The part of the brain that regulates specific metabolic processes and certain other activities of the autonomic nervous system is called the hypothalamus. Its main purpose is to synthesize and secrete so-called neuro-hormones, often referred to as hypothalamic-releasing hormones. These hormones in turn stimulate or inhibit, as the case may be, the secretion of pituitary hormones. Other functions of the hypothalamus include maintaining body temperature, thirst, hunger, anger, fatigue and the circadian cycle (the body clock).

The hypothalamus can become affected by the steroidal glycosides molecules that are found in hoodia gordonii because this is the region of the brain where glucose sugar levels are sensed. When food is eaten, the glucose level in the body rises accordingly, which triggers these nerve cells. When you are satiated, these cells send a message to the brain via the hypothalamus telling it that enough food has been eaten- in other words, you are full.

The steroidal glycoside molecules found in hoodia gordonii are approximately 100,000 times stronger than those of glucose, so as soon as they are sensed by the hypothalamus in the brain, the message is sent to the body that it is full, even if nothing has been eaten. From initial animal trials right through to human tests, it was discovered that hoodia gordonii did assist in the suppression of appetite, enabling the participants of the tests to reduce the amount of calories eaten.

Despite all the hype though, what effects did hoodia gordonii really have on ordinary people- and by ordinary I mean not people in an experimental environment? Below are some findings by one such person:


"Hoodia did help to suppress my appetite, but many questions still need answering. Dosages of hoodia that were really required to actually suppress my appetite were very much larger than the recommended dosages being suggested by countless websites trying to promote and sell hoodia. While a range of hoodia product formulas were limited to only 100mg of hoodia per stated suggested dose, I established that I required at least 500mg of hoodia at least three times daily to get any real benefit from the suppressant. That worked out to 1.5 grams of hoodia each day.

Hoodia did not appear to offset the blood sugar level drop that followed the use of refined carbohydrates such as soft drinks, white bread, cookies or white rice. The truth be told, the times I did eat carbs, my own appetite didn't lessen at all. The Hoodia product only seemed to work in combination with a controlled carbohydrate diet.

Hoodia doesn't stop your body feeling extreme hunger after a heavy training workout either. When engaging in body building, I normally get very hungry within a few minutes. I do train really hard, harder than a lot of people, but bear this in mind: if you work out or train hard, you are still going to get hungry, whether hoodia is being taken or not. What this means in other words, is that hoodia can't cause your body to lose its 'mind' as your muscles will still cry out for nourishment.

The best type of hoodia to take I found, were the powder extract variety that seemed to switch off the hunger quicker, as it basically required slow digestion to extract the chemical compounds."


For in depth and detailed information on hoodia gordonii , visit our site at http://hoodiagordonii-info.com. Here you will find many articles and related resources on all things to do with hoodia.