You’ve probably heard of the weight loss product called Hoodia. You’ve probably heard that it works too, that it is all natural, and has been used for thousands of years. But what exactly is Hoodia and is it good for you? WOMAN.ca did some digging, and, here’s what we found out.

Hoodia is a cactus plant from Africa, that curbs your appetite and has been proven to be a successful appetite suppressant.  What’s more, Hoodia is believed to suppress not only appetite but thirst. There have been unconfirmed reports that San Bushmen, a hunting and gathering people from Africa, in the Kalahari desert took Hoodia to take the edge off hunger pains, but died of dehydration because they didn't feel thirsty.

They would use it on long journeys, or when there were no accessible food sources to be found for a few days. They could still travel without feeling the pang of hunger, albeit with the risk of completely dehydrating.

When Hoodia appeared on the market in 2003, it was welcomed because it was seen as an effective weight loss supplement that didn’t have any negative side effects, especially compared to other diet pills that had affected the brain and heart. Among other products, Hoodia was deemed to be the safest.

Hoodia marketers often claim that it has no side effects because it has been in use for thousands of years. But, some medical experts say that Hoodia simply hasn't been around for long enough in North America and it hasn't been subjected to safety testing to uncover all if any possible side effects, drug interactions, and safety concerns.

Researchers at Pfizer stated in a letter to The New York Times that although Hoodia did appear to suppress appetite, there were indications of unwanted effects on the liver. No other details were revealed.

In short, Hoodia has a long way to go before it can earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Until safer formulations are developed, dieters should be wary of using it.

If Hoodia does affect liver function, it may also interact with other medications a person is taking. The San Bushmen are a tribe of hunter-gatherers, and probably did not take same pills for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, depression, and other diseases, that we do, another reason why unconfirmed reports of safe use historically, should not be relied on.

People with diabetes should be cautious about using hoodia. One of the theories about how Hoodia works is that it tricks the brain into thinking that it has enough blood sugar. Without proper feedback regulation, it's possible that a person's blood sugar could drop dangerously low while taking Hoodia. And with the regular hunger mechanism turned off, the normal warning signs may be suppressed, until it's too late.

Image from MorgueFile

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