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African Plant May
Help Fight Fat
When we located the plant, Kruiper cut off a stalk that
looked like a small spiky pickle, and removed the sharp
spines. In the interest of science, Stahl ate it. She described
the taste as "a little cucumbery in texture, but not
bad."
So how did it work? Stahl says she had no after effects
– no funny taste in her mouth, no queasy stomach,
and no racing heart. She also wasn't hungry all day, even
when she would normally have a pang around mealtime. And,
she also had no desire to eat or drink the entire day. "I'd
have to say it did work," says Stahl.
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Can a cactus plant be a magic
bullet for dieters?
Prickly bush in the Kalahari Desert could be
key to weight-loss success
Could a plant from South Africa be the weight-loss secret
that could help millions of overweight Americans slim down?
NBC News correspondent Janet Shamlian talks about the possible
magic pill we've all been waiting for.
It's the look everyone wants — a body to diet for.
They're on the beaches, in magazines and all over Hollywood.
How far will we go to get one? How about thousands of miles
and deep into a distant culture? South Africa’s Kalahari
Desert is home to what could be the answer to an appetite.
It's a cactus called hoodia. “You strip off the skin,
you strip off the spines, and then you consume it,”
says weight loss expert Madelyn Fernstrom.
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African Plant
May Help Fight Fat
Each year, people spend more than $40 billion on products
designed to help them slim down. None of them seem
to be working very well.
Now along comes hoodia. Never heard of it? Soon
it'll be tripping off your tongue, because hoodia
is a natural substance that literally takes your appetite
away.
It's very different from diet stimulants like Ephedra
and Phenfen that are now banned because of dangerous
side effects. Hoodia doesn't stimulate at all. Scientists
say it fools the brain by making you think you’re
full, even if you've eaten just a morsel. Correspondent
Lesley Stahl reports.
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"South African San Bushmen who live
in the Kalahari dessert drink hoodia cactus juice
to survive when food is not available. Now manufacturers
are harvesting the cactus' appetite-suppressing properties.
Studies done by the manufacturer show hoodia pills
don't cause the typical side effects of other diet
drugs such as jitteriness." |
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Pointy Plant
Offers Weight Loss Help
If you ate too much over the Thanksgiving holiday,
you may be thinking about dropping a few pounds. Could
a cactus help you lose that weight?
WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Donna Hamilton reports on
what some doctors are calling promising news for overweight
Americans.
Hoodia gordonii grows in the Kalahari -- 100,000
square miles of desert in South Africa. The San Bushmen
who live there have eaten the hoodia cactus plant
for centuries. They say it helps stave off hunger
on long hunting trips.
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Desert Plant
is Promising Appetite Suppressant and Weight Loss
Supplement
If you haven't heard about the supplement hoodia gordonii,
there's no doubt you will very soon. Hoodia, a natural
appetite suppressant, is earning attention as a potentially
powerful weapon in the war against obesity and the
American focus on losing weight. Hoodia supplements
were just introduced to the U.S. market in early 2004.
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