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One may wonder what are the health risks of hoodia ? There is really not much that you have to worry about when it comes to Hoodia. It has already been taken as food by the tribesmen of Africa. What we know about it is that the Sans Bushmen, a tribe that lives in the the Kahalari Desert of South Africa discovered hoodia and have been using it for thousands of years to suppress their appetite and retain energy with no known negative side effects.
All of the different products which include Hoodia as a main ingredient are usually safe. That being because the active ingredient in the hoodia plant responsible for its ability to diminish the appetite — called P57 — was used in a study with morbidly obese participants by the pharmaceutical company Phytopharm and caused weight and fat loss in the participants using it without any bad side effects.
Hoodia is not a stimulant like ephedra or many other weight loss herbs….which often work by messing up with the body’s metabolic functions, and therefore, may cause such side effects as elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, nervousness, jitters, and more.
Having said that, there are still some sensible points that you are going to want to take into consideration, just to make sure that you are aware that although with the sensible dosage Hoodia is completely safe, if you are irresponsible and take too much of it, there are serious side effects that are possible.
Some facts concerning hoodia safety-
First, the study conducted by Phytopharm, even though being a scientific clinical trial, was a small one and did not continue for long. For ensuring more conclusive and firmer safety standards , P57, the active component in hoodia will require longer term studies with more participants.
Hoodia works by suppressing the appetite and thirst(by giving signals to the brain that you do not need food and water).This could pose a danger to people who may forget to drink enough fluids or eat enough food if they are feeling full.
Third, diabetics may find certain problems with hoodia. It may even be dangerous to people with diabetes because it tricks the brain into thinking its full even when it’s not. Therefore, there is a chance that diabetics may suffer a dangerous drop in blood sugar levels from having not eaten enough.
There is always a possibility that with so many people in the Western world taking so many over the counter and prescription drugs, hoodia may end up interacting negatively with some of these in the body and we just don’t know it yet. Some of my friends have reported slight headaches while taking hoodia along with the Statins.
Overall, the fact is that hoodia may have side effects we perhaps are not yet aware of especially when distributed to the public at large. And what is the safety of this herb for pregnant women? This has not been answered properly yet. I tested hoodia on myself for quite some time (several months). During that time, I carefully monitored my hunger and noted my dosage of hoodia gordonii.
There have been no widespread clinical trials examining the safety of hoodia as a nutritional supplement but I personally believe hoodia to be perfectly safe. It is one of the supplements that work great to maintain ideal health and body weight.
