight successfully because you will not feel hungry all the time.

Hoodia products come in many forms in the market place. The most common is the capsule, which when taken orally, is broken down in the body to absorb the ingredients. Capsules also give the most bang for the buck.

Liquid Hoodia supplements work quickly because the body has less work to do in order to get the Hoodia into your system. This might be the preferred option to capsules although Hoodia does not have to be in liquid form for it to be effective. The capsules work just fine. Hoodia Elixir comes in different potency levels, too, just like capsules.

You want to compare the products on the market to find a Hoodia supplement that delivers the highest level of Hoodia, and not a tiny percentage just so the manufacturers can “claim” it’s a Hoodia product.

The more potent the product is when it comes to evaluating its Hoodia levels, the more you’re going to pay. Consumers are willing to pay a high price for the purest form of Hoodia because of its ability to suppress your appetite and increase energy levels unlike any other natural supplement.

Hoodia can also elevate a persons mood and make them feel much better within themselves. The feeling can be similar to the feeling that one gets after exercise.

Some companies now have their own Hoodia farms located in South Africa so that they can create and manufacture dietary supplements to be sold on the global market. This alone shows how much the producers believe in their product. Other companies have to mix the doses of Hoodia they get with other fillers because they don’t have access to a Hoodia growing facility. They are the producers that you should try and avoid.

Just because you invest in a supplement that’s not 100% Hoodia in its purest form doesn’t mean you won’t lose weight. But try to get a supplement that has the maximum amount of Hoodia in it and your weight loss results will be maximized while your side effects are minimized. To further benefit your weight loss, you should follow a good exercise plan. The easiest way to do this would be to go to your local gym and ask one of the fitness instructors to make you a custom plan. If you follow the plan and have a good diet incorporating Hoodia, you should have no problems loosing weight.


- Eric James