"Hoodia makes you look hot in low-cut tops and backless dresses. The bushmen have sworn by it for hundreds of years and that's good enough for me!"
Nicole Richie
Hoodia comes from an ugly-looking cactus that thrives in the high temperatures of the African Kalahari dessert. The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the world's oldest and most primitive tribes, have been eating the cactus for thousands of years. They use it to stave off hunger during long hunting trips and to keep their youngsters’ cravings at bay when food is in short supply.
But how does it work? Well, here’s the science bit: there is a part of your brain called the hypothalamus, and within that mid-brain are the nerve cells that sense glucose sugar. When you’re full, the cells tell the brain that your blood sugar levels are good and there is no need to eat more food for now. Hoodia causes these cells to send the same message to the brain. So, the nerve cells are firing as if you were full, but you’re not. And you’re not hungry either.
The BBC sent a reporter to the Kalahari desert to test the benefits of this wonder-herb. Tom Mangold tucked into the raw Hoodia cactus, which he described as "a slightly unpleasant-tasting, fleshy plant", eating a piece about half the size of a banana. So did his cameraman. On their four-hour drive back to Capetown, both of them felt good and neither of them thought about food.
“Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception.â€
Neither of them wanted dinner, and the next day neither of them wanted breakfast. Lunch was eaten with little pleasure, and their appetite did not return fully until 24 hours had passed.
