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9th July 2007
The Fat Burner Hoodia Gordonii:
The Latest Diet Pill Fraud
By Philip Edwards
Remember the saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” (P.T. Barnum)? It now looks like it’s a sucker born
every second - and a person who’s willing to con them every two seconds.
Proof of this has to be the latest diet pill craze: Hoodia Gordonii. With a name like that, it just has to work!
This once obscure South African cactus has been seen on Oprah, MSNBC, CBS and 60 Minutes – it MUST be for real,
right?
After a careful search on the Internet, you will find no credible evidence that it does anything but reduce your
appetite – and even then from suspect sources. Most information comes from web sites that sell the item in its
myriad forms: Hoodia Chaser Drops, Hoodia Diet Pills, All-Natural Hoodia, Hoodia Spray – the list goes on, each
claiming to be THE solution to bad eating habits and non-existent exercise program.
In fact, these sites are obviously scamming so many people you might want to quit your day job and join them!
Can there really be that many idiots in the world? Guess so - fat ones from the looks of the statistics. Ones
who need to be thin NOW, not even next week.
Appetite reduction substances for fat burning have been around for thousands of years in forms we already know
and love – coffee, tea, methamphetamines, caffeine pills and the list goes on. All of these substances have nasty
side effects when over used and, much more importantly, show little effectiveness in long term fat burning.
Hoodia Gordonii claims to have none of these bad side effects. Six thousand web sites selling it can’t be wrong,
can they? The claims they make would make a snake oil salesmen from the 1880s blush. Some are claiming you need
3,000 mg per DAY to get any effect – that’s three grams of what is basically an untested substance.
No credible scientific studies, no fitness authorities, no FDA approval, no nothing – just Oprah and a zillion
web sites and GNCs trying to sell a boatload of the stuff. Well, if Oprah had it on her show…. gimme a break, will ya?
Now, if I told you a big secret, will you promise not to tell anyone? You ready? Here it is: Bullshit is fattening.
Yep, you heard it here first. If one continues to believe that there is some magic pill that will make their problems
go way, one will stay overweight forever – and here’s the kicker - maybe even poison themselves in the process, not
to mention spending their hard earned money on bunk.
Poison myself? How can that be? Well, it’s quite simple – everyone reacts differently to foods, medications and even
life. A previously unknown cactus from South Africa certainly qualifies you to be a guinea pig, right?
Nobody really knows how they will respond to this “supplement” – “drugs” require FDA approval and more importantly,
are tested for effectiveness. It may work, it may do nothing and – just maybe – they may keel over on the spot. Is
it worth the risk? How many FDA approved products have later been taken off the market for limited effectiveness and
terrible side effects? Just imagine the problems with untested substances.
If diet suppression aids really worked over the long term, do people really think many would worry much about the
side effects? Hell no! People are having their stomachs stapled, for Christ sake! I’m talking major surgery here –
you know; the kind that kills 1.5% of the patients?
Get real. Caffeine – which has been studied extensively and proven to suppress the desire to eat, simply does not
work in the long run.
Why? Because suppressing your appetite does not help you to burn fat long term. You may drop some weight in the short
term, but your body – that wonderful machine that it is – will take strong steps to insure this does not happen over
a one to two year period.
How? Easy. First, it starts by reducing your metabolism – it thinks your starving when you start to lose all that
weight. Then it adapts to the substance and you require more and more to get the appetite suppression effects. Finally,
it increases your appetite to cause you to eat more food, not less.
The net result? Despite these appetite suppression diet aids being around for years, people are having trouble getting
in to their cars, let alone their jeans. Also, at the time many of these substances were considered perfectly safe –
not anymore.
I’m going out a limb to make a prediction here: in less than two years, Hoodia Gordonii will have disappeared almost
completely from the market and several decent studies will have proven that it does NOTHING for long term fat burning.
Maybe I’m wrong, but at least I’m not gambling my money, my health and my fat burning program on a dream.
If you really want to lose fat, get educated, get a plan and work it. There are PROVEN methods to burn the fat – not
overnight – but over months and even years, you can have the body you’ve always wanted. And please, please, don’t be
bilked by what you hear from “experts”, see on Oprah or read on the Internet.
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