Weight Loss Aid

Have they heard the story right? Fox News 59’s take on new weight loss supplement Hoodia Gordonii

If you take a look at Fox News 59’s report on the increasing number of fake Hoodia Gordonii supplements on the market, we think you’ll agree with us when we say whilst they are accurate in their assumptions, their story is still vague. On the one hand, they make the incredibly valid point of: how are we to tell if we are receiving genuine Hoodia Gordonii when the company who owns the patent for it has not even released their own product. It is a point that paints a very different picture of the Hoodia market. Yet despite their accuracy, their general vagueness on how to look out for real products is not enough to give consumers a real helping hand.

Let us explain.

In overview of Fox News 59 report, they highlighted 3 key features to look for: country of origin (if its not from South Africa it is not genuine), 100% Hoodia Gordonii and price. And admittedly their overview of these 3 points was helpful, but to ensure that you are receiving real genuine, unaltered Hoodia Gordonii, there are other points that you really need to look out for:

CITES Certificate: this documentation will give you proof of where your Hoodia Gordonii supplement has been exported from. If it says it was exported from South Africa then it is more than likely real Hoodia Gordonii.

Ingredients: now whilst Fox News 59 was right that your supplement should only contain 100% Hoodia Gordonii. There is more to this story than seeing these 3 simple words. It is also important that you check that only the core of the plant has been used, as it is here where active ingredient P57 is found.

Medical Backing: one sure way to make sure you are receiving genuine Hoodia Gordonii is the check where it was laboratory tested. If it was done by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals, and their website has got the documentation to prove it, then they are the real deal.

Price: real Hoodia Gordonii is rare. In fact it is considered to be an endangered species which is why it is so hard to export. And the cost to export this rare plant is expensive. So as you can see, if it costs a lot to export, manufacturers are not going to sell it to you cheaply. They want to make a profit from their product.

So what are you to take from the Fox News 59 Report? Well it’s most important point – that the weight loss supplement market is becoming flooded with Hoodia products that are all claiming to be the real deal but that can provide no proof that they are. Take their other point about dietary supplements. Unregulated or quality controlled, companies who claim to be dietary supplements can essentially sell you anything. And we mean anything.

This is why it is so important to know what to look out for in order to increase your chances of receiving genuine, unaltered Hoodia Gordonii. Know what to look out for and you can begin experiencing natural healthy weight loss in no time. Take appetite suppressant product UniqueHoodia. Medically backed by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals and CGMP, they have the CITES certificate, testing and documentation to prove they are the real deal:

• 100% pure, unaltered Hoodia Gordonii
• Calorie reductions of 2,000 calories a day
• 10,000 times more productive at reducing your appetite than glucose

*Dear Readers, PLEASE NOTE: Consumers should be careful to follow a healthy and nutritious diet whilst taking this supplement, and should not go without eating.

"Hoodia vs., the BBC, their take on the miracle supplement 6 years on".

The BBC may have traveled deep into the Kalahari Desert over 6 years ago in order to get a 1-on-1 experience of Hoodia Gordonii, but the strength of their report is still being felt today. With the obesity levels reaching epidemic proportion, BBC news reporter Tom Mangold took on the challenge of unravelling the truth behind this appetite suppressant and the results they produced worked to bring greater confidence in this unique supplement. Breaking it down into its fundamentals, it cannot be denied that the BBC has probably provided one of the best overviews to date, of this supplement within the media.

From their description on how it works to make the hypothalamus believe the body is full, to their own experimentation with this supplement, their report may have been one of the earliest of its kind, but the content consumers can gather from this one report is incredible. Within this report readers can discover:

• That Hoodia Gordonii is rare and originates from the Kalahari Desert
• The process of P57’s discover by Phytopharm
• How Hoodia Gordonii works – 10,000 times more powerful than glucose, Hoodia makes the nerve cells in the brain believe you are full when you are not.
• The Clinical trials that had so far been conducted on the supplement (at that time)
• How Hoodia can reduce your calorie intake by 1,000 calories a day
• How Hoodia Gordonii is side effect free.

The BBC even went a step further by trying the Hoodia Gordonii plant themselves. Now whilst the strength of their facts are accurate, they also clearly display what is missing with their ending statement: the growing number of fake Hoodia Gordonii supplements on the web. And this was 6 years ago! The market you see before you today is even worse.

You see, their report was written at a time when Hoodia Gordonii was new and fresh to the market. When it was still in clinical trials. With this information hanging over the heads of manufacturer’s, it was harder for fake Hoodia supplements to sold. But today is a much different story. The clinical trials are all done… meaning unless consumers have got all the right tools to enable them to find real Hoodia Gordonii, then the likelihood that they may invest in a fake product is incredible.

Proof of the severity of this subject can be seen in the fact that leading laboratory testers Alkemist Pharmaceuticals discovered - of the hundreds they tested – that 80% of Hoodia products were either the wrong type of Hoodia (only the Hoodia Gordonii plant contains the active molecule P57) or were not 100% pure, unaltered Hoodia Gordonii. So what are you to do? Research.

Dear Readers, you see there are other more effective ways of checking your Hoodia Gordonii supplement to see whether it is real or not:
Medical Backing: Has it been tested by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals? Check the products certificates to see who tested it. A study is not enough. It needs to be an independent company.
CITES Certificate: What is its country of origin? Only South Africa grow and export genuine Hoodia Gordonii. Hoodia Gordonii grown in another country will be less effective.

Price: Due overharvesting Hoodia Gordonii is rare, making it expensive to export. For this reason check the products price. If it is cheap, it is cheap for a reason. It is not real.
Ingredients: for genuine Hoodia Gordonii, only the core of the plant must be used. Besides its gelatin capsules, there should be no other ingredients on the ingredients list.

Experience Genuine Hoodia Gordonii

Laboratory tested, and medically backed by numerous companies across the media UniqueHoodia can offer you the proof and the documentation, to back the credibility of their appetite suppressant capsule. In one compact package, consumers can experience the benefits of:
• 100% pure Hoodia Gordonii
• A calorie reduction of 2,000 calories a day
• 10,000 times the productivity of glucose at suppressing your appetite
• Increased energy and self esteem.
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*PLEASE NOTE: Consumers should be careful to follow a healthy and nutritious diet whilst taking this supplement, and should not go without eating.

Hoodia extracts – the controversy (v1).

Search for the term ‘Hoodia Gordonii’ on the web and you will find endless websites telling you to try their unique Hoodia extract. But here is where their first mistake comes in. Genuine 100% Hoodia Gordonii does not come in an extract form. No, not at all. All an extract actually means is that part – and we mean any part – of the Hoodia Gordonii plant has been used to make this supplement. And we don’t just mean random parts of the plant itself.

It is surprising how many inventive ways companies have come up with in order to make their 400mg look authentic. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the following list, it is incredible: leaves… flowers… one of the 13 other Hoodia plants… even caffeine. They have done anything and everything to cut down on the costs, and earn themselves more money. And the person, who ends up losing out in this scenario, is you and only you.

So what can you do to escape the hoodia extract controversy? Learn the basics of what to expect when you are looking to invest in a Hoodia Gordonii product. Take for example the capsules ingredient list. The only other ingredients you should ever find on the packaging of a Hoodia product is the core of the Hoodia Gordonii plant, gelatine, magnesium stearate and stearic acid.

Now before you jump the gun, and say that these 3 extra ingredients must make it not 100% pure, there is something you need to know. That is not strictly true. You see the ingredients we have just mentioned above form part of the capsule that contains the powdered form of the Hoodia plant. They are okay.

But if you find any other extra ingredients on the label or spot a quote that says it is an extract of the plant, then stop. All this information is actually telling you is that the capsule only contains 60% of the genuine Hoodia core. The rest are just fillers that will offer nothing beneficial to your weight loss journey. And according to research conducted by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals, over 80% of the Hoodia Gordonii capsules they tested, were found to be not 100% pure Hoodia Gordonii nor authentic.

And this figure is based on the number of products that were willingly sent to them to be tested. There are in fact hundreds of other Hoodia Gordonii products that have not been tested; that have not been proven to be the genuine article.
Saying this there are products out there that have got the backing, the clinical testing and the CITES certificate to prove that they are the real deal. UniqueHoodia being one of them.

Within one capsule users can find 460mg of pure, unaltered Hoodia Gordonii. No added fillers or ingredients, just the powdered form of the plants core. And this is 60mg more than the average Hoodia product will offer too. In one compact package, customers can experience the satisfaction of knowing that they are receiving:

• 100% pure, unaltered Hoodia – not the extract form, but powdered capsules
• A 2,000 calorie reduction every day
• 10,000 times the strength of appetite suppression, compared to glucose

Dear Readers, can genuine Hoodia Gordonii come in an extract form? The simple answer to this question is no, no they can’t. And the reason for this is simple too.

You see, when companies wield the term ‘Hoodia extract’, all they are actually offering you is a sample of the product they are claiming to sell. In most cases just 60%. The other 40% on the other hand can be anything from the leaves or flower of the Hoodia Gordonii plant; parts from other Hoodia plants (there are in fact 13 types of Hoodia plant, but only Hoodia Gordonii can offer users appetite suppression) and even caffeine.

So whilst said companies may claim to sell you genuine 100% Hoodia Gordonii extract, you would be lucky to actually get 60% of the real plant. The core where the active ingredient P57 is found. It is incredible what lengths companies will go to to cut corners in the production of this weight loss capsule. So check the label carefully before you consider investing.

Apart from the core of the Hoodia Gordonii plant, the only other ingredient you should ever find on the packaging is gelatib for its capsule. Now we can see that you’re confused. You’re thinking - didn’t we just tell you that there should only be one ingredient in the capsule? Well this is not strictly true. Take the ones we have listed above. They are actually the ingredients used to build up the capsule itself.

They are okay to be there, as they do not affect the authenticity of the Hoodia Gordonii plant or its purity levels. Their only job is to make sure the powdered form of the plants core is more accessible for you to use. Find anything else on the ingredient list or spot a quote that includes the phrase ‘extract’, and put it straight back. Don’t even look at it. All this information is actually telling you is that the product is not authentic and contains only 60% of real Hoodia Gordonii. But the news surrounding this controversy gets worse.

According to research performed by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals, they found that over 80% of Hoodia Gordonii capsules are not authentic. Now this not to say, that there are not genuine Hoodia Gordonii capsules out there who have got the backing, the clinical testing and the CITES certificate to prove their worth. It is just a question of looking around and making sure you check the ingredients label before you invest.

One example of a genuine hoodia product is UniqueHoodia. In one compact package, customers can experience the satisfaction of knowing that they are receiving:

• 100% pure, unaltered Hoodia – not the extract form, but powdered capsules
• A 2,000 calorie reduction every day
• 10,000 times the strength of appetite suppression, compared to glucose.

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We have all been there, you turn up to work full of good intentions for the day. You promise yourself you will not give in to temptation and not a single sugary treat will pass through your lips. Snacking at work is not even an option today. It’s all going well so far you think to yourself, however, no sooner does that thought enter your head, your stomach rumbles. You feel the hunger and assume it’s nearly lunch time. Then you check the time and its only 10:30am – the mid-morning munchies have arrived!!

You can last until lunch you tell yourself but your stomach has other ideas. You try and think of something else but the only thing your mind is thinking about is chocolate and cakes. You cannot last any longer and rush to the vending machine – not a single healthy snack is on show. You give in and tell yourself tomorrow will be different, tomorrow you will avoid snacking at work. We have all been there; snacking at work is a big problem day in, day out for the vast majority of us. The average person spends $45 on snacks every month. However, it doesn’t have to be like this.

There are ways you can stop snacking at work. The office does not need to be the place you surrender all willpower. Here are my top 5 tips to help you cut out those sweet treats at your desk:
1. Remain Calm
Stress is one of the biggest reasons why snacking at work is so hard to control. If you can stay relaxed by planning your workload efficiently then it will be easier to say no to those unhealthy snacks.

2. Stock up on Fruit
Keeping a supply of fruit on your desk will give you an alternative option to chocolate, cakes and potato chips. Better still, you won’t even have to leave your desk to get them!

3. Don’t Carry Loose Change
This is particularly useful if you have a vending machine at work. No spare change in your pocket means you cannot use the vending machine and no matter how much you want that chocolate bar you cannot have it.

4. Keep Yourself Busy
No doubt you often snack because you are bored. If you can keep yourself busy then you will not even think about snacking. Always ensure you have tasks to do to keep your mind off sweet treats.

5. Invest in an Appetite Suppressant
This is one of the tricks I swear by. Appetite suppressants are small pills you take each day which gives signals to the brain that you are full and do not require more food. They are perfectly safe and help you to get your willpower back and control those snacking at work cravings.

By far the best appetite suppressant I have used is a product called UniqueHoodia. They use only the purest Hoodia Gordonii from South Africa which has been clinically proven to suppress your appetite. Results have also shown that UniqueHoodia can help cut your calorie intake by as much as 2,000 calories a day meaning weight loss is much faster and easier than by dieting alone. If you want to cut out snacking at work then look no further – UniqueHoodia is your key to controlling those cravings.

Find out more about how to stop snacking at work with UniqueHoodia by clicking here.

Heidi Lambeth – I Dropped Six Dress Sizes with Zotrim
A busy mum of two, Heidi gained weight gradually over a number of years due to large portion sizes and habitual snacking. To her horror, she soon found herself weighing 16st 4lb – massively overweight for her 5’ 8” frame.

Becoming increasingly fed up of derogatory comments and of feeling hot, sweaty and tired, Heidi was keen to find a solution that worked for her.

Knowing that she ate a generally healthy diet, just too much of it, Heidi wasn’t keen on going on a conventional diet. A friend suggested she try Zotrim, a herbal supplement that contains three South American herbs – Guarana, Yerba Mate and Damiana.

Zotrim was the perfect solution for Heidi as it works by increasing the feelings of fullness, meaning you feel fuller quicker and for longer, reducing portion sizes and the desire to snack between meals.

Heidi was able to carry on eating her favourite meals, but reduced the amount she ate and stopped snacking on the children’s leftovers and other ‘treats’. Heidi soon found she was dropping a dress size every couple of weeks, and soon reached her ideal weight of 11st 5lb.

Just as importantly, Heidi has passed on her good food habits to her whole family. Her husband has also lost weight due to decreased portion sizes and snacking and the family is much healthier in general.

Zotrim® Research Evidence

Weight Loss Data

Zotrim has been independently investigated in five studies. In summary, the 223 subjects that took Zotrim lost an average of 0.7 kg (1.5 lb) per each 10-day period. In the key study1 47 overweight subjects took either Zotrim tablet or a placebo (dummy tablet) for 45 days. Those taking Zotrim lost an average of 5.1 kg (11.2 lbs) whereas those taking placebo lost just 0.3 kg (0.7 lb). In a shorter, placebo-controlled study1 with 44 overweight subjects, those taking Zotrim lost an average of 0.8 kg (1.8 lb) versus 0.3 kg (0.7 lb) for placebo over 10 days.

In three further ‘open’ label studies average weight-loss was:

Ø 2.3 kg over 28 days in 48 subjects wishing to loss weight2
Ø 1.8 kg over 28 days in 56 overweight women3
Ø 2.3 kg over 42 days in 73 overweight healthcare professionals4

In the most recent study4 it was reported that over the relatively short period of 42 days that 22% of subjects achieved a clinically significant loss of weight, equal to >5% of original body weight!

Weight Loss Management Data

A key success factor of any weight–loss regime is whether the weight loss is maintained or whether the weight lost is rapidly regained (the “yo-yo” effect’). Zotrim has been shown to give lasting weight loss results:

23 subjects who had lost weight with Zotrim were studied for a further 12 months and instructed to take Zotrim again if they gained more than 1 kg1. The group had almost the same average weight (72.5 kg) at the end of the 12 months as at the start (73kg)! This demonstrates the effectiveness of Zotrim in weight loss management!

Slimmer Waistline Data

A slimmer waistline is a key objective of most dieters, but it is also increasingly used as an important indicator of risk of diseases such as heart disease with advice that men should have a waist measurement of less that 37cm and women less than 32 cm. Two of the ‘open’ label studies with Zotrim investigated ‘waistline loss’

· 4.3 cm average waistline loss was achieved in 56 overweight women in 28 days3.
· 3.6 cm average waistline loss and 3.7 cm average hip measurement loss was achieved in 73 healthcare professionals over 42 days4.

Zotrim therefore helps users get into ‘great shape’.

Eating Control Data

There is significant evidence that Zotrim helps you to both eat less during meals and to snack less between meals. Our feeling of fullness (satiety) is controlled by links between the brain, nervous system and gastro-intestinal tract. This includes ‘satiety’ signals that indicate when we have eaten enough and should stop eating. For example, a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) is released into the blood as food is digested, acts on receptors in the brain, which then slows the rate of stomach emptying.

The initial evidence for an effect of Zotrim was on slowing the rate of stomach emptying1. Using ultrasound studies with 7 subjects who drank 400 ml apple juice, the stomach emptied much more slowly (average 58 minutes) after taking one dose of Zotrim compared to then taking a placebo tablet (emptying in 38 minutes). This indicated that Zotrim, by slowing the rate of stomach emptying, should make us feel fuller longer and stop snacking between meals.

This was supported by a study with 20 subjects, 10 of which took Zotrim and 10 of which took placebo for 20 days5. In the last week they were asked to record time to fullness during meals. Perception of fullness occurred much sooner when taking Zotrim, for example, at lunch the average time to perceived fullness was decreased from 21.5 minutes to 12 minutes!

In the latest study with healthcare nurses, between meal snacking and attitude to fullness and hunger was monitored4. It was found that:

Ø Between-meal snacking decreases (by a half) from the start of the study compared to six weeks of Zotrim use:
· From 1.15 to 0.72 mid afternoon
· From 1.84 to 0.69 in evening

Ø When taking Zotrim less than 20% reported that they ‘did not feel full unless they had eaten a large portion’ compared with over 60% at the start of the study

Ø Between meal hunger ratings reduced from a high rating of ‘5’ at the start of the study to medium ‘3’ when taking Zotrim and increased again when Zotrim was stopped.

The unique patented Zotrim formulation

Zotrim contains a special combination of extracts from three South American plants that have a long history of use in foods for wellbeing and weight loss8. The formulation was developed and optimised through extensive research and testing by an international team of medical researchers. The three plants used in Zotrim are:

Yerbe Maté (Ilex Paraguariensis); an evergreen tree, which grows widely in South America. Its leaves are used to make a refreshing stimulating tea particularly in Paraguay and Argentina.
Damiana (Turnera difusa); is a small shrub native to Mexico and found elsewhere in Central America. Its leaves have been used for several traditional food uses including as an aphrodisiac.
Guarana (Paullinia cupana); is a creeping shrub native to the Amazonian rain forests. Its seeds are used to produce a stimulating drink similar to caffeine drinks. There is increasing evidence that guarana improves mental and cognitive performance

The Zotrim formulation is covered by granted patents in many countries throughout Europe and in the USA9.

Zotrim and Weight Loss

Weight loss and management of a lower weight is achieved simply by eating less calories and/or by “burning off” more calories usually by more exercise. Zotrim has a dual mode of action, which addresses both sides of the ‘eat-less calories’ and the ‘burn-off-more calories’ equation:

Eat less calories:

Zotrim helps you to:

Ø feel full sooner during a meal so that you tend to consume less at a meal
Ø feel satisfied after a meal so that you tend to snack less

Burn more calories:

Zotrim contains natural plant extracts from guarana and yerba maté, which are mild stimulants and invigorators having a caffeine-like effect.

As a result, Zotrim:

Ø can help us to be generally more active
Ø ‘burn off’ more calories than we would otherwise do

Zotrim can therefore assist weight-loss and weight management even without changes of food choice or activity levels! However, you are recommended to eat healthily, watch calorie intake and to try to be more active. Even mild exercise such as walking an additional 15 - 20 minutes per day can play an important contribution. Zotrim can thus be used with any chosen diet regime, weight management programme or exercise programme to increase the chance of success.

How does Zotrim compare to other weight loss products?

A) To other food supplements:
Of many food supplement weight loss products on the UK market, only Zotrim provides scientific evidence via placebo-controlled studies. In a recent review6 on the efficacy of active ingredients for over the counter, weight management products it was concluded: ‘the results showed little evidence for most weight loss claims, with the exception of a formulation containing Yerbe Mate, Guarana and Damiana’ (all contained in Zotrim).

B) To diet programmes:
The average rate of weight loss (kg per week) on Zotrim compares very favourably with that reported in a randomised trial from various weight loss programmes tested for eight weeks4:

Zotrim (45 day placebo control) 0.79
Zotrim (mean of all trials) 0.50
Slim Fast 0.46
Weight Watchers 0.59
Atkins diet 0.65

NB: Zotrim may be used with diet programmes to increase success.

C) To prescription drugs
A recent review7 reported the limited efficacy of prescription drugs for weight loss. Analysing trials of over one year duration, the average weight losses achieved over placebo were:

Xenical 2.9 kg
Sibutramine 4.2 kg
Rimonabant 4.7 kg

By comparison, Zotrim achieved a weight loss of 4.7 kg over placebo in 45 days! Additionally, most of the drug trials also included the need for calorie controlled diets whereas Zotrim does not!

References

1. Andersen, T and Fogh, J (2001). ‘Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients’, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Vol. 14, pp. 243-250.

2. Ruxton, C. H. S. (2004). Efficacy of Zotrim: a herbal weight loss preparation, Nutrition and Food Science, Vol. 34, pp. 25-28.

3. Ruxton, C. H. S., Hinton, F. and Evans, C. E. (2005), ‘Effects of an over-the-counter herbal weight management product (ZotrimTM) on weight and waist circumference in a samples of overweight women: a consumer study’, Nutrition and food Science, Vol. 35, pp. 303-314.

4. Ruxton, C. H. S., Kirkwood, L., McMillan, B., StJohn, D., and Evens, C. E. L., (2007), Effectiveness of a herbal supplement (ZotrimTM) for weight management’, British Food Journal, Vol. 109, pp. 416-428.

5. Andersen, T. S., (2002), ‘Early sensation of gastric fullness following a herbal preparation used for weight loss’, 3rd Health and Nutrition Conference, London.

6. Ruxton, C. H. S. and Gardner, E. J., (2005) ‘A review of the efficacy and safety of key ingredients of over-the-counter products for weight management’ British Food Journal, Vol. 107, pp. 111-124.

7. Rucher, D., Padwal, R., Li, S. K., Curioni, C., and Lau, D. C. W. (2007), ‘Long term pharmacotherapy for obesity and overweight: updated meta-analysis’, British Medical Journal, bmj. 39385.413113.25

8. Taylor, L. (1998) ‘Herbal secrets of the rainforest; the healing power of over 50 medicinal plants you should know about’. Prima Publishing, California.

9. US patent 5,945,107; European patent 1 037 644.