Hoodia and scammers
Gotten any email spam lately with a 'warning' about buying fake Hoodia products or Hoodia products with a variety of fillers?
Of course, they assure you that THEIR product is 'the original product.' It may be the original product, whatever that might mean, but the chances of it containing Hoodia are pretty close to zero.
Or maybe you're getting the spam about Hoodia 92--, whatever, or one about getting into skinny jeans or having men chase you, or the brickwall last 18 pounds spam with the large "disc0unts". Obviously the spammers see this as a potentially lucrative market. If any of the spam tempts you, you really need to be aware of a few things about Hoodia.
The whole diet area is scam heaven for unscrupulous, dishonest con artists selling products that do nothing and cost a lot. The few legitimate ones can be nearly impossible to identify among the fakes.
Legally, only one company has the license to market Hoodia as a weight loss product. Hoodia gordonii, as a weight loss product, has been patented by CSIR (the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) and patents have been submitted in territories all over the world. Exclusive license for these patents belongs to Phytopharm, a bio-pharmaceutical company.
The main problem is that Hoodia is a slow growing succulent (it looks sort of like a cactus) which grows wild in limited areas in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. While not endangered (yet), it is listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). That means there are legal controls on collecting Hoodia and on exporting it.
Richard writes on a variety of health and niche subjects. If you're interested in low carb (be careful with this kind of diet, it may be unsafe), http://www.Carb.Werkz.org has recipes, articles, news and diet resources. http://diet.werkz.info has more articles and information on diets, dieting, nutrition and fitness.
Of course, they assure you that THEIR product is 'the original product.' It may be the original product, whatever that might mean, but the chances of it containing Hoodia are pretty close to zero.
Or maybe you're getting the spam about Hoodia 92--, whatever, or one about getting into skinny jeans or having men chase you, or the brickwall last 18 pounds spam with the large "disc0unts". Obviously the spammers see this as a potentially lucrative market. If any of the spam tempts you, you really need to be aware of a few things about Hoodia.
The whole diet area is scam heaven for unscrupulous, dishonest con artists selling products that do nothing and cost a lot. The few legitimate ones can be nearly impossible to identify among the fakes.
Legally, only one company has the license to market Hoodia as a weight loss product. Hoodia gordonii, as a weight loss product, has been patented by CSIR (the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) and patents have been submitted in territories all over the world. Exclusive license for these patents belongs to Phytopharm, a bio-pharmaceutical company.
The main problem is that Hoodia is a slow growing succulent (it looks sort of like a cactus) which grows wild in limited areas in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. While not endangered (yet), it is listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). That means there are legal controls on collecting Hoodia and on exporting it.
Richard writes on a variety of health and niche subjects. If you're interested in low carb (be careful with this kind of diet, it may be unsafe), http://www.Carb.Werkz.org has recipes, articles, news and diet resources. http://diet.werkz.info has more articles and information on diets, dieting, nutrition and fitness.