The Hoodia Industry Exposed

-I own a Hoodia products company, which I started with my business partner 3 1/2 years ago
-I have been to South Africa 3 separate occasions
-I have spoken directly to the Bushmen of the Kalahari about how they used Hoodia
-I have personally seen and felt the effects of real Hoodia

Hello, my name is Kedric and I own a Hoodia products company and I have finished product brand of pure Hoodia gordonii, however I will not mention my own brand of Hoodia.  I am writing this for the sole purpose of imparting my knowledge I have learned over the past 3 1/2 years I have been in the Hoodia business.

 
My Start in the Hoodia Industry

I originally started this company after my father who had struggled with weight loss for many years had tried raw Hoodia plants, which we had purchased, and lost 20 lbs.  We were so impressed with the results that we decided to start this company.  The entire time I have been in the Hoodia industry, I have never seen or heard of anyone having any negative side effects.


Most of the Products on the Market are Fake

75% of the products in the market right now are currently fake and contain no Hoodia whatsoever (this study was performed by Alkemist Pharmaceuticals based in Costa Mesa, California).  Many other products are cut with bulk fillers because real Hoodia is so expensive.  By diluting the Hoodia, it makes it less effective.  We have secured this information from doing tests on many different companies’ products.  For legal reasons I cannot mention their names, but I can tell you how to prove and verify that the Hoodia that you are getting is real.

What to Look for to be Sure You’re Getting Real Hoodia

Whatever company you choose to buy your product from, be sure that they perform the following tests:  (The following tests are the only way to be able to verify Hoodia gordonii in powdered form; a simple Certificate of Analysis listing the bacterial content is not enough)

1. Thinlayer Liquid Chromatography (TLC)

2. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

3. Microscopy

These three tests act as a chemical fingerprint, and must then be cross-referenced against a University verified sample of Hoodia gordonii (the reference sample must be from a reputable University).  These tests can guarantee authenticity and purity of the Hoodia gordonii powder, and must be done by an independent lab.  These tests must be done on every shipment that the company receives, and that company should then upload those exact test results from every shipment to their website.  On the actual bottle of product there should be a batch number so that you can cross reference from their website your exact bottle of Hoodia with the exact test results for that particular bottle that you purchased. 

These quality control measures seem drastic, but if you knew the amount of corruption that occurs in this industry, you would insist on it every time.  I found that this is the only way to be absolutely certain that what we were getting is real Hoodia.  We require these tests be done because shortly after I started this company, we were ripped off by a “Hoodia” supplier.  We purchased $23,000 worth of Hoodia (this was a lot of money for us) but after we imported the material, and paid our money, we later tested to product and found out that there was absolutely no Hoodia in it!  We would never sell fake Hoodia, so we lost that money.  Thus, all consumers should demand that the authenticity of their product be proven with TLC, HPLC, and Microscopy tests preformed against an independently verified sample of Hoodia.

Why are there so many Fake Hoodia Products?

It seems ridiculous that companies in the U.S. could ever sell products that contain no Hoodia when they claim Hoodia as an ingredient.  The reason why this problem is so prevalent is because:

1. In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which allows the dietary supplement industry to regulate itself rather than the government.

2. The dietary supplement market has high margins, and thus there is a lot of money to be made.

3. There are very little initial costs and overhead required to get into this business.

4. When plants are in powdered form, it is very difficult to identify the plant other than using costly scientific testing procedures (TLC, HPLC, and Microscopy), which are too expensive for most consumers to perform.

Thus,

(High Margins + little overhead + difficulty to verify product quality) - Government regulation and monitoring = The corruption that is so prevalent in the Hoodia Industry

Crooks can enter this industry, market the heck out of their fake Hoodia product, and walk away after 2 years with lots of money.  Unsuspecting customers are left holding the bill.
 

The Math in this Industry Does Not Add Up

As I mentioned before, I have been to South Africa 3 times and to meet the Bushmen in the Kalahari once.  Hoodia gordonii only grows in southern Africa, and South Africa is the only country that is currently exporting Hoodia. Currently, there is approximately 1000kg of Hoodia coming out of South Africa on a monthly basis. 

Here is some math:

1 capsule = 400mg Hoodia

60 capsules = 1 bottle

1kg Hoodia gordonii powder = 40 bottles

Thus, currently the Hoodia industry can produce 40,000 bottles of Hoodia per month (40 bottles per kg. x 1000kg per month)

Hoodia is huge all over the world.  A lot of foreign companies are buying up the Hoodia out of South Africa and taking it all over the world, thus using up a lot of the existing supply, putting more strain on the small industry of 1000kg per month.  It would be nearly impossible for companies get enough Hoodia to legitimately produce enough bottles to supply the major retail centers like Wal-Mart and GNC (however, somehow there are companies that are supplying these retailers with what they claim to be “Hoodia”).

Real Hoodia in bulk powder is extremely expensive (supply and demand) and unless many of these other companies know something I don’t know, there is no way that they could be selling their Hoodia for some of the extremely low prices I see on the internet. 

Bottom Line...there is not enough Hoodia in the whole world to be selling the quantities or at the low price point that many of the companies are currently selling.

Final Thoughts

The truth of the matter is there is no silver bullet.  If you want to achieve long-term weight-loss, you must change your lifestyle.  But Hoodia does work! I have personally tried it and it successfully suppressed my appetite, and my father is now at a healthy weight because of taking Hoodia. 

With all my experience in Hoodia, I know that it has the ability to help people gain control over their appetite enough to begin changing their lifestyle.  Because it is a natural product, and has no known side effects, I believe that anyone who is serious about losing weight should be taking real Hoodia.  The appetite control that Hoodia offers can easily mean the difference between a lifestyle change that works or fails. 

I have not plugged my own brand of Hoodia product, but if you would like to read more about how our company does things differently, you can go to our website:

http://www.hoodiaproducts.com

Good luck and God bless,

Kedric Van de Carr