Although its benefits regarding weight loss has been discovered only recently, the cactus itself is not a new kid on the block. Hoodia is a cactus plant grown along the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. The native Bushmen have been using it for thousands of years to suppress their appetite.

Since carrying food supplies on a hunting expedition could cause great inconvenience, those Bushmen would consume the Hoodia cactus before going on a hunting mission so that they won’t be plagued by pangs of hunger. Hoodia would help them suppress their appetite for no less than 24 hours.

Now you maybe are wondering how this African plant could help you with weight loss. Well, if you have been struggling with weight loss for any length of time, you would agree with me that the biggest enemy and stumbling block in the way of your weight loss success is hunger. This is where Hoodia comes to your aid. Hoodia helps you get rid of hunger, so that you are free to focus on your diet. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: Desert of South Africa, food supplies, South Africa, the Hoodia Product Review

If you are struggling to lose weight, you know it pretty well that you cannot win the battle against obesity unless you know how to control your hunger pangs. Your countless weight loss resolutions would come to nothing because every time you try to reduce your food intake for the purpose of weight loss, hunger would force you to break your resolution and eat more of those ‘forbidden foods’.

You have probably used over-the-counter diet pills with the hope of putting an end to this nuisance. Diet pills may suppress your appetite to an extent but they come with harmful side effects. In essence, they would harm you more than help. The best appetite suppressant is one which is completely herbal and natural. And Hoodia Gordonii is one such weight loss supplement. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Desert of South Africa, food intake, food supplies, Kalahari desert, obesity, South Africa

Pain is a feeling that all of us would want to avoid, but often end up experiencing. Be it in the form of a headache, period pain, muscle ache or joint inflammation, an ache never leaves our side for too long a time.

The method that most of us follow to get rid of a pain is to pop an over-the-counter (OTC) painkiller into our mouth. While OTC medicines are effective in treating pain, they are also associated with a number of side effects, especially if used regularly or on a long-term basis.

Though many of us are unaware of this fact, there are a number of natural pain killers that can help relieve aches, without presenting the danger of side effects. In the following lines, we have listed some of the most effective natural remedies for pain, including the herbal ones.

Natural Pain Killers

Boswellia
Boswellia is the name of an Indian herb that has been found to be effective in treating the pain occurring from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Boswellic acids, the active constituents in boswellia, are responsible for bringing relief from the ache. This particular herb is available in the form of supplements as well as topically-applied creams. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: ache, aches, arthritis, back pain, chemicals, Crohn's disease, Dietary Supplement, Environmental Protection Agency, fibromyalgia, fish oil, gastritis, gout, headache, headaches, inflammation, inflammatory chemicals, lower back pain, migraine, migraine headaches, muscle cramps, muscle injuries, natural remedies, oil, pain, pains, peptic ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, sinusitis, South Africa

The weight loss industry today is not what I saw four years ago. Today more and more people are jumping on the weight loss bandwagon. For some, weight loss is mainly a matter of looking good, while others are doing it for reasons of health.

As you might be aware, several recent studies linked obesity to harmful diseases such as diabetes, heart problems, backaches, as well as many other major and minor maladies. No wonder people want to lose weight fast and the easiest way possible! This is where they make a big mistake.

The decision to lose weight is certainly not a bad decision; it shows that you are finally becoming conscious of how important it is to keep your body healthy and fit. Even if you are doing it for cosmetic reasons, it would still benefit your health in a big way! However, losing weight quick and fast is not very realistic.

People who want fast weight loss often fall for fad diet programs whose manufactures often make tall promises that are nothing but hollow! Most of these diet programs fail to work as promised, resulting in frustration, dissatisfaction and loss of money. In fact, these marketers seem to be more interested in your money than health.

Fortunately there are still a few good honest companies who sell effective weight loss supplements that are not only 100% natural but also safe! One such supplement is the Hoodia Gordonii. Read on to find out exactly how it can help you lose weight!

Now I know the obvious question you would ask: what is Hoodia Gordonii? Well, in simple words it is a plant which grows on the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. For thousands of years the native San Bushmen have used it to suppress their appetite when on hunting expeditions, as it won’t be proper for them to burden themselves with foods when going on a hunting spree. It was only recently that it was discovered that it could be used with success on those who want to lose weight! How?

You probably already know that when you are trying to lose weight, your number one opponent is hunger. It is not easy to bear with those hunger pangs day after day. How many days have you resolved not to eat anymore only to get up late at night and start munching on a packet of chips? I know it happens all the time, and this is why most people find it too hard to lose weight. However, if you manage to suppress this hunger, the path to weight loss would become smoother for you! And Hoodia Gordonii does just that: it suppresses your appetite.

The unfortunate thing is that the South African government has put several restrictions on the cultivation of Hoodia Gordonii, so that it is cultivated nowhere else! Hoodia supplements are surely available all over the world, but as with many other weight loss products, most of the Hoodia products being sold in the open market are nothing but scams!

You really have to be on your alert if you want to burn fat instead of cash. There are several indicators of a fake product, one of which is its price. Usually Hoodia is pretty expensive, so if you find that it is being sold somewhere at a ridiculously low price, then you know it is fake!

Another indicator is the website it is being sold from. I would suggest that you buy Hoodia only from reputed stores such as Amazon.com, just to be on the safe side; or you could also buy it from your local health store, if you trust them!

Ultimately, even Hoodia Gordonii won’t help you achieve weight loss if you don’t cooperate with it. Sure, it would keep your appetite suppressed for a considerable time so that you won’t feel hungry, but if you use that privilege to starve in the hope of quick weight loss, or start eating ‘forbidden’ junk foods, then you won’t get any slimmer! You also need to workout as usual, as Hoodia Gordonii is certainly no replacement for an active lifestyle!

In simple words, if you combine Hoodia Gordonii with diet and exercise, you are sure to lose a lot of pounds with it!

Tags: Amazon.com, backaches, Desert of South Africa, diabetes, obesity, South Africa, South African government, weight loss products

Put aside the white bread and pick up an apple. A diet of foods less likely to spike blood sugar levels helps dieters lose more weight, according to a new systematic review from Australia.

“Losing weight is very difficult and many people are unable to sustain a weight-loss diet. The low glycemic index diet is satisfying and has proven benefits,” said review co-author Elizabeth Elliott, Ph.D., professor at the University of Sydney, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

The glycemic index (GI) ranks carbohydrate-rich foods based on their effect on blood sugar levels. Compared to high GI foods such as white rice and French fries, low GI foods, such as lentils, sweet potatoes and apples produce more consistent blood glucose levels. Previous studies have indicated that keeping blood sugar levels steady throughout the day may stimulate more weight loss in obese people.

Researchers evaluated randomized controlled trials that compared weight loss in people eating foods low on the glycemic index to weight loss in people on higher GI diets or other types of weight loss plans.

Six trials, involving 202 adults from Australia, France, South Africa, Denmark and the United States were included in the review. The diets lasted from five weeks to six months.

The review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

The review found that dieters focused on eating low GI foods dropped significantly more weight — about 2.2 pounds more — than participants on other diets. Low GI dieters also experienced greater decreases in body fat measurements and body mass index.

None of the studies reported adverse effects associated with consuming a low glycemic index diet.

“Compared to other diets, the low GI diet is more satisfying — people are less inclined to feel hungry. One advantage of this type of diet is that it is more likely to be maintained than other strict diets on which people feel hungry,” Elliott said.

Low glycemic diets appear to be effective even in obese people who need to lose considerable amounts of weight, the authors said.

In the two studies that evaluated only obese participants, low GI dieters lost about 9.2 pounds, compared with about 2.2 pounds shed by other dieters.

Low glycemic index diets might also benefit heart health.

In the three studies that measured cardiovascular risk factors, people eating low GI foods experienced greater improvements in total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) — sometimes called “bad” cholesterol. High levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol increase the risks for heart disease.

After reviewing the findings, Lawrence Cheskin, M.D. said, “There’s surprisingly little in the way of studies to draw any hard and fast conclusions.” Cheskin is director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. He was not involved with the review.

Low glycemic index diets can be effective for weight management, Cheskin said, but the success of low glycemic diets lies with an individual’s willingness to comply with its nutritional principles.

“There aren’t many people who need to lose weight who are willing to eat lots of vegetables and whole grains. If they did, they wouldn’t have a weight problem in the first place,” Cheskin said.

Nevertheless, he said, choosing foods low on the glycemic index does have value for overweight or obese people who want to lose weight.

“It uses a lot of the generally healthful principles, such as eating lots of vegetables and high fiber and avoiding very energy-dense foods that are high in simple sugars and simple carbohydrates,” Cheskin said.

Tags: associate professor, Australia, Baltimore, Children�s Hospital, Denmark, director, Elizabeth Elliott, energy-dense foods, France, heart disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, Lawrence Cheskin, professor, said review co-author, South Africa, The Children�s Hospital, The Cochrane Collaboration, The Cochrane Library, United States, University of Sydney

I just ran into a couple of great articles on Hoodia and thought it would be great to share them. Why do I care about Hoodia? Well I keep getting spam about the “Greatest weight loss product ever” and man do I hate unfounded hype.

It seems that Hoodia may be a good product but if there is ever a wonder drug that will stop people from eating and help them lose weight than the lack of exercise will surely kill people. I t is very important to remember that even if Hoodia does a great job in helping you lose weight that you still need to exercise regularly to stay or regain health. I have made my own notations here in bold from this great article at about.com written by Cathy Wong

Introduction to Hoodia

Each year, people spend more than $40 billion on products designed to help them slim down. None of them seem to be working very well.

Now along comes hoodia. Never heard of it? Soon it’ll be tripping off your tongue, because hoodia is a natural substance that literally takes your appetite away. It’s very different from diet stimulants like Ephedra and Phenfen that are now banned because of dangerous side effects. Hoodia doesn’t stimulate at all. Scientists say it fools the brain by making you think you’re full, even if you’ve eaten just a morsel.

Hoodia is a cactus that’s causing a stir for its ability to suppress appetite and promote weight loss. 60 Minutes, ABC, and the BBC have all done stories on hoodia. Hoodia is sold in capsule, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet. Hoodia is also found in the popular diet pill Trimspa.

Hoodia gordonii can be found in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. Much like a cactus it has recently been turned into a cash crop in Namibia where there are hundreds of acres of it being grown to meet the demand in North America.

It takes about 5 years before hoodia’s pale purple flowers appear and the cactus can be harvested. Although there are 20 types of hoodia, only the hoodia gordonii variety is believed to contain the natural appetite suppressant.

Although hoodia was only marketed recently, the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert have been eating it for a very long time. The Bushmen, who live off the land, would cut off part of the hoodia stem and eat it to ward off hunger and thirst during nomadic hunting trips. They also used hoodia for severe abdominal cramps, haemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes.

In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen noted that they used hoodia to suppress appetite. But it wasn’t until 1963 when scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa’s national laboratory, began studying hoodia. Initial results were promising — lab animals lost weight after taking hoodia.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 60 Minutes, ABC, Africa, Angola, anthropologist, BBC, Botswana, Brown University in Rhode Island, Cathy Wong Introduction, correspondent, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, cramps, depression, diabetes, energy, health food stores, Hoodia plant, hypertension, indigestion, Kalahari desert, Leslie Stahl, liver disease, Namibia, north America, pfizer, pharmaceutical giant, Rhode Island, South Africa, South Africa's national laboratory, supplement, tough product, Trimspa, tuberculosis, Unilever, USD, weight loss product, weight loss solution