Hoodia

First of all let's get one thing straight: "Real Hoodia gordonii works, but it is not cheap!" Hoodia gordonii is a natural plant that takes 5 years to mature, it hasn't been farmed until very recently (early 2004) so there's not much of it about, which makes it expensive when there, is a lot of demand for it. Take into account the long lasting draught and the bio-piracy that have greatly affected the wild supply and it becomes understandable why there is only a limited supply of real South African Hoodia gordonii on the market.

Most Hoodia gordonii material currently on the market is harvested by farm owners whom are licensed by the Western Cape Nature Conservation. Reports have just come in that there exists a slim possibility of licensing in the Northern Cape and as such new possibilities are opening up to Hoodia farmers to sustain the large Hoodia market.

The increased Hoodia gordonii supply might help to rid the market of the many fake products currently being sold, see our list of current fake products. People who are uninformed will easily buy either the diluted Hoodia product or the fake ones currently being distributed on a global scale. Sadly many of the vendors selling the fake product is so well marketed that they just keep on selling the material without any loss to their swindling income. This means that the scammers who just want to make money by tapping the new-found Hoodia boom are going to use small quantities of real Hoodia gordonii blended with either Oppuntia, Sawdust, Starch, Silica leaves or other non toxic material (the reports can be seen on our fake products list) to cut their costs but still profit from the Hoodia gordonii name. What alarms us most is that one cannot be guaranteed that only non toxic material is used to stretch the material and as such some standard should be set. Don't be fooled by fake marketing techniques and manipulation when buying, insist on independent referencable analysis! For examples and suspect certificates go here. View the Hoodia species CITES inclusion as html here and pdf here.

All REAL South African Hoodia gordonii supplies worldwide are the same strength.

Currently 99% of all Hoodia gordonii on the market is wild crafted Hoodia material. Hoodia gordonii as protected species has many limitations concerning collecting the species in the wild. Currently the only body issuing limited Hoodia gordonii wild crafting / or Hoodia collection permits is the Western Cape Nature Conservation (WCNC). Further more a CITES certificate is needed for exporting Hoodia gordonii from South Africa. Thus even in this truth yet another Hoodia gordonii fallacy is exposed.

Kalahari Hoodia gordonii doesn't exist on the market simply because the region in which the Kalahari is (Northern Cape) does not allow for the collection or wild crafting of Hoodia gordonii. Nor does it allow the export of Hoodia gordonii from its province. Thus in short all who claim to have Kalahari Hoodia gordonii ether has the fake Hoodia (saw dust, starch powder, oppuntia, senna leaves or as has been brought to our attention, possibly even hallucinogenic cactus). Any one who has real Hoodia gordonii from the Kalahari is breaking the law and can as such be persecuted under the bio-terorism act for possessing illegal Hoodia gordonii.

The SAN People of South Africa who have been using Hoodia for several thousands of years, have not experienced any ill side effects. Moreover, scientists conducting tests on Hoodia have likewise concluded that that along with causing a significant decrease in daily calorie intake, the safety data obtained are consistent with a satisfactory overall safety profile.

Strictly Health has been selling Hoodoba® Hoodia gordonii diet pills and liquids since 2003, and other than the occasional dry mouth (you should drink plenty of water while taking Hoodia anyway), we have had no reported cases of any side effects from the many thousands who have taking our Hoodia products. Moreover, we have many customers who take multiple medications and experience no ill side effects whatsover. Just be sure the Hoodia you take is 100% pure, and that it's never mixed with any additives or fillers of any kind.