This appeared on Extra in May of 2006 and again in January of 2007.

Lick Away Weight with Power Pops
May 30, 2006

They're sweet, they're tasty and they come in 12 yummy flavors. And the best part is they can help you lose weight!

No, it's not too good to be true; it's the new Power Pop, Hollywood's latest secret to staying thin. The key ingredient in this little lollipop is Hoodia, which could have you losing weight in no time.

"60 Minutes" started the Hoodia craze with a story about South African bush men who suck on the plant to curb hunger.

Even Leslie Stahl was convinced, promising, "I was never hungry all day."

After that, Hoodia mania exploded, from newspapers to Oprah's magazine to the "Today" show, where they promised, "Eat it and you won't want to eat anything else."

There is only one little problem -- Hoodia doesn't grow in the United States.

But Michael Wenninger, co-owner of a nutrition company, has now licked that problem away with Power Pops! "It's a natural lollipop that gives people energy and makes them lose weight," he revealed.

According to Michael, Hoodia enters the bloodstream and is the key to suppressing appetite. Wenninger explained that the critical difference between the Power Pops and other Hoodia products is "the South Africans never ground it up and made pills or caplets or tablets out of it. We have the only form of Hoodia the way the South Africans take it. By sucking it; that's why it's so effective."

With only 28 calories, 4 carbs and a rainbow of colors, the Power Pop is a sweet way to lose weight!

BBC News Report on Hoodia Gordonii

By Tom Mangold
BBC Two's Correspondent

Imagine this: an organic pill that kills the appetite and attacks obesity. It has no known side-effects, and contains a molecule that fools your brain into believing you are full.

Deep inside the African Kalahari desert, grows an ugly cactus called the Hoodia. It thrives in extremely high temperatures, and takes years to mature.

The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the world's oldest and most primitive tribes, had been eating the Hoodia for thousands of years, to stave off hunger during long hunting trips.

When South African scientists were routinely testing it, they discovered the plant contained a previously unknown molecule, which has since been christened P 57.

The license was sold to a Cambridgeshire bio-pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm, who in turn sold the development and marketing rights to the giant Pfizer Corporation.

Fortune cactus

A molecule in the cactus makes you feel full

When I traveled to the Kalahari, I met families of the San bushmen.

It is a sad, impoverished and displaced tribe, still unaware they are sitting on top of a goldmine.

But if the Hoodia works, the 100,000 San strung along the edge of the Kalahari will become overnight millionaires on royalties negotiated by their South African lawyer Roger Chennells.

And they will need all the help they can to secure the money.

Currently, many bushmen smoke large quantities of marijuana, suffer from alcoholism, and have neither possessions nor any sense of the value of money.

The truth is no-one has fully grasped what the magic molecule means for their counterparts in the developed world.

Blood sugar

According to the British Heart Foundation 17% of men and 21% of women are obese, while 46% of men and 32% of women are overweight.

So the drug's marketing potential speaks for itself.

Phytopharm's Dr Richard Dixey explained how P.57 actually works:

"There is a part of your brain, the hypothalamus. Within that mid-brain there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar.

"When you eat, blood sugar goes up because of the food, these cells start firing and now you are full.

"What the Hoodia seems to contain is a molecule that is about 10,000 times as active as glucose.

"It goes to the mid-brain and actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you were full. But you have not eaten. Nor do you want to."

Clinical trials

Dixey organized the first animal trials for Hoodia. Rats, a species that will eat literally anything, stopped eating completely.

When the first human clinical trial was conducted, a morbidly obese group of people were placed in a "phase 1 unit", a place as close to prison as it gets.

All the volunteers could do all day was read papers, watch television, and eat.

Half were given Hoodia, half placebo. Fifteen days later, the Hoodia group had reduced their calorie intake by 1000 a day.

It was a stunning success.

The cactus test

In order to see for ourselves, we drove into the desert, four hours north of Capetown in search of the cactus.

Once there, we found an unattractive plant which sprouts about 10 tentacles, and is the size of a long cucumber.

Each tentacle is covered in spikes which need to be carefully peeled.

The San will finally throw off thousands of years of oppression, poverty, social isolation and discrimination

Roger Chennells, lawyer

Inside is a slightly unpleasant-tasting, fleshy plant.

At about 1800hrs I ate about half a banana size - and later so did my cameraman.

Soon after, we began the four hour drive back to Capetown.

The plant is said to have a feel-good almost aphrodisiac quality, and I have to say, we felt good.

But more significantly, we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception.

Dinner time came and went. We reached our hotel at about midnight and went to bed without food. And the next day, neither of us wanted nor ate breakfast.

I ate lunch but without appetite and very little pleasure. Partial then full appetite returned slowly after 24 hours.

The future

Mr Chennells is ecstatic:

"The San will finally throw off thousands of years of oppression, poverty, social isolation and discrimination.

"We will create trust funds with their Hoodia royalties and the children will join South Africa's middle classes in our lifetime.

"I envisage Hoodia cafes in London and New York, salads will be served and the Hoodia cut like cucumber on to the salad.

"It will need flavoring to counter its unpleasant taste, but if it has no side effects and no cumulative side-effects."

Can a cactus plant be a magic bullet for dieters?

Prickly bush in the Kalahari Desert could be key to weight-loss success

TODAY

Updated: 8:57 a.m. PT Oct 24, 2005

Could a plant from South Africa be the weight-loss secret that could help millions of overweight Americans slim down? NBC News correspondent Janet Shamlian talks about the possible magic pill we've all been waiting for.

It's the look everyone wants — a body to diet for. They're on the beaches, in magazines and all over Hollywood. How far will we go to get one? How about thousands of miles and deep into a distant culture? South Africa’s Kalahari Desert is home to what could be the answer to an appetite.

It's a cactus called hoodia. “You strip off the skin, you strip off the spines, and then you consume it,” says weight loss expert Madelyn Fernstrom.

Eat it and you won't want to eat anything else — a secret bushmen have known for ages and a mystery to the West no more.

“Hoodia's actually one of our top selling diet products,” says Anthony Paulmeno of General Nutrition Center.

Nutrition stores are packed with products.  But this isn't the fresh plant said to work wonders. It's the dried, powdered and — some say — less effective version.

One of the issues for dieters is that there are so many products with the label hoodia on them, it's hard to know the difference between them, or if they work at all.

“Today” show staffer Jayme Anker is giving it a shot and hoping it suppresses her appetite.

“I am obsessed with it,” says Anker.

Having endured weight loss camp as a child, at 26 she's still waging the war and hoping hoodia will be the weapon that works. “What’s the worst that's going to happen to me?” she says.

It’s an important question. Store brands are not inspected or regulated, and their exact contents are unknown.

Texan Walter Parks bought his bottle on the Internet. “I would say yes, that it is the magic bullet plant,” Parks say. But there are no human studies to prove that.

Fernstrom says, “It's important to say this does need more [research].”

But dieters are hopeful a hunger-busting plant will deliver one of those glorious, how-did-they-get-it bodies that are seemingly everywhere — except in the mirror.

The Science behind Hoodia Gordonii

Is there evidence that Hoodia Gordonii works as an appetite suppressant? Yes! For thousands of years the Bushmen of South Africa having been eating Hoodia Gordonii to fight off hunger during their long hunting trips. The appetite suppressant power of Hoodia Gordonii for the Bushmen is not a question, it is a simple fact of life. So while the Bushmen did not do formal clinical studies, there is thousands of years of real world evidence that eating Hoodia suppresses your appetite.

Phytopharm clinical studies performed with Hoodia P57

Phytopharm completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study in overweight, but otherwise healthy volunteers using the P57 extract from Hoodia Gordonii. The participants were split into two groups, one received the P57 and the other received a placebo. Each group was told to continue their normal diet and exercise. The results of the study were as follows:

When comparing the P57 group to the Placebo group:

The P57 group had a statistically significant reduction in caloric intake
The P57 group had a statistically significant reduction in body fat
The P57 had no adverse side effects
On average the P57 group ate about 1,000 calories a day less than those in the control group. These are very impressive results when you consider that the average American man consumes about 2,600 calories a day; a woman about 1,900. (References Below)

Brown University Medical School Research on Hoodia effects with Rats

Researchers at Brown University Medical School performed studies in 2004. In these studies "Zucker Rats" were fed Hoodia. Zucker Rats are special rats that are bred to be obese and diabetic. Amazingly Zucker Rats that were fed Hoodia lost weight and even saw some reversal of their diabetes. Anything that can stop a rat from eating is very significant! (References Below)

References

• Van Heerden FR, Vleggaar R, Horak RM, Learmonth RA, Maharaj V, Whittal RD. Pharmaceutical compositions having appetite suppression activity. United States Patent 6,376,657, issued April 23, 2002.
• Tulp OL, Harbi NA, Mihalov J, DerMarderosian A. Effect of Hoodia plant on food intake and body weight in lean and obese LA/Ntul//-cp rats. FASEB J 2001 Mar 7;15(4):A404.
• Tulp OL, Harbi NA, DerMarderosian A. Effect of Hoodia plant on weight loss in congenic obese LA/Ntul//-cp rats. FASEB J 2002 Mar 20;16(4):
• Habeck M. A succulent cure to end obesity. Drug Discovery Today, March 2002, pp 280-1.

Hoodia review - Does hoodia work for weight loss?

What you need to know about hoodia gordonii

Hoodia gordonii (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is also called hoodia, xhooba, !khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, and South African desert cactus.

Hoodia is a cactus that's causing a stir for its ability to suppress appetite and promote weight loss. 60 Minutes, ABC, and the BBC have all done stories on hoodia. Hoodia is sold in capsule, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet. Hoodia gordonii can be found in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. Hoodia grows in clumps of green upright stems and is actually a succulent, not a cactus. It takes about 5 years before hoodia's pale purple flowers appear and the cactus can be harvested. Although there are 20 types of hoodia, only the hoodia gordonii variety is believed to contain the natural appetite suppressant.

Although hoodia was "discovered" relatively recently, the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert have been eating it for a very long time. The Bushmen, who live off the land, would cut off part of the hoodia stem and eat it to ward off hunger and thirst during nomadic hunting trips. They also used hoodia for severe abdominal cramps, haemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes.

In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen noted that they used hoodia to suppress appetite. But it wasn't until 1963 when scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa's national laboratory, began studying hoodia. Initial results were promising -- lab animals lost weight after taking hoodia.

The South African scientists, working with a British company named Phytopharm, isolated the active ingredient in hoodia, a steroidal glycoside, which they named p57. After getting a patent in 1995, they licensed p57 to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million on hoodia research.

Eventually pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (makers of Viagra) caught wind of hoodia and became interested in developing a hoodia drug. In 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to develop p57 to Pfizer for $21 million.

Hoodia review - Does hoodia work for weight loss?

What you need to know about hoodia gordonii

Hoodia gordonii (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is also called hoodia, xhooba, !khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, and South African desert cactus.

Hoodia is a cactus that's causing a stir for its ability to suppress appetite and promote weight loss. 60 Minutes, ABC, and the BBC have all done stories on hoodia. Hoodia is sold in capsule, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet. Hoodia gordonii can be found in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. Hoodia grows in clumps of green upright stems and is actually a succulent, not a cactus. It takes about 5 years before hoodia's pale purple flowers appear and the cactus can be harvested. Although there are 20 types of hoodia, only the hoodia gordonii variety is believed to contain the natural appetite suppressant.

Although hoodia was "discovered" relatively recently, the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert have been eating it for a very long time. The Bushmen, who live off the land, would cut off part of the hoodia stem and eat it to ward off hunger and thirst during nomadic hunting trips. They also used hoodia for severe abdominal cramps, haemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes.

In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen noted that they used hoodia to suppress appetite. But it wasn't until 1963 when scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa's national laboratory, began studying hoodia. Initial results were promising -- lab animals lost weight after taking hoodia.

The South African scientists, working with a British company named Phytopharm, isolated the active ingredient in hoodia, a steroidal glycoside, which they named p57. After getting a patent in 1995, they licensed p57 to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million on hoodia research.

Eventually pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (makers of Viagra) caught wind of hoodia and became interested in developing a hoodia drug. In 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to develop p57 to Pfizer for $21 million. Pfizer recently returned the rights to hoodia to Phytopharm, who is now working with Unilever.  (It is thought that was due to their inability to make it work in a pill form.)

What you need to know about hoodia

Hoodia appears to suppress appetite
Much of the buzz about hoodia started after 60 minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and crew traveled to Africa to try hoodia. They hired a local Bushman to go with them into the desert and track down some hoodia. Stahl ate it, describing it as "cucumbery in texture, but not bad." She lost the desire to eat or drink the entire day. She also didn't experience any immediate side effects, such as indigestion or heart palpitations. Stahl concluded, "I'd have to say it did work."

In animal studies, hoodia is believed to reduce caloric intake by 30 to 50 percent. There is one human study showing a reduced intake of about 1000 calories per day. However, I haven't been able to find either study to actually read for myself and am going on secondhand reports.

What you need to know about hoodia

Hoodia appears to suppress appetite
Much of the buzz about hoodia started after 60 minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and crew traveled to Africa to try hoodia. They hired a local Bushman to go with them into the desert and track down some hoodia. Stahl ate it, describing it as "cucumbery in texture, but not bad." She lost the desire to eat or drink the entire day. She also didn't experience any immediate side effects, such as indigestion or heart palpitations. Stahl concluded, "I'd have to say it did work."

In animal studies, hoodia is believed to reduce caloric intake by 30 to 50 percent. There is one human study showing a reduced intake of about 1000 calories per day. However, I haven't been able to find either study to actually read for myself and am going on secondhand reports.

African Plant May Help Fight Fat

Lesley Stahl Reports On Newest Weapon In War On Obesity

Nov. 21, 2004

(CBS) Each year, people spend more than $40 billion on products designed to help them slim down. None of them seem to be working very well.

Now along comes hoodia. Never heard of it? Soon it'll be tripping off your tongue, because hoodia is a natural substance that literally takes your appetite away.

It's very different from diet stimulants like Ephedra and Phenfen that are now banned because of dangerous side effects. Hoodia doesn't stimulate at all. Scientists say it fools the brain by making you think you’re full, even if you've eaten just a morsel. Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports.

Hoodia is a bitter-tasting cactus-like plant.  60 minutes was told that if it wanted to try hoodia, it would have to go to Africa.  Why?  Because the only place in the world where hoodia grows wild is in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.

Nigel Crawhall, the linguist and interpreter, hired an experienced tracker named Toppies Knuiper, a local aboriginal Bushman, to help find it.  The Bushmen were featured in the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy.

Kruiper led 60 Minutes crews out into the desert. Stahl asked him if he ate hoodia. "I really like to eat them when the new rains have come," says Kruiper, speaking through the interpreter. "Then they're really quite delicious."

When we located the plant, Kruiper cut off a stalk that looked like a small spiky pickle, and removed the sharp spines. In the interest of science, Stahl ate it. She described the taste as "a little cucumbery in texture, but not bad."

So how did it work? Stahl says she had no after effects – no funny taste in her mouth, no queasy stomach, and no racing heart. She also wasn't hungry all day, even when she would normally have a pang around mealtime. And, she also had no desire to eat or drink the entire day. "I'd have to say it did work," says Stahl.

Although the West is just discovering hoodia, the Bushmen of the Kalahari have been eating it for a very long time. After all, they have been living off the land in southern Africa for more than 100,000 years.

Some of the Bushmen, like Anna Swartz, still live in old traditional huts, and cook so-called Bush food gathered from the desert the old-fashioned way.

The first scientific investigation of the plant was conducted at South Africa’s national laboratory. Because Bushmen were known to eat hoodia, it was included in a study of indigenous foods.

"What they found was when they fed it to animals, the animals ate it and lost weight," says Dr. Richard Dixey, who heads an English pharmaceutical company called Phytopharm that is trying to develop weight-loss products based on hoodia.

Was hoodia's potential application as an appetite suppressant immediately obvious?

"No, it took them a long time. In fact, the original research was done in the mid 1960s," says Dixey.

It took the South African national laboratory 30 years to isolate and identify the specific appetite-suppressing ingredient in hoodia. When they found it, they applied for a patent and licensed it to Phytopharm.

Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million so far on research, including clinical trials with obese volunteers that have yielded promising results. Subjects given hoodia ended up eating about 1,000 calories a day less than those in the control group. To put that in perspective, the average American man consumes about 2,600 calories a day; a woman about 1,900.

"If you take this compound every day, your wish to eat goes down. And we've seen that very, very dramatically," says Dixey.

But why do you need a patent for a plant? "The patent is on the application of the plant as a weight-loss material. And, of course, the active compounds within the plant. It’s not on the plant itself," says Dixey.

So no one else can use hoodia for weight loss? "As a weight-management product without infringing the patent, that’s correct," says Dixey.

But what does that say about all these weight-loss products that claim to have hoodia in it? Trimspa says its X32 pills contain 75 mg of hoodia. The company is pushing its product with an ad campaign featuring Anna Nicole Smith, even though the FDA has notified Trimspa that it hasn’t demonstrated that the product is safe.

Some companies have even used the results of Phytopharm’s clinical tests to market their products.

"This is just straightforward theft. That’s what it is. People are stealing data, which they haven’t done, they’ve got no proper understanding of, and sticking on the bottle," says Dixey. "When we have assayed these materials, they contain between 0.1 and 0.01 percent of the active ingredient claimed. But they use the term hoodia on the bottle, of course, so they -- does nothing at all."

But Dixey isn’t the only one who’s felt ripped off. The Bushmen first heard the news about the patent when Phytopharm put out a press release. Roger Chennells, a lawyer in South Africa who represents the Bushmen, who are also called “the San,” was appalled.

"The San did not even know about it," says Chennells. "They had given the information that led directly toward the patent."

The taking of traditional knowledge without compensation is called “bio-piracy.”

"You have said, and I'm going to quote you, 'that the San felt as if someone had stolen the family silver,'" says Stahl to Chennells. "So what did you do?"

"I wouldn't want to go into some of the details as to what kind of letters were written or what kind of threats were made," says Chennells. "We engaged them. They had done something wrong, and we wanted them to acknowledge it."

Chennells was determined to help the Bushmen who, he says, have been exploited for centuries. First they were pushed aside by black tribes. Then, when white colonists arrived, they were nearly annihilated.

"About the turn of the century, there were still hunting parties in Namibia and in South Africa that allowed farmers to go and kill Bushmen," says Chennells. "It's well documented."

The Bushmen are still stigmatized in South Africa, and plagued with high unemployment, little education, and lots of alcoholism. And now, it seemed they were about to be cut out of a potential windfall from hoodia. So Chennells threatened to sue the national lab on their behalf.

"We knew that if it was successful, many, many millions of dollars would be coming towards the San," says Chennells. "Many, many millions. They've talked about the market being hundreds and hundreds of millions in America."
In the end, a settlement was reached. The Bushmen will get a percentage of the profits -- if there are profits. But that’s a big if.

The future of hoodia is not yet a sure thing. The project hit a major snag last year. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which had teamed up with Phytopharm, and funded much of the research, dropped out when making a pill out of the active ingredient seemed beyond reach.

Dixey says it can be made synthetically.  "We've made milligrams of it.  But it's very expensive.  It's not possible to make it synthetically in what's called a scalable process. So we couldn't make a metric ton of it or something that is the sort of quantity you'd need to actually start doing something about obesity in thousands of people. "

Phytopharm decided to market hoodia in its natural form, in diet shakes and bars.  That meant it needed the hoodia plant itself.

But given the obesity epidemic in the United States, it became obvious that what was needed was a lot of hoodia - much more than was growing in the wild in the Kalahari. And so they came here.

 60 Minutes visited one of Phytopharm’s hoodia plantations in South Africa. They’ll need a lot of these plantations to meet the expected demand.

Agronomist Simon MacWilliam has a tall order: grow a billion portions a year of hoodia, within just a couple of years. He admitted that starting up the plantation has been quite a challenge.

"The problem is we’re dealing with a novel crop. It’s a plant we’ve taken out of the wild and we’re starting to grow it,' says MacWilliam. "So we have no experience. So it’s different— diseases and pests which we have to deal with."

How confident are they that they will be able to grow enough? "We're very confident of that," he says. "We've got an expansion program which is going to be 100s of acres. And we'll be able – ready to meet the demand.

This could be huge, given the obesity epidemic. Phytopharm says it’s about to announce marketing plans that will have meal-replacement hoodia products on supermarket shelves by 2008.

MacWilliam says these products are a slightly different species from the hoodia Stahl tasted in the Kalahari Desert. "It's actually a lot more bitter than the plant that you tasted," says MacWilliam.

The advantage is this species of hoodia will grow a lot faster. But more bitter? How bad could it be? Stahl decided to find out. "Not good," she says.

Phytopharm says that when its product gets to market, it will be certified safe and effective. They also promise that it’ll taste good.

Friday, 30 May, 2003, 09:56 GMT 10:56 UK

Sampling the Kalahari Hoodia diet

Correspondent's Tom Mangold travelled to Africa and sampled the appetite suppressing Hoodia, a plant which may make Kalahari bushmen millionaires.

By Tom Mangold
BBC Two's Correspondent

Imagine this: an organic pill that kills the appetite and attacks obesity.

It has no known side-effects, and contains a molecule that fools your brain into believing you are full.

Deep inside the African Kalahari desert, grows an ugly cactus-like plant called the Hoodia. It thrives in extremely high temperatures, and takes years to mature.

The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the world's oldest and most primitive tribes, had been eating the Hoodia for thousands of years, to stave off hunger during long hunting trips.

When South African scientists were routinely testing it, they discovered the plant contained a previously unknown molecule, which has since been christened P 57.

The license was sold to a Cambridgeshire bio-pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm, who in turn sold the development and marketing rights to the giant Pfizer Corporation.

Fortune cactus

When I travelled to the Kalahari, I met families of the San bushmen.

It is a sad, impoverished and displaced tribe, still unaware they are sitting on top of a goldmine.

But if the Hoodia works, the 100,000 San strung along the edge of the Kalahari will become overnight millionaires on royalties negotiated by their South African lawyer Roger Chennells.

And they will need all the help they can to secure the money.

Currently, many bushmen smoke large quantities of marijuana, suffer from alcoholism, and have neither possessions nor any sense of the value of money.

The truth is no-one has fully grasped what the magic molecule means for their counterparts in the developed world.

Blood sugar

According to the British Heart Foundation 17% of men and 21% of women are obese, while 46% of men and 32% of women are overweight.

So the drug's marketing potential speaks for itself.

Phytopharm's Dr Richard Dixey explained how P.57 actually works:

"There is a part of your brain, the hypothalamus. Within that mid-brain there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar.

"When you eat, blood sugar goes up because of the food, these cells start firing and now you are full.

"What the Hoodia seems to contain is a molecule that is about 10,000 times as active as glucose.

"It goes to the mid-brain and actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you were full. But you have not eaten. Nor do you want to."

Clinical trials

Dixey organised the first animal trials for Hoodia. Rats, a species that will eat literally anything, stopped eating completely.

When the first human clinical trial was conducted, a morbidly obese group of people were placed in a "phase 1 unit", a place as close to prison as it gets.

All the volunteers could do all day was read papers, watch television, and eat.

Half were given Hoodia, half placebo. Fifteen days later, the Hoodia group had reduced their calorie intake by 1000 a day.

It was a stunning success.

The cactus test

In order to see for ourselves, we drove into the desert, four hours north of Capetown in search of the cactus.

Once there, we found an unattractive plant which sprouts about 10 tentacles, and is the size of a long cucumber.

Each tentacle is covered in spikes which need to be carefully peeled. Inside is a slightly unpleasant-tasting, fleshy plant.

At about 1800hrs I ate about half a banana size - and later so did my cameraman.

Soon after, we began the four hour drive back to Capetown.

The plant is said to have a feel-good almost aphrodisiac quality, and I have to say, we felt good.

But more significantly, we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception.

Dinner time came and went. We reached our hotel at about midnight and went to bed without food. And the next day, neither of us wanted nor ate breakfast.

I ate lunch but without appetite and very little pleasure. Partial then full appetite returned slowly after 24 hours.

The future

Mr Chennells is ecstatic:

"The San will finally throw off thousands of years of oppression, poverty, social isolation and discrimination.

"We will create trust funds with their Hoodia royalties and the children will join South Africa's middle classes in our lifetime.

"I envisage Hoodia cafes in London and New York, salads will be served and the Hoodia cut like cucumber on to the salad.

"It will need flavouring to counter its unpleasant taste, but if it has no side effects and no cumulative side-effects."

Unfortunately for the overweight, Hoodia will not be around for several years, the clinical trials still have several years to run.

Do not travel to the Kalahari to steal the plant as it is hard to find and illegal to export.

And beware internet sites offering Hoodia "pills" from the US as we tested the leading brand and discovered it has no discernible Hoodia in it.

So just be patient. Help is at hand.

DIET LOLLIPOPS

Reported and Web Produced by: I-Team
Updated: 07/24/04 07:31:00

YOU CAN NOW BUY LOLLIPOPS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT.

THE IDEA IS TO "LICK YOUR WEIGHT PROBLEM," LITERALLY.

BUT DO THEY REALLY WORK?

TERRE ( TERRY) LEVETON AND HER HUSBAND BENNETT WENT FROM LOOKING LIKE THIS … TO THIS!

Terre Leveton, Lollipop dieter

"I lost between 10 and 15 pounds every month. I've gone from a 2x down to a 6."

Dr. Bennett Alberts, Lollipop dieter

"I can breathe easier. I can bend over to tie my shoes."

COMBINED…THE TWO DROPPED A WHOPPING ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS. HOW? THEY CLAIM THEY SIMPLY BECAME SUCKERS FOR THESE SUCKERS!

Terre Leveton, Lollipop dieter

"You don't have to cut out any foods that you want to eat or like to eat. It takes away your appetite."

THAT'S RIGHT. ALL YOU DO IS SUCK ON A POP AND DRINK A LITTLE WATER ABOUT A HALF HOUR BEFORE EACH MEAL OR WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY.

TERRE AND BENNETT SWEAR BY 'SLIM POPS.'

Russ DeVan, SlimPops

"It's as simple as just licking and sucking a lollipop, which almost no one needs any instruction on."

"We've seen all different types of weight loss. 14 pounds within a couple weeks."

SO, WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT FROM ANY OLD LOLLIPOP? BOTH BRANDS CONTAIN A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT CALLED CITRIMAX AND A CAFFEINE-LIKE SUBSTANCE CALLED GUARANA.

Michael Wenniger, Power Pops

"The guarana and citrimax together will actually dissolve and break down fat cells."

Russ DeVan, SlimPops)

"They're absolutely safe."

NOT EVERYONE IS SOLD. SUSAN SMOLINSKE (SMO-LENS-SKI) LED A STUDY ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS. SHE SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT FOR USERS TO KNOW WHAT GUARANA IS.

Susan Smolinske, PhD, Poison Control Expert

Poison Control Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan:

"In the natural state, guarana has about five times as much caffeine per pound as does coffee. Large amounts of caffeine will raise blood pressure, so patients with hypertension who would take five or six of these lollipops a day, would be at risk."

LEYLA KELLOG ISN'T CONCERNED. SHE SAYS SHE'S NEVER FELT BETTER. SHE CREDITS POWER POPS WITH HER 75-POUND WEIGHT LOSS…AND SHE'S NOT STOPPING NOW…

Leyla Kellog, Dieter

"I was like holey, I mean, this is working. I was satisfied with a less portion then I used to eat."

OBESITY EXPERT FRANCA ALPHIN IS WITH DUKE UNIVERSITY. SHE SAYS THERE'S CONFLICTING RESEARCH ABOUT THESE SUPPLEMENTS AND APPETITE CONTROL, SO MORE STUDIES NEED TO BE DONE.

BUT SHE BELIEVES ANY POP MAY ACTUALLY DO THE TRICK.

Franca Alphin, Dietician

"What you're doing with a lollipop is manually you're doing something, and we know that eating is not just about consuming food, it has to do with chewing, it has to do with texture satisfaction, and a lot of other things."

BUT BELIEVERS SAY THEY GET AN EXTRA POP FROM THESE POPS…AND THEY PLAN TO STICK WITH THE SWEETEST SOLUTION THEY'VE EVER FOUND.

Terre Leveton, Dieter

"I feel better. I look better."

Leyla Kellog, Dieter

"I feel so good, like, like never before."

BY THE WAY--THESE LOLLIPOPS ARE NOT MEANT FOR CHILDREN.

KEEP THEM OUT OF THE KIDS' REACH.

THEY'RE A SUPPLEMENT PRODUCT, AND THEY'RE NOT REGULATED BY THE F-D-A.

AND--OF COURSE, YOU CAN'T EAT LOLLIPOPS FOREVER.

TO LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF, YOU HAVE TO EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE.

Contact the I-Team (Cincinnati)
Hagit Limor hlimor@wcpo.com
Laure Quinlivan lquinlivan@wcpo.com

The Science behind Hoodia Gordonii

Is there evidence that Hoodia Gordonii works as an appetite suppressant? Yes! For thousands of years the Bushmen of South Africa having been eating Hoodia Gordonii to fight off hunger during their long hunting trips. The appetite suppressant power of Hoodia Gordonii for the Bushmen is not a question, it is a simple fact of life. So while the Bushmen did not do formal clinical studies, there is thousands of years of real world evidence that eating Hoodia suppresses your appetite.

Phytopharm clinical studies performed with Hoodia P57

Phytopharm completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study in overweight, but otherwise healthy volunteers using the P57 extract from Hoodia Gordonii. The participants were split into two groups, one received the P57 and the other received a placebo. Each group was told to continue their normal diet and exercise. The results of the study were as follows:

When comparing the P57 group to the Placebo group:

The P57 group had a statistically significant reduction in caloric intake
The P57 group had a statistically significant reduction in body fat
The P57 had no adverse side effects
On average the P57 group ate about 1,000 calories a day less than those in the control group. These are very impressive results when you consider that the average American man consumes about 2,600 calories a day; a woman about 1,900. (References Below)

Brown University Medical School Research on Hoodia effects with Rats

Researchers at Brown University Medical School performed studies in 2004. In these studies "Zucker Rats" were fed Hoodia. Zucker Rats are special rats that are bred to be obese and diabetic. Amazingly Zucker Rats that were fed Hoodia lost weight and even saw some reversal of their diabetes. Anything that can stop a rat from eating is very significant! (References Below)

References

• Van Heerden FR, Vleggaar R, Horak RM, Learmonth RA, Maharaj V, Whittal RD. Pharmaceutical compositions having appetite suppression activity. United States Patent 6,376,657, issued April 23, 2002.
• Tulp OL, Harbi NA, Mihalov J, DerMarderosian A. Effect of Hoodia plant on food intake and body weight in lean and obese LA/Ntul//-cp rats. FASEB J 2001 Mar 7;15(4):A404.
• Tulp OL, Harbi NA, DerMarderosian A. Effect of Hoodia plant on weight loss in congenic obese LA/Ntul//-cp rats. FASEB J 2002 Mar 20;16(4):
• Habeck M. A succulent cure to end obesity. Drug Discovery Today, March 2002, pp 280-1.

Dr. Lawrence Madoff, MD Hails This New Revolutionary Product as Very Effective In Solving the Problem of HUNGER while dieting.

Dr. Lawrence Madoff, MD Hails This New Revolutionary Product as Very Effective In Solving the Problem of HUNGER while dieting. Currently 180 million people in the U.S. are overweight and need help. A brand new, revolutionary product has just been introduced called SLIMPOPS™, “a sweet way to lose weight---any diet’s best friend.”

SLIMPOPS™ makes it easy to lose weight in a safe and natural way. Michael Austin, the original founder of SlimPops™, joined forces with two master herbalists from Europe to create the SlimPops™ formula. They combined 5 natural ingredients into SLIMPOPS™ to help suppress appetite and provide an energy boost. SLIMPOPS™ have approximately 64 calories, no fat, and they are kosher. They contain L-Tyrosine (amino acid), Citrimax, Guarana Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12. SLIMPOPS™ do not contain any unsafe ingredients like Ephedra or Ma Huang. They come in six delicious flavors: Pina Colada, Cherry, Apple, Root Beer, Peaches & Cream and Pink Lemonade.

Lawrence Madoff, M.D. in Las Vegas enthusiastically endorses the product. “I was so impressed with the way that SLIMPOPS™ helped solve the problem of hunger and food cravings. They taste great, are an inexpensive way to enhance any weight loss program, and have an effective combination of ingredients. They have a rapid sub-lingual delivery that avoids the ravages of stomach acid. Their lollipop form allows graceful removal when having a conversation. There’s a lot of genius that went into their development.”

SLIMPOPS™ are a product of the Good Pops Corporation based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The SLIMPOPS™ program dramatically enhances any diet program. We all have HUNGER. To reduce hunger and craving simply consume a SLIMPOP™ with a little water about 30 minutes before each meal. SlimPops™ can also be used as a snack replacement between meals.

“I firmly believe that SLIMPOPS™ ARE ANY DIET’S BEST FRIEND,” states Larry Hunter, a  SlimPops™  user. “Based on the responses from our customers, LOSING WEIGHT HAS NEVER BEEN SO SWEET! SLIMPOPS™ taste great, provide a burst of energy, offer natural ingredients, work quickly, there are no messy powders or shakes, people can take them anywhere, and there are no hunger cravings. I am convinced that SLIMPOPS™ are truly remarkable. Simply put, They work!”

Dr. Bennett I. Alberts an Oregon M.D. agrees. “I began using SLIMPOPS™ ten months ago, I have lost nearly 65 pounds without changing my diet in any way. SLIMPOPS™ reduced my cravings and reduced my hunger. I have found that I still eat everything that I like but never crave second helpings and many times do not have the desire to finish the large first helpings I used to eat. I do not feel that I have given up anything.

Dr. Alberts explains, “As a physician, I was very skeptical that a candy like lollipop could work in any way to cause weight loss. I felt that they were hokey and a gimmick. All of a sudden, my wife commented that my belly was not hanging over my belt as much and I noticed that my pants were starting to get a little looser. Since I am a “diabetic”, I went for an evaluation with my personal physician because I was concerned about eating sugar regularly. When I saw him, I had lost 23 pounds and my blood sugars had almost returned to normal. I heartily endorse the SLIMPOPS™ products.” SLIMPOPS™ - A Sweet Way to Lose Weight – New Diet Lollipop

Dr. Lawrence Madoff, MD Hails This New Revolutionary Product as Very Effective In Solving the Problem of HUNGER while dieting.

Dr. Lawrence Madoff, MD Hails This New Revolutionary Product as Very Effective In Solving the Problem of HUNGER while dieting. Currently 180 million people in the U.S. are overweight and need help. A brand new, revolutionary product has just been introduced called SLIMPOPS™, “a sweet way to lose weight---any diet’s best friend.”

SLIMPOPS™ makes it easy to lose weight in a safe and natural way. Michael Austin, the original founder of SlimPops™, joined forces with two master herbalists from Europe to create the SlimPops™ formula. They combined 5 natural ingredients into SLIMPOPS™ to help suppress appetite and provide an energy boost. SLIMPOPS™ have approximately 64 calories, no fat, and they are kosher. They contain L-Tyrosine (amino acid), Citrimax, Guarana Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12. SLIMPOPS™ do not contain any unsafe ingredients like Ephedra or Ma Huang. They come in six delicious flavors: Pina Colada, Cherry, Apple, Root Beer, Peaches & Cream and Pink Lemonade.

Lawrence Madoff, M.D. in Las Vegas enthusiastically endorses the product. “I was so impressed with the way that SLIMPOPS™ helped solve the problem of hunger and food cravings. They taste great, are an inexpensive way to enhance any weight loss program, and have an effective combination of ingredients. They have a rapid sub-lingual delivery that avoids the ravages of stomach acid. Their lollipop form allows graceful removal when having a conversation. There’s a lot of genius that went into their development.”

SLIMPOPS™ are a product of the Good Pops Corporation based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The SLIMPOPS™ program dramatically enhances any diet program. We all have HUNGER. To reduce hunger and craving simply consume a SLIMPOP™ with a little water about 30 minutes before each meal. SlimPops™ can also be used as a snack replacement between meals.

“I firmly believe that SLIMPOPS™ ARE ANY DIET’S BEST FRIEND,” states Larry Hunter, a SlimPops™ Associate and user. “Based on the responses from our customers, LOSING WEIGHT HAS NEVER BEEN SO SWEET! SLIMPOPS™ taste great, provide a burst of energy, offer natural ingredients, work quickly, there are no messy powders or shakes, people can take them anywhere, and there are no hunger cravings. I am convinced that SLIMPOPS™ are truly remarkable. Simply put, They work!”

Dr. Bennett I. Alberts an Oregon M.D. agrees. “I began using SLIMPOPS™ ten months ago, I have lost nearly 65 pounds without changing my diet in any way. SLIMPOPS™ reduced my cravings and reduced my hunger. I have found that I still eat everything that I like but never crave second helpings and many times do not have the desire to finish the large first helpings I used to eat. I do not feel that I have given up anything.

Dr. Alberts explains, “As a physician, I was very skeptical that a candy like lollipop could work in any way to cause weight loss. I felt that they were hokey and a gimmick. All of a sudden, my wife commented that my belly was not hanging over my belt as much and I noticed that my pants were starting to get a little looser. Since I am a “diabetic”, I went for an evaluation with my personal physician because I was concerned about eating sugar regularly. When I saw him, I had lost 23 pounds and my blood sugars had almost returned to normal. I heartily endorse the SLIMPOPS™ products.”

DISCLAIMER: These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. The information and opinions contained in the printed materials and/or websites do not replace or substitute for the advice of a practicing medical doctor. Please consult your physician before consuming any product or beginning any new diet, supplement regimen, exercise program or any other lifestyle change. Although SlimPopsTM look like candy they are an adult product. Minors should not consume this product, nor use any weight product or program, without approval from a physician or permission their parents.

DIET LOLLIPOPS

Reported and Web Produced by: Carol Williams
Updated: 07/24/04 07:31:00

YOU CAN NOW BUY LOLLIPOPS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT.

THE IDEA IS TO "LICK YOUR WEIGHT PROBLEM," LITERALLY.

BUT DO THEY REALLY WORK?

TERRE ( TERRY) LEVETON AND HER HUSBAND BENNETT WENT FROM LOOKING LIKE THIS … TO THIS!

Terre Leveton, Lollipop dieter

"I lost between 10 and 15 pounds every month. I've gone from a 2x down to a 6."

Dr. Bennett Alberts, Lollipop dieter

"I can breathe easier. I can bend over to tie my shoes."

COMBINED…THE TWO DROPPED A WHOPPING ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS. HOW? THEY CLAIM THEY SIMPLY BECAME SUCKERS FOR THESE SUCKERS!

Terre Leveton, Lollipop dieter

"You don't have to cut out any foods that you want to eat or like to eat. It takes away your appetite."

THAT'S RIGHT. ALL YOU DO IS SUCK ON A POP AND DRINK A LITTLE WATER ABOUT A HALF HOUR BEFORE EACH MEAL OR WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY.

TERRE AND BENNETT SWEAR BY 'SLIM POPS.'

Russ DeVan, SlimPops

"It's as simple as just licking and sucking a lollipop, which almost no one needs any instruction on."

ANOTHER PRODUCT ON THE MARKET: 'POWER POPS.'

SO, WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT FROM ANY OLD LOLLIPOP? BOTH BRANDS CONTAIN A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT CALLED CITRIMAX AND A CAFFEINE-LIKE SUBSTANCE CALLED GUARANA.

Michael Wenniger, Power Pops

"The guarana and citrimax together will actually dissolve and break down fat cells."

Russ DeVan, SlimPops)

"They're absolutely safe."

NOT EVERYONE IS SOLD. SUSAN SMOLINSKE (SMO-LENS-SKI) LED A STUDY ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS. SHE SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT FOR USERS TO KNOW WHAT GUARANA IS.

Susan Smolinske, PhD, Poison Control Expert

Poison Control Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan:

"In the natural state, guarana has about five times as much caffeine per pound as does coffee. Large amounts of caffeine will raise blood pressure, so patients with hypertension who would take five or six of these lollipops a day, would be at risk."

LEYLA KELLOG ISN'T CONCERNED. SHE SAYS SHE'S NEVER FELT BETTER. SHE CREDITS POWER POPS WITH HER 75-POUND WEIGHT LOSS…AND SHE'S NOT STOPPING NOW…

Leyla Kellog, Dieter

"I was like holey, I mean, this is working. I was satisfied with a less portion then I used to eat."

OBESITY EXPERT FRANCA ALPHIN IS WITH DUKE UNIVERSITY. SHE SAYS THERE'S CONFLICTING RESEARCH ABOUT THESE SUPPLEMENTS AND APPETITE CONTROL, SO MORE STUDIES NEED TO BE DONE.

BUT SHE BELIEVES ANY POP MAY ACTUALLY DO THE TRICK.

Franca Alphin, Dietician

"What you're doing with a lollipop is manually you're doing something, and we know that eating is not just about consuming food, it has to do with chewing, it has to do with texture satisfaction, and a lot of other things."

BUT BELIEVERS SAY THEY GET AN EXTRA POP FROM THESE POPS…AND THEY PLAN TO STICK WITH THE SWEETEST SOLUTION THEY'VE EVER FOUND.

Terre Leveton, Dieter

"I feel better. I look better."

Leyla Kellog, Dieter

"I feel so good, like, like never before."

BY THE WAY--THESE LOLLIPOPS ARE NOT MEANT FOR CHILDREN.

KEEP THEM OUT OF THE KIDS' REACH.

THEY'RE A SUPPLEMENT PRODUCT, AND THEY'RE NOT REGULATED BY THE F-D-A.

AND--OF COURSE, YOU CAN'T EAT LOLLIPOPS FOREVER.

TO LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF, YOU HAVE TO EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE.

Contact Carol Williams
E-mail cwilliams@wcpo.com

Friday, 30 May, 2003, 09:56 GMT 10:56 UK

Sampling the Kalahari Hoodia diet

Correspondent's Tom Mangold travelled to Africa and sampled the appetite suppressing Hoodia, a plant which may make Kalahari bushmen millionaires.

By Tom Mangold
BBC Two's Correspondent

Imagine this: an organic pill that kills the appetite and attacks obesity.

It has no known side-effects, and contains a molecule that fools your brain into believing you are full.

Deep inside the African Kalahari desert, grows an ugly cactus-like plant called the Hoodia. It thrives in extremely high temperatures, and takes years to mature.

The San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the world's oldest and most primitive tribes, had been eating the Hoodia for thousands of years, to stave off hunger during long hunting trips.

When South African scientists were routinely testing it, they discovered the plant contained a previously unknown molecule, which has since been christened P 57.

The license was sold to a Cambridgeshire bio-pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm, who in turn sold the development and marketing rights to the giant Pfizer Corporation.

Fortune cactus

When I travelled to the Kalahari, I met families of the San bushmen.

It is a sad, impoverished and displaced tribe, still unaware they are sitting on top of a goldmine.

But if the Hoodia works, the 100,000 San strung along the edge of the Kalahari will become overnight millionaires on royalties negotiated by their South African lawyer Roger Chennells.

And they will need all the help they can to secure the money.

Currently, many bushmen smoke large quantities of marijuana, suffer from alcoholism, and have neither possessions nor any sense of the value of money.

The truth is no-one has fully grasped what the magic molecule means for their counterparts in the developed world.

Blood sugar

According to the British Heart Foundation 17% of men and 21% of women are obese, while 46% of men and 32% of women are overweight.

So the drug's marketing potential speaks for itself.

Phytopharm's Dr Richard Dixey explained how P.57 actually works:

"There is a part of your brain, the hypothalamus. Within that mid-brain there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar.

"When you eat, blood sugar goes up because of the food, these cells start firing and now you are full.

"What the Hoodia seems to contain is a molecule that is about 10,000 times as active as glucose.

"It goes to the mid-brain and actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you were full. But you have not eaten. Nor do you want to."

Clinical trials

Dixey organised the first animal trials for Hoodia. Rats, a species that will eat literally anything, stopped eating completely.

When the first human clinical trial was conducted, a morbidly obese group of people were placed in a "phase 1 unit", a place as close to prison as it gets.

All the volunteers could do all day was read papers, watch television, and eat.

Half were given Hoodia, half placebo. Fifteen days later, the Hoodia group had reduced their calorie intake by 1000 a day.

It was a stunning success.

The cactus test

In order to see for ourselves, we drove into the desert, four hours north of Capetown in search of the cactus.

Once there, we found an unattractive plant which sprouts about 10 tentacles, and is the size of a long cucumber.

Each tentacle is covered in spikes which need to be carefully peeled. Inside is a slightly unpleasant-tasting, fleshy plant.

At about 1800hrs I ate about half a banana size - and later so did my cameraman.

Soon after, we began the four hour drive back to Capetown.

The plant is said to have a feel-good almost aphrodisiac quality, and I have to say, we felt good.

But more significantly, we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception.

Dinner time came and went. We reached our hotel at about midnight and went to bed without food. And the next day, neither of us wanted nor ate breakfast.

I ate lunch but without appetite and very little pleasure. Partial then full appetite returned slowly after 24 hours.

The future

Mr Chennells is ecstatic:

"The San will finally throw off thousands of years of oppression, poverty, social isolation and discrimination.

"We will create trust funds with their Hoodia royalties and the children will join South Africa's middle classes in our lifetime.

"I envisage Hoodia cafes in London and New York, salads will be served and the Hoodia cut like cucumber on to the salad.

"It will need flavouring to counter its unpleasant taste, but if it has no side effects and no cumulative side-effects."

Unfortunately for the overweight, Hoodia will not be around for several years, the clinical trials still have several years to run.

Do not travel to the Kalahari to steal the plant as it is hard to find and illegal to export.

And beware internet sites offering Hoodia "pills" from the US as we tested the leading brand and discovered it has no discernible Hoodia in it.

So just be patient. Help is at hand.