American TV Channel CBS finally 'discovers' Hoodia

Following from the excellent report by Tom Mangold of the UK's BBC, CBS sent their own reporter Lesley Stahl to see for herself the 'magic' of Hoodia Gordonii for their '60 Minutes' program.

"The hoodia plant in the Kalahari Desert could become the newest weapon in the war against obesity"
Comment from the CBS Report

Being in the UK, I was unable to actually see the program, but am basing my comments here on the review of the program on CBS News site.

I am also taking the opportunity to comment on some of the issues raised by the program which have been picked up by customers and users of our Hoodia Gordonii based products.

" ... the only place in the world where hoodia grows wild is in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa."

Wrong ... Check Phytopharms own site to find out:

[Referring to the wild plant] "Hoodia gordonii is very rare and is protected by national conservation laws in South Africa and Namibia."

Further, in relation to 'CITES' (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora): "A proposal to include Hoodia on Appendix II has been submitted by the range states (South Africa, Namibia and Botswana)"

So Hoodia Gordonii grows wild in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

The important thing to note though is that no company should be supplying products using these sources. It is illegal to harvest wild stocks of Hoodia.

How can you tell if a company is using illegal stocks? Generally they will be cheaper. This may sound good to you, the end user, but unfortunately not that good. There are several species of Hoodia. The one we are interested is the Gordonii. There have been many instances of 'mistaken identity', so in fact you may not be getting genuine Hoodia Gordonii with cheaper 'money-saving' products.

Also, by buying products made from illegally harvested wild stock, no royalties are going back to the tribespeople - so you are denying them the opportunity to benefit from a better future.

The Hoodia Patent ...

The patent is on the active ingredient within the Hoodia Gordonii - which has been named P57.

Although you can patent an active ingredient within a plant, it is impossible to patent a whole plant.

Phytopharm intend to extract the P57 from the Hoodia Gordonii for use as an added ingredient in weight loss products.

Ultimate Hoodia™ uses the 'core' of the Hoodia Gordonii, powdered and made in to capsules or tablets.

Because of the patent, they are unable to actively advertise their products as containing P57, or use terms such as extract or 20:1 (20:1 - it takes 2o kilos of fresh Hoodia Gordonii core to make 1 kilo of Hoodia Core powder).

You will no doubt have seen some companies using these terms - they are actually breaking the law under the terms of the patent.

So although we cannot advertise the fact, logic dictates that as they use properly laboratory refined Hoodia Gordonii powder in their supplements, any active ingredients would still be present in the finished product.

The active molecule identified as P57 in the Hoodia Gordonii, is but one of the active molecules within the plant itself, and most probably only makes up the 0.1 percentage in nature.

Consider that this is what the tribespeople eat themselves to achieve the results you are after.

Other Questions Raised:

 

Safety ...
All products undergo five quality control tests to ensure purity:

"All products undergo at least 5 Quality Control testing suites during production and before the product is released to Shipping.

Raw Materials are cleared by the Pharmacy assuring that all ingredients meet or exceed the product specification.

Product is tested during and after the mixing process to guarantee that the ingredients have been completely and properly distributed throughout the mix. This is an important step in making sure each tablet or capsule meet the full product specification.

Products are again tested during Tableting/Encapsulation assuring you that the product meets weight and potency specifications.

After Tableting is completed and before coating, ALL tablets pass through a Visual QC Inspection table to reject any broken or damaged tablets.

And, finally, products receive a final and full testing after packaging guaranteeing that the product meets all potency, quality and packaging specifications."

Also, the manufacturing plant follows strict FDA guidelines:

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the power to ensure that products on the market are both safe and accurately labeled. Before a product can be sold, a manufacturer must first notify the FDA of all intended label claims and ensure that they can be substantiated."

As well as GMP Quality Control Guidelines:

"According to the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA) passed by Congress, the FDA requires that Dietary Supplements are manufactured in accordance with GMP guidelines. Our QC procedures perform all GMP's as a minimum standard. In many cases additional QC checks and balances have been instituted to guarantee the quality of our products."

As you can see, our products meet safety, quality and potency standards.

If there are any further issues that you need answering, please feel welcome to email us here.

 

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What if you had to travel 500 miles to get to the nearest grocery store and you had nothing to eat on the way? How did they do it? Simple - the miracle plant known as Hoodia Gordonii. These ancient people have utilized this plant for thousands of years to stave off hunger and thirst. Hoodia Gordonii literally keeps you from feeling hungry.
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