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Posts Tagged ‘dieting’

It became known that the San Bushmen have been using Hoodia Gordonii for centuries. They found a number of uses of the plant of which one was that its consumption suppressed hunger. They used to go hunting into the Kalahari Desert lasting several days. Hoodia helped them to suppress hunger during the period. It was the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) that successfully isolated P57, the active ingredient that suppresses hunger. P57 was patented by CSIR in 1996. They also recognized the San people as the originators of this knowledge. This makes the San Bushmen eligible for a share in the profit from commercialization of their traditional knowledge.

Obesity is indeed a modern phenomenon. It was unheard of in ancient times. According to World Health Organization (WHO), more than 400 million are afflicted by obesity. The number is so huge that WHO officially declared it to be a global epidemic. Obesity, it is well recognized, is a preventable ill health condition caused due to wrong food habits and a sedentary lifestyle. In some cases genetic cause and mental illness can also lead to obesity. There are many ways that obesity can be addressed. There are a variety of weight loss programs in the market. There are also drugs and dietary supplement in the market. There is surgical intervention for obesity.

Hoodia Gordonii grows 1 meter high. It is a flowering plant. Khoba, Xhooba and Ghaap are the local names given to it. Hoodia is found to grow naturally in Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. Hoodia is available in the form of capsules, tablets, syrup and drinks. There are a number of hoodia shakes such as the Hoodia Gordonii Shake Mix which contains 16 vitamins and minerals besides protein and fat. This is to be taken with milk or water.

The increasing market for Hoodia Gordonii led to its being indiscriminately collected and traded. This led to a situation where the plant might have to be listed as an endangered species if its collection and trade are not strictly regulated and controlled. As required under such a situation, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed the plant in its list. All export of Hoodia Gordonii from Africa requires CITES certification. It also means that all certified exports are genuine Hoodia Gordonii.

You may have wanted to start a weight loss diet many times in the past. But maybe you hesitated because you thought it was too complicated or too hard. Judging by all the information about dieting that’s out there, there are a lot of myths making the rounds. Our goal here is to disprove several of them.

1. One of the most common myths is that you can drop pounds quickly just by a severe cutback in food and calorie intake. This is an extremely unhealthy way to go about dieting. Because your system believes there’s a shortage of food, it won’t let go of its fat very easily.

2. In our search for quick weight loss, another myth will instruct us to eat just a certain kind of food. The peppered water, grapefruit and the hot dog diet fads have resulted in many binges over the years. An unbalanced fad diet will result in not enough nutrients that are essential for good health and a strong immune system.

3. You may have also heard that you can never cheat on your diet. And if you do, you must pay the price by doubling up on your workouts. This just isn’t true. It’s okay to have a slice of pizza once in awhile. You only need to adjust your calorie intake for the day. There’s really no need to exercise for hours just to compensate for one little treat.

4. A popular myth is that you should avoid eating before bedtime because your body will just store all the calories as fat. This just isn’t the case, since dieting only involves healthy eating and restricting your daily calorie consumption. If you have a small snack before bedtime, it won’t have any real impact. But not if you’re indulging in a full meal or a vat of cookie dough ice cream.

5. Maybe you’ve heard of the one that tells you not to eat at all between established mealtimes? It’s better that you do eat snacks. Consume several mini meals through your day and your hunger won’t overwhelm you. When you cut out between meal snacks, you become ravenous before it’s time for the next meal. This can cause you to eat a lot more than you really need just to satisfy your hunger.

6. One more myth warns against consuming dairy products, for the reason that they’re highly fattening. But dairy contains nutrients your body needs, so you shouldn’t eliminate it from your diet. In fact, some studies suggest those who consume dairy have better weight loss success. But don’t overindulge, and choose lower fat products.

Avoid being conned by all the myths about weight loss that abound on various websites. By eating healthfully (as a general rule) and exercising regularly, you can achieve healthy weight loss.