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Hoodia Tricks
the Brain into Believing the Body is Full
In the brain there is a section called the Hypothalamus, that
is the center of letting the body know that the stomach is full.
Hoodia effects the Hypothalamus by making it release a chemical
very similar to glucose, but it is 100,000 times more powerful.
Hoodia contains the molecule that fools the brain in to believing
it is satiated and you may even stop thinking about eating food.
There isn't much published research on hoodia. Researchers at
Brown University in Rhode Island recently found that the steroidal
glycosides in hoodia affects nerve cells in the hypothalamus that
monitor blood glucose. Simply put, the brain is tricked into thinking
there is enough energy (blood sugar) and doesn't need to eat,
so it shuts down the hunger mechanism.
In animal studies, hoodia is believed to reduce caloric intake
by 30 to 50 percent. There is one human study showing a reduced
intake of about 1000 calories per day.
Hoodia works by tricking the brain into thinking it is full.
Scientific studies exist on components of Hoodia, indicating that
it has direct effects on the central nervous system. There is
reported research in which Hoodia may have lowered food intake
by a factor of up to fifty percent in both animals and humans.
When South African scientists first tested the Hoodia plant, they
discovered that the plant contained previous unknown molecules
that act on the brain (hypothalamus) to fool the body into thinking
that food requirements have been satisfied. This sense of feeling
full is due to the brain being tricked into believing that satiety
exists. Satiety is a sense of fullness to the point of excess
and "to satiate" is to satisfy fully or to excess, in
a context most often related to food intake.
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There are no published long-term studies on the safety of
hoodia. Just because it has been used for thousands of years
doesn't mean it is safe. The San Bushmen are a tribe of
hunter-gatherers. They do not take pills for blood pressure,
diabetes, cholesterol, depression, and other diseases, like
we do. Hoodia simply hasn't reached a wide enough market
yet or undergone safety testing to know what the side effects,
drug interactions, and safety concerns are, if any.
People with diabetes should be particularly cautious. Because
hoodia tricks the brain into thinking that it has enough
blood sugar, it's possible that a person's blood sugar could
drop dangerously low while taking hoodia. With the regular
hunger mechanism turned off, the normal warning signs may
be suppressed -- until it's too late.
There are no studies evaluating the use hoodia during pregnancy,
lactation, in children, and by people with chronic conditions
such as heart, kidney, or liver disease.
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