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Critique of Hoodia

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Deep inside the high deserts of the Kalahari region of South Africa, grows an ugly succulent plant called the Hoodia gordonii. It thrives in extremely high temperatures, and takes years to mature.

Succulents are plants that store water in their enlarged fleshy leaves, stems, or roots. Although all plants store water, these plants are especially adapted and use their hollow bodies to store water for long periods.

The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, a tribe of hunter-gatherers with a 25,000-year-old culture and history in using native plants for medicinal purposes, have been using hoodia for centuries to help ward off hunger and thirst when they made long trips in the desert.

While South African scientists were doing a routine test of the plant, they discovered that it contained a previously unknown molecule, which has since been christened P 57.

Nice. This may sound anecdotal, but no pill or treatment in and of itself is ever going to be enough. Achieving sound health or body image is work on a daily basis, and any pill that in itself is claimed to be otherwise is just going to make money.

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