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Hoodia currorii,
Hoodia flava, Hoodia
lugardii, Hoodia officinale
&
Hoodia pilifera are all
known appetite suppressing varieties
of Hoodia |
Hoodia Gordonii — not the only
Hoodia!
As a result of the Hoodia frenzy all
Hoodia plants and seed (regardless
of their true varietal nature) are
being sold as “Hoodia Gordonii”—even
though all Hoodia types are used by
Africans for the same purpose.
Just as there are many varieties of
coffee that contain caffeine;
regarding appetite suppression in
Africa “a Hoodia is a Hoodia.”
• Differences relate to
appearances, the color of the
flowers, etc.
• If you get hung up that Gordonii
(pronounced gore-don-nee-eye) is
the “one true Holy Grail” then you
have swallowed the Hoodia scam
“hook, line and sinker.” What did
P.T. Barnum quip about suckers?
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For proof;
read the
enclosed reprint. I obtained
that information from the International Asclepiad
Society in England.
A list of other P57
containing Hoodias
includes Hoodia currorii,
Hoodia flava, Hoodia
lugardii, and Hoodia
officinale. In addition to
Hoodia pilifera these are
also known to be appetite
suppressing varieties of
Hoodia.
The reprint proves that it was NOT Gordonii but Pilifera
that was named as the
appetite-suppressing plant.
What happened? Truth is one
of the first casualties of a
scam. Gordonii simply grows
more abundantly in southern
Africa near centers of
trade. So its easy to get
and export from the Cape
region. Scammers
who obtained the seeds
and/or plants then declared
on a website that Gordonii was the
only Hoodia that contained the
magical P57 molecule. Liars!
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Soon other
sellers stopped identifying their Hoodia as Macrantha, Ruschii,
Pilifera, etc. Remember the problem
with VHS versus Betamax? Or the PC
versus the Mac? Nothing dilutes
sales like choices; a good scam has
to have that "one and only" aspect
to it to concentrate profits.
Years
ago I purchased Hoodia varieties to
form a collection of them—from ebay sellers
who now claim everything they have
is Gordonii. You, the consumer
have no way of telling a Macrantha
from a Juttae from a Ruschii from a
Gordonii. But
why worry about that when all the hoodias are used by African natives
for the same purpose?
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I take 1/4 pound and
peal off the bitter skin
with the sharp spikes. |
Why do I harp on this
fact? Because it demonstrates how
greed distorts people into lying to
make money. Let’s calm down and stop
that. OK? There is way too much
"hype" and way too little
"facts" about Hoodias
No one really knows how to care for
Hoodia as a houseplant. It is a
desert species that grows in
unqualified conditions:
• What are the yearly average daily temperatures?
• What is the PH of the desert soil? Description of soil
regarding organic content, minerals,
etc.?
• How much annual rainfall do these
receive in the wild? How deep are the
roots? Do they spread out over large
areas to collect moisture during
rains or do they burrow down deep to
find it?
• Are there beneficial, symbiotic
microorganisms present that live on
the roots? Many rare plants depend
upon these for feeding their roots.
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This
amount has no effect
upon me. Maybe I have to
eat 1/2 pound? |
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"eBay doesn't allow
members to sell any
endangered or protected
species"
|
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006
eBay Listing Removed:
Animals, Plants and Wildlife
Dear zircon6,
Auction #150011934152 -
Hoodia Gordonii, live plant,
"diet cactus", succulent
Your listing(s) violates
eBay's Animals, Plants and
Wildlife policy and has been
removed. In accordance with
our User Agreement, items
prohibited by law or by eBay
policy are not allowed on
eBay. We have credited all
associated fees to your
account and notified eBay
users associated with the
transaction that it has been
cancelled.
The sale of live animals and
wildlife products may be
prohibited by law,
regulated, or harmful to the
Community. For this reason,
eBay allows the sale of live
animals and wildlife
products only under very
specific, limited
conditions. eBay doesn't
allow members to sell any
endangered or protected
species or any parts of
them. For more information
on the eBay Animals, Plants
and Wildlife policy, please
visit: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/wildlife.html
Please note: violation of
this or other eBay policies
may result in forfeit of
eBay fees on cancelled
listings, limits on account
privileges and account
suspension.
We thank you in advance for
your cooperation.
Regards,
eBay Trust & Safety |
|
Your listing was removed
from our site as you were
selling a hoodia plant which
is not permitted on our site
as this plant
is endangered.
|
Date: Mon, 17 Jul
2006
From: eBay Customer Support
Dear zircon6,
Thank you for writing eBay
in regard to why your
listing was removed
from our site.
eBay generally does not
allow the listing of an
endangered animal
or endangered plant. Your
listing was removed from our
site as you were
selling a hoodia plant which
is not permitted on our site
as this plant
is endangered. That being
said, we must respectfully
ask that you
refrain from listing such
items again on our site.
Though you may not list this
item on our site, I am sure
there are other
items that you may have that
you can sell on our site. We
thank you in advance
for your cooperation, and
wish you luck with your
future eBay
transactions Rusty!
Sincerely,
James Vanostrand
eBay Customer Support |
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Do your own
Internet research |
Growing in a flower pot? —
•
http://www.cacti.co.il/baran.htm
Hoodia Gordonii scams—
•
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002850423_healthhoodia08.html
•
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505E3D71231F935A15757C0A9639C8B63
What Hoodia variety do you really
have?—
•
http://www.asclepidarium.de/Fotoausstellung
Bilder Hoodia.htm
Learn about Hooida from the
encyclopedia—
•
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_hoodia_cactus
Hoodia is an asclepiad. Join
the International Asclepiad Society
and become a member—
•
http://www.asclepiad-international.org |
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Consumer Reports "long on the
exotic and short on the evidence" |
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"The February issue of Consumer
Reports ...an article on hoodia
gordonii, calling it long on the
exotic and short on the
evidence...."We could find only two
studies of hoodia. In one, an
unpublished 15-day clinical trial
from a manufacturer, Phytopharm,
nine volunteers who took pills
containing P57, the supposed active
ingredient, consumed fewer calories
and lost more fat than those who
took a placebo."..."Consumers have no way of knowing
the type of hoodia or the amount of
the plant or its active ingredient
in these products, since dietary
supplements are virtually
unregulated. Given the very scanty
evidence that hoodia works, and the
even scantier evidence that it’s
safe, particularly long-term, we do
not recommend taking these
supplements." |
|
A Popular Pill's Hidden Danger |
Published: April 26, 2005
To the Editor:
Re ''An Appetite Killer for a Killer
Appetite? Not Yet'' (April 19):
Having spent several years leading
the struggle to develop hoodia at
Pfizer, I can justly reinforce the
cautionary note in the article.
An early clinical trial indeed
showed that hoodia could be a potent
appetite suppressant. But there were
indications of unwanted effects on
the liver caused by other
components, which could not be
easily removed from the supplement.
Clearly, hoodia has a long way to go
before it can earn approval from the
Food and Drug Administration. Until
safer formulations are developed,
dieters should be wary of using it.
JASJIT S. BINDRA
Groton, Conn.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505E3D71231F935A15757C0A9639C8B63 |
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My personal experience with Hoodia |
Hoodia Gordonii — “Holy Grail” Scam!
As a result of the Hoodia frenzy all
Hoodia plants and seed (regardless
of their true varietal nature) are
being sold as “Hoodia Gordonii”—even
though all Hoodia types are used by
Africans for the same purpose.
Just as there are many varieties of
coffee that contain caffeine;
regarding appetite suppression in
Africa “a Hoodia is a Hoodia.”
• Differences relate to
appearances, the color of the
flowers, etc.
• If you get hung up that Gordonii
(pronounced gore-dun-knee-eye) is
the “one true Holy Grail” then you
have swallowed the Hoodia scam
“hook, line and sinker.” What did
P.T. Barnum quip about suckers?
Don’t believe me? Then
read the
enclosed reprint. I actually
joined the International Asclepiad
Society in England to get that
information.
The reprint proves that it was NOT Gordonii but Pilifera that was named
as the appetite-suppressing plant.
What happened? Truth is one of the
first casualties of a scam. Gordonii
simply grows more abundantly in
southern Africa near centers of
trade. So its easy to get and export
from the Cape region. Scammers
obtained the common Gordonii seeds
and/or plants then declared
on a website that Gordonii was the
only Hoodia that contained the
magical P57 molecule. Liars!
Soon other
sellers stopped identifying their Hoodia as Macrantha, Ruschii,
Pilifera, etc. Remember the problem
with VHS versus Betamax? Or the PC
versus the Mac? Nothing dilutes
sales like choices; a good scam has
to have that "one and only" aspect
to it to concentrate profits.
Years
ago I purchased Hoodia varieties to
form a collection of them—from ebay sellers
who now claim everything they have
is Gordonii. You, the consumer
have no way of telling a Macrantha
from a Juttae from a Ruschii. But
why worry about that when all the
hoodias are used by African natives
for the same purpose?
Why do I harp on this
fact? Because it demonstrates how
greed distorts people into lying to
make money. Let’s calm down and stop
that. OK?
No one really knows how to care for
Hoodia as a houseplant. It is a
desert species that grows in
unqualified conditions:
• What are the yearly average daily temperatures?
• What is the PH of the desert soil? Description of soil
regarding organic content, minerals,
etc.?
• How much annual rainfall do these
receive in the wild? How deep are the
roots? Do they spread out over large
areas to collect moisture during
rains or do they burrow down deep to
find it?
• Are there beneficial, symbiotic
microorganisms present that live on
the roots? Many rare plants depend
upon these for feeding their roots.
Soil myths
Anyone who claims to know how to
make a “special soil mix” for Hoodia
is simply telling you standard
advice about well draining soil to
prevent root rot. These invariably
contain peat moss—a product that I
hate for its acidic PH and non-wet
ability. I use compost as described
on my website.
But how deep must the soil be? Do
desert hoodia grow shallow or deep
root systems? What PH and minerals
do they concentrate?
Hoodia plant care is up to you
It is your responsibility to
research the Internet for info about
Hoodia plant growing that is useful
to you.
My plants all grow outdoors in the
California Central Valley; this is a
“Zone 9” region. Last winter’s
sub-freezing nights did not kill my
Hoodia. But I would be lying if I
tried to tell you how to grow plants
inside a house. There are no plants
inside my house.
My Hoodia are transplanted into the
local soil—the sandy silt of the
valley. I use no sprays or
chemicals. So that is all I know—I
cannot help you care for your plant
in your local conditions. You have
to become an expert in that and
develop the requisite gardening
skills. If anyone could grow any
plant in their home people would
have coffee trees and mangos in
their living rooms. Do you see my
point?
Fertilizers
I only use fish Emulsion and other organic
ingredients listed on the bottom
of my website page here:
http://www.sacredcactus.com/cow_poop_and_worms.htm
• ThermX (Yucca extract--steroid
saponin), Maxicrop (sea weed
extract--minerals, growth hormones,
cytokinin, auxins, vitamins, and
enzymes), Bio-Hume (humic acid),
Humax (humic acid), Root Growth
Enhancer (humic acid, endomycorrhiza
and ectomycorrhiza) and fish
emulsion (nitrogen source).
Telling the truth
I hope this information is useful to
you. It may not be what you want to
hear or believe, but still I am
compelled to tell the truth as best
I can.
Please respect my time and privacy
and do not burden me with email
questions. Do your own research and
find your own answers.
As I learn more and more about
Hoodia from actual experience that
knowledge will be posted on my
website to benefit everyone.
Verne |
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