Monday, July 12, 2010

Your Natural Health Place- The Skinny On Hoodia

We're getting fatter. Canadian statistics show that rates of obesity among Canadian adults have doubled, and tripled for children. This excess weight leads to a host of serious health problems: high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems, and certain cancers.

As our collective waistline expands, so does the weight-loss industry. In the US alone, Americans spend an estimated $55 billion a year on products such as diet pills, meal replacements, low-calorie dinner entrees, artificial sweeteners, diet pop, and medically supervised weight-loss programs. Every month, it seems, we hear breathless announcements about yet another diet aid.

The latest craze is hoodia gordonii, a spiky plant that grows in the Kalahari Desert. It was traditionally consumed to suppress appetite. About a decade ago, South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research patented P57, an ingredient in the plant believed to curb hunger, and licensed it to a British company called Phytofarm to develop it. Phytofarm licensed it to Pfizer, which started the research only to halt their efforts a few years later.


Unilever (the maker of Slim-Fast) is currently licensed to commercialize hoodia, but in the meantime, countless suppliers are hawking "the miracle cactus" in health stores and online. While marketers promise that hoodia will lead to rapid weight loss, health experts are less excited as no conclusive research has proven that hoodia effectively suppresses hunger. A small study (sponsored by a supplement company) found that hoodia may influence the part of the brain that controls hunger, but much more research is still required.

When taking hoodia or any weight-loss product, read labels carefully and talk to your doctor. Be aware that dietary supplements don't have to meet the strict standards imposed on prescription and over-the-counter medications, so people who create and sell them can make health claims based on scant or questionable research findings. Not only that, but without regulation and standardization, the amount of the ingredient you're looking for can vary widely from bottle to bottle.

Rather than spending your hard-earned cash on products with claims that are often too good to be true, focus on the proven, gradual, and safe strategy of staying active and eating healthy, such as incorporating more whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables into your diet.

Jaclyn Law,
in association with the MediResource Clinical Team 

As found @  http://www.medbroadcast.com/


Presented by Larry Guzda 

NOTE!! I will probably make money from purchases from most sites recommended by this blog, so assume I will profit from recommendations. Information on this page is provided for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for medical advise. Contact your physician for diagnoses of all health related problems as soon as possible. Dietary supplements HAVE NOT been evaluated by The Food And Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose,treat,cure or prevent any disease. This article may be copied but not changed in any way.

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