What is this magic bush that suppresses hunger and thirst? It is hoodia gordonii, a plant with hunger quelling qualities long known by the San Bushmen, native residents of South Africa's Kalahari desert. Hoodia gordonii is fast becoming known as a promising weight reducing supplement. Reputedly used by the San Bushmen for thousands of years to curb hunger on long hunts, more recent and casual experiments done by the mainstream media seemed to reveal that hoodia gordonii does indeed help to curb hunger pangs. This isn't the bad part is it? No.

The scientific name for this drab looking bush is Hoodia gordonii, and as is expected the media would drop a scientific name in favor of something more eye catching, like "calorie cactus" or "fat busting plant." Regardless of what it's called, hoodia gordonii has amassed global attention for its apparent weight loss properties. Is that the bad part? No.

Hoodia gordonii can only be found in the Kalahari desert of South Africa, so to satisfy the current demands drug companies are performing experiments to try to synthetically create the active ingredient, the appetite suppressing part of hoodia gordonii in the lab. As of yet this creation of synthetic hoodia gordonii on a large scale has not been successful. Therefore the native hoodia gordonii plants growing on the San Bushmen's land are the the only source of this much sought after weight loss supplement. Because of this, many nations have put in place strict regulations controlling the import and export of hoodia gordonii. Could that be the bad part? Not really.

With the title, hoodia gordonii being so well known, many weight loss products companies have taken advantage of this and are using the name on their products. Currently, there are only a small number of companies that have been licensed to use and distribute proper African hoodia gordonii. Because consumers are keen for easy weight loss a huge market demand for hoodia gordonii has arisen. Unfortunately, this has led the weight loss industry to release products that occasionally falsely claim to contain hoodia gordonii as an ingredient. Is that the bad part? It can be to an unprepared consumer, but it is certainly a lot nearer to the mark.

Hoodia gordonii is a natural plant that can, apparently, suppress the appetite by letting the brain know that the stomach is full, even when it is empty. Research continues to confirm these claims of hoodia gordonii benefits, but the word of mouth evidence is mounting. The synthetic creation of bulk amounts of the active, hunger suppressing ingredient in hoodia gordonii could happen. Is that the bad part? Yes, but only if you are a seller of weight loss supplements!