One of the newest entries in the seemingly overcrowded weight loss field is the hoodia gordonii plant. It has been used for generations by bushmen in Africa to suppress hunger and appetite on long hunting trips.

By turning off your appetite, hoodia allows you to curb the amounts of food you are eating without making a great effort. You don't think about eating, so you don't eat. And as a nice side benefit, you lose weight.

Your late night cravings disappear. Your constant junk food snacking decreases. It's almost as if someone magically gave you a will power transplant to monitor your food intake.

Hoodia has become so popular that you can find many brands selling in your neighborhood stores today. The theory is that Hoodia works by fooling your brain into believing that you are full. Some have found that using it decreased their caloric intake by as much as 1,000 calories a day.

But even though the Hoodia Gordonii plant has been proven to suppress the appetite, there are some caveats that you should be aware of before you try it yourself.

One is that it's the plant itself that has been proven to suppress the appetite, not diet supplements developed from the plants. So although many people swear that Hoodia Gordonii has helped them to lose weight, there has yet to be an independent double blind study that will verify it's weight loss prowess.

Two, scientists have been researching the Hoodia plant for almost a decade and so far have found that it doesn't cause any harmful side effects. This is much more than can be said of fat burners such as ephedra which can be very dangerous, especially if you have any kind of heart condition.

Three, hoodia in its pure form has no stimulants. It will not make your heart race or cause other known side-effects. It will not give you the shakes, make your heart race or raise your body temperature

Four, the only hoodia that has been shown to suppress the appetite has been hoodia that is grown in the soils of Africa. If the company you are considering purchasing hoodia from does not certify that its hoodia originates from South Africa, you will not be getting what is considered “real” hoodia.

Will hoodia work for you? We don't know. Our bodies all respond differently. We all have different experiences with foods, supplements, and drugs. Pure hoodia supplements are expensive. Fortunately, the better companies offer money back guarantees so you can try it and if it doesn't work for you, simple send it back.