If you are like me the BS detectors go off when you see the words diet and pill anywhere near each other. Weight loss is a straight mathematical proposition. If you consume more calories than you burn – you gain weight. If you consume fewer calories than you burn – you lose weight. Weight loss works as certain as the laws of gravity. No exceptions. The chance of waking up in the morning to discover that pounds of fat have flown off your body is as likely as finding that your car has flown onto the roof of the nearest building.
So forgive my skepticism when a friend emailed me a BBC article (BBC. Tom Mangold. May 30, 2003) about a “Kalahari cactus diet.” I read it. I did a little more research. I’m convinced!
Even starving people don’t eat themselves to death because within the hypothalamus there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar. Food consumption puts sugar into the blood stream. The sugar converts to glucose. The hypothalamus senses the change in glucose and eventually tells your brain that immediate survival is assured and that it’s OK to stop eating.
Well, this Kalahari cactus, called hoodia, has a...