Hoodia is an extract taken from a type of cactus plant found in parts of Africa, primarily on the edge of the desert. People have begun to use hoodia gordonii to help them with weight loss. This herbal extract, often found in over-the-counter weight loss supplements, purportedly helps you feel less hungry. You take it an hour before eating a meal to help you prevent the consumption of large amounts of food. Because hoodia is not classified as a medication, it has not faced the serious clinical trials required for approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. This means it may not do what the manufacturers of the hoodia supplement claim.
Dehydration
Not only does Hoodia purportedly decrease your desire for food, it also may suppress your brain's desire for water, the Legal Electronic Document Archive at Harvard Law School reports. By suppressing the brain's desire for water, your body can become dehydrated if you do not force yourself to drink liquids. Your body needs water to perform most of its normal functions. MayoClinic.com states that dehydration can cause cerebral edema or brain swelling. This may occur if your body overcompensates and retrieves too much liquid out of the dwindling supply for the cells. Dehydration in extreme cases can cause you to have seizures and kidney failure. MayoClinic.com also states that dehydration can lead to hypovolemic shock, a condition in which the decreased level of blood in your body can cause oxygen depletion and ultimately, death.
Liver Problems
Because no serious clinical studies have been done with hoodia gordonii, there is no evidence that it does cause adverse reactions in your liver. However, the ingestion of hoodia does change the way in which your liver works, so it potentially could cause liver disease, cirrhosis and other liver problems.
Lack of Appetite
While hoodia is purported to decrease your appetite, this lack of appetite could become a serious side effect if you have a history of bulimia along with a cardiac condition, Drugs.com reports. If you have other medical issues, the lack of food in your system could cause a diabetic reaction or a lack of nutritional balance needed for someone who already has problems with digestion.
Insulin Resistance
Hoodia has been shown to make your body resistant to the pancreatic fluid known as insulin. Insulin functions to make use of the glucose or sugar you ingest, If you are a diabetic, you already have an imbalance between your insulin levels and glucose. You need medication to help your insulin work as it should to efficiently use the sugar. Hoodia may cause problems for diabetics because of its potential to cause your body to resist the full efficient use of insulin in balancing ingested and stored sugars.
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