Does Hoodia Gum Really Work?
Hoodia gum is one in a line of specialty hoodia products that have hit the market in the past couple years. Other products that have hit the market include hoodia chews and hoodia pops. What all of these specialty products have in common is that they all claim to have the ability to be highly effective and almost instant appetite suppressants. The idea behind these products is that if you can control your appetite, you’ll eat less and you’ll lose weight.
Now this may sound like a dream come true to many of you, but I certainly have my doubts. For a start I do not believe that any of these hoodia gum products actually contain genuine hoodia gordonii. Hoodia gordonii is a plant that is found only in South Africa, and contains a molecule called P57 which can actually trick the brain into thinking you are full. Even though there are many varieties of hoodia, only hoodia gordonii contains this molecule.
Hoodia gordonii is very scarce right now and there simply isn’t enough to meet demand. As a result, it is very expensive. Hoodia supplements and products have been very popular the past few years so many companies have jumped on the bandwagon. You have everything from hoodia gum to hoodia tea available today. Unfortunately, many companies have tried to cut corners to reap the profits of this high demand herb by either diluting their products so there is very little hoodia gordonii in them, or simply not using any at all ? but still claiming their product contains it.
You may be wondering how so many companies have been able to get away with behaviour like this? Well the answer is because hoodia products are not regulated. Therefore, it is up to the consumer to be educated about the facts to ensure they don’t get ripped off. It’s sadly the case that the majority of hoodia products and supplements, like hoodia gum, are in fact nothing more than fakes. They contain very little hoodia gordonii, and most don’t contain any at all. In fact, experts estimate that the number of fake hoodia products sold on the market today could be as high as 80%.
You can help protect yourself by looking for two important pieces of information to ensure that the product you are buying is really genuine. You should look for CITES certificates and independent lab test results. The companies selling hoodia products should display these documents on their websites. If you cannot find these, then the product on sale is highly likely to be a fake which does not contain authentic hoodia gordonii.
I have researched numerous websites selling hoodia gum and have struggled to find either of these documents displayed. This is the main reason that I doubt the authenticity of their products, even though the websites are marketing them as highly effective appetite suppressants. If you cannot view these documents then the product probably doesn’t contain any hoodia gordonii, and will therefore have absolutely no affect on your hunger or appetite.
Just for a minute let’s suppose that these products did actually contain authentic hoodia gordonii. I still doubt they would be effective at reducing your appetite because they simply would not contain the amounts of hoodia needed. Hoodia gum products usually state that they contain between 20-150mg of hoodia per stick. That’s nowhere near enough to suppress appetite.
Some experts and doctors say that it can take as much as 3,000mg of hoodia gordonii per day to effectively suppress appetite. At a minimum, most people need anywhere between 800-1,500mg per day to suppress appetite. Assuming you’re able to get by with 800mg per day to suppress your appetite, you’d still need to chew several sticks of gum with each stick only containing 20-150mg of hoodia gordonii!
Finally, the other concern I have about hoodia gum products is that most claim to be made using hoodia concentrates, or extracts. These supposed concentrates contain only the active molecule in hoodia gordonii, P57. The problem is, the process to do this hasn’t been perfected yet and only one company has the legal authority to do so and that company is Phytopharm.
Phytopharm is a British pharmaceutical company that was given the patent to extract P57 for use in weight loss products. They have spent several years and millions of dollars trying to figure out how to extract P57 to use in weight loss products on a mass scale. Despite the time and money spent, they still haven’t been able to do it. How then can a hoodia gum product claim to use a hoodia extract?
At the end of the day I am still sceptical about hoodia gum products. I doubt they will be effective at controlling appetite because the vast majority of them will not contain any hoodia gordonii, and those that do will only have a very tiny amount. If you are still wanting to try hoodia gordonii though I would highly recommend that you stick with the established hoodia diet tablets.