Recently, it seems that every website that sells or promotes Hoodia Gordonii is implying that the supplement has been endorsed in some way by Oprah through her “O” Magazine.

Different websites would post pictures of the magazine that it was featured in (like what we have done) and say things like “as seen on Oprah” and “recommended by Oprah”.

Even though many sites say that Hoodia was featured on the Oprah show, after lots of digging, I have not found any proof of that EVER happening. Also, I obtained a copy of the July 2005 issue of her magazine that had an article in it called, “Diet Pills: The Next Generation” that did feature Hoodia Gordonii. However, it was far from being an endorsement of Hoodia and it is my opinion that it was taken totally out of context. However, you can judge for yourself by reading an excerpt from the magazine below since an archived copy of the article is not present at her official website.

I hope Oprah and her legal department are o.k. with this. The following two paragraphs appeared in the July 2005 issue of Oprah’s magazine, O. It is found on page 103 of the issue. Here are the first two paragraphs copied word for word. Please note the bold text:

“Deep in the heart of Southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert may lie the secret to weight loss. For thousands of years, the Bushmen have turned to spiny plants with delicate blossoms called Hoodia to stave off hunger and thirst during long treks across sparse terrain. When scientists at South Africa’s national laboratory discovered that the cactuslike plant caused weight loss in animals, they knew they were onto something big. They spent the next 30 years isolating the crucial compound, then licensed it to Phytopharm, a British pharmaceutical company, in 1997.

As word of Hoodia spread, supplement manufacturers sought to capitalize on its weight loss properties. So far, however, there’s little proof that the supplements are even mildly effective: Most contain only small, probably insignificant levels of Hoodia extract, and caffeine is likely the active ingredient in many of them. Phytopharm is aiming higher: They have already spent at least $20 million researching what makes the plant so effective, and recently partnered with Unilever to develop a Hoodia-based food additive. The company is also working to develop a synthetic prescription drug, and if they’re successful, the Bushmen will receive 6% of the royalties. Up to now, though, no one has figured out precisely how Hoodia curbs appetite, and Phytopharm doesn’t yet have a drug ready for clinical trials. Meanwhile, other pharmaceutical firms are laboring on their own weight loss “miracles,” all of them racing to come up with the next win-the-jackpot diet drug.”

As highlighted by the bold text, the article is hardly a ringing endorsement of hoodia!

Believe it or not, that’s all the article says about hoodia! The rest of the article, which is equivalent to two full pages of text, is about diet drugs (not supplements) and how pharmaceutical companies are racing to come up with the next big diet drug.

I was so surprised over the reality of this article and the supposed hoodia Oprah connection, I had to read it a couple times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Hoodia was in fact only mentioned in the first two paragraphs. The article didn’t endorse hoodia and it certainly didn’t endorse a specific brand of hoodia diet pills. In fact, the writer states there is little proof hoodia supplements work!

The next time you see a hoodia website that claims Oprah endorses hoodia or that their brand of hoodia was featured in Oprah’s magazine, you’ll know the real story about the supposed hoodia Oprah connection.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 5:53 pm and is filed under hoodia, oprah connection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.