Will Hoodia Be Banned?

Hoodia gordonii became extremely popular as a weight loss supplement or more appropriately, an appetite suppressant. The popularity, unfortunately, is also directly correlated to its potential ban by the FDA. The weight loss industry took a hit awhile back with the ban of ephedra. Is hoodia unsafe like ephedra?

Ephedra was linked to the deaths of some young women who habitually took this strong, stimulant type appetite suppressant. Their use of ephedra lead to cardiac death and the sale of ephedra in the United States was banned by the FDA.

Now hoodia supplements have come under speculation, but it is not about safety issues; at least not directly. Hoodia is a relatively safe appetite suppressant because it is not a stimulant. Instead it fools the brain into thinking you do not need to eat even though your blood glucose levels have dropped to a level where the brain normally signals hunger.

Unless you are diabetic, this effect usually helps you surpass an appetite that became out of control over the years. Diabetics need to monitor their blood glucose levels, so hoodia is not advised for diabetic patients. Hoodia is rather innocuous for the rest of us. In fact, some proponents of stimulant type appetite suppressants feel hoodia is too mild.

So, hoodia is relatively safe, but may still be banned due to weight loss companies who offer their customers fake hoodia at low costs. There are also a few companies offering “free trials” and then signing people up for automatic shipments for which they are charged on the credit card given for the shipping costs.

The frenzy over hoodia created a situation where legitimate companies were selling pure hoodia supplements at a premium price, and other companies low-balled the pricing. Unfortunately, this was not a situation where companies were seeking to make revenue via higher quantity of sales with lower cost per unit. Their profit margin swelled due to the actual product they were selling: fake hoodia.

Hoodia is expensive. The demand for this cactus grown in South Africa led to a diminished amount of hoodia. It is difficult to grow conventionally, and farmers have been unable to produce enough to meet demands. In fact, the hoodia cactus does not seem to grow very well outside its native habitat. Those who have tried to grow their own have realized it has a rather unpleasant odor meant to attract flies for pollination. In addition, it takes three years for the plant to reach a point for harvest.

The scarcity versus popular demand lead to black market trade. Eventually, the South African government stepped in to preserve the species and lessen illegal trade. They made it necessary for companies to obtain a C.I.T.E.S. certification in order to legally buy hoodia from South Africa.

If you want to benefit from hoodia while you can, you should expect to pay a fair price for the product; fair in this case meaning a bit pricey. If you find cheap hoodia, it probably is not the real deal, or it contains such low amounts of pure hoodia, it will not be effective.

Do you want to know which hoodia brand you can trust? Go there and discover our favorite hoodia brand.

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