I'm just curious if anyone here has tried the herb Hoodia (purportedly a natural appetite suppressant) and what the effects were. I've never been one for taking diet pills, 'cause if there is a possible known side effect, I'll experience it! And I do realize that if weight is lost by taking a drug or herb, you'll most likely gain it back when you stop taking it.

But I still can't help but wonder if such a thing might tame the munchies a bit...

Yeah, yeah, I know... if it sounds too good to be true....

__________________
Staci

Nope, never heard of it!

Apparently the Bushmen of the Kalahari have been eating the hoodia plant for thousands of years. It is an appetite-suppressant that is now a diet product. It was on 60 Minutes last year (Nov 2004). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in656458.shtml

BBC (they *so* rock) have a great article on it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...nt/2947810.stm

I never tried it, but then again, I scare easily. I am never confident that the label actually reflects what is inside the product...

__________________

Read an article on this in the UC-Berkeley health newsletter the other day. The gist of the article is that there may be some truth to it's purported appetite-suppressing qualities, the usual disclaimers that there have been no controlled studies to prove it, and a warning that most of what is bottled and sold as hoodia has very little, if any, of the active ingredients in it. For that reason more than any, they warned against it, because you don't know what you're really getting in the bottle.

Aderyn

Yeah, good to know. Thanks!

The stuff isn't cheep, so it's definitely not worth it if there is little or no hoodia in the pills!

__________________
Staci

I was wondering about this too. Seems like the plant may work, but as I gather...there is no regulation as to the content of the pills?

My DH has been using it for several months now - the brand he uses (forget the name?) supposedly, according to some independent studies, DOES have what it says it contains. He really swears it works for him!

My problem is not appetite so I haven't tried it! Eating LC takes care of my appetite naturally.

Char

__________________
Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

Char, if you find out the brand, would you please let me know??

Eating LC keeps my appetite under control USUALLY, but there are times when I could eat everything in sight and REALLY want sweets. Maybe it's emotional eating rather than actually hunger, but I wonder if it would help for that as well...

Thank!

__________________
Staci

Hoodia is being sold by a Christian based organization. I can't remember the name right now. Also, hoodia is one of the ingredients in Trim Spa. I bought a "sample" pack, regularly $15, on sale for $9.99. There is enough in there for a week, since you have to take 4-5 pills per day. (There are 30 pills in the sample pack.)

Anyway, I would SWEAR that the stuff makes ME hungry! I quit taking it, then I found a couple in the bottom of my cooler and took them. I am not kidding, I think they make me hungrier.

I agree though, Staci. If you take something and lose weight, what happens when you quit taking it. And don't most people build up a "tolerance" to most drugs and have to keep taking ever-increasing doses? There was a woman on Dr.Phil that had been taking "diet pills" for 9 years and was completely hooked on them. She was taking handfuls every day. That's tough.

__________________

You're right Maxibee. I guess some small part of me holds out a glimmer of hope that someday there will be a quick and easy solution to my weight struggle...

Years ago, I went on Prozac for about six months. Without realizing it was happening, or giving it a second's thought, I became SKINNY! I just noticed one day that my pants were literally falling off of me. I was SO thrilled and amazed, but I guess I don't have to tell you that once I went off, BAM, the pounds came back with a few of their friends for good measure.

Okay, then. Back to reality...

__________________
Staci

I am VERY concerned about the possibility of being prescribed Straterra, Ritaling, or Adderall. I've heard they are stimulants and cause weight loss. It WOULD be nice to lose some weight AND be able to focus, but I'm fearful of what stopping the drug would do.

I'm holding out the same hope you are: a "magic pill" !

__________________