Appetite Suppressants and Weight Loss - Hoodia

Also: Hoodia

Hoodia gordonii, or at least the P57 ingredient, is just one of many substances that have been hailed as appetite suppressants over the past century. Phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, is another appetite suppressant, one that has been used for decades in various diet pills. They are promoted as a way to lose weight.

How do these appetite suppressants work? PPA reduces the appetite for food because of its effect on the hypothalamus, which is a control centre in the brain. The hypothalamus helps to tell the body when to emit hunger signals, but PPA interrupts this system and thus, the individual’s appetite is somewhat curbed. Hoodia gordonii has a similar effect of suppressing the desire to eat.

By taking these appetite suppressants, you are tricking your brain into thinking you are not hungry and therefore do not need any food. The logic goes: you do not feel hungry, therefore you do not eat. You do not eat, therefore you lose weight.

While there is some sense in that reasoning, can appetite suppressants really be that good for you? If you are overweight or obese, are there not many reasons for that condition? How would using an appetite suppressant deal with those reasons? Is it not true that as soon as you stop taking the suppressant, you would immediately revert to the same diet as before, the same habits, and therefore the same weight? So what do you do? Take the appetite suppressant for the rest of your life?

These things are certainly worth considering before embarking on a course of appetite suppressants. Another thing you need to look into is the side effects of any diet supplement you may take, and that applies to all supplements and pills. Hoodia gordonii has no known side effects, which is of course very promising, but hoodia has been used by an African tribe for very different reasons than to lose weight.

Side effects, though, can take on a different guise to the physical effects you may immediately think of. By using an appetite suppressant alone, you are really seeking a lazy way out, when what you most need is to be more active, exercise, and eat a good healthy diet. So the side effect of taking them could be to perpetuate the poor lifestyle that has led to your obesity or being overweight in the first place.

While suppressing hunger pangs may have a part to play in your diet regime, you should consider whether you will not be better off in the long term by improving your diet and getting the right level of exercise each day. That is not the lazy way out, but for your overall health, it may be the best.