So What Is Hoodia? Natural African Appetite Suppressant
There are quite a few different
Hoodias, but the one used to prepared appetite suppressant
supplements is Hoodia gordonii, which is found throughout the region
of southern Africa. Although this Hoodia looks quite a bit like a
cactus, right down to a spiky exterior, it is actually a succulent.
It was probably hunger that drove the Bushmen at some point to try
eating what would otherwise not look like a very palatable plant,
especially since the flowers smell like rotten meat. Undoubtedly,
after a desperate experiment, it was found that the hunger pains
abated and the people in the group were able to continue in their
search for food more comfortably. Hoodia gordonii may help
suppresses thirst.
During an anthropological expedition to
the Kalahari Desert in 1937, it was discovered by the European
researcher that the objects of his study, the Bushmen, used Hoodia to
suppress their hunger. It was not until several decades later,
however, that research into this succulent really began into the
potential of this plant to aid with weight loss. Experiments with
animals did seem to yield positive results, and further testing
isolated an ingredient called P57. Although it was thought at first
that Hoodia was simply broken down by the body’s metabolism, it has
since been discovered that it will enter the bloodstream, allowing it
to act on the brain’s chemistry.
Although the
benefits of Hoodia in appetite suppression and weight reduction have
not been subjected to rigorous scientific trials, investigation into
the qualities of this plant is ongoing. Experiments with rats have
shown that those animals that were given Hoodia did eat less than
those that were not. It is thought that the active ingredient in
Hoodia, P57, does affect the ATP (adenosine triphosphate)** to cause
suppression of the appetite.
Breaking the cycle of continuous hunger
and cravings while dieting is one of the most important steps to
losing weight, and it is thought that Hoodia supplements could help
with sensible weight loss. Informal trials with people who need to
lose weight have shown that those who were given Hoodia rather than a
placebo did eat substantially less!
Related articles:
Manage your weight with foods that suppress appetite/ hunger levels
**ATP is the smallest, transportable unit of energy in living organisms including plants, is produced during cellular respiration and is vital for life. ||
(ATP is a nucleotide that contains a large amount of chemical energy stored in its high-energy phosphate bonds. It releases energy when it is broken down (hydrolyzed) into ADP (or Adenosine Diphosphate). The energy is used for many metabolic processes. Hence, ATP is considered as the universal energy currency for metabolism.
ATP is produced via cellular respiration in the mitochondria and photosynthesis in chloroplasts. Its functions are for intracellular energy transport for various metabolic processes including biosynthetic reactions, motility, and cell division.
Source: http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/ATP)
