The Real Truth Behind The Hoodia Oprah Connection

By Reagan Miers

When surfing the Internet for hoodia gordonii, you may have read there is a hoodia Oprah connection. You may have seen websites that claim Oprah uses hoodia, or that she has endorsed a particular hoodia product on her show. Would it surprise you to hear that these statements may not be true?

I have not been able to prove there is a hoodia Oprah connection. I have been to Oprah's website and searched for "hoodia Oprah", as well as just plain "hoodia," and no results were found for either. I have never read anything that proves Oprah has used hoodia, or that she has featured it on her show. Until I find evidence that tells me different, I don't believe that there is a hoodia Oprah connection.

Many of the websites that are using Oprah's name point to an article that ran in Oprah's magazine July 2005 issue. The article they reference from O is titled, "Diet Pills: The Next Generation." I wanted to read this article, but was unable to find an archive copy of it. So, I went on eBay and purchased the magazine. I wanted to read for myself what exactly Oprah "said" about the weight loss supplement. I was surprised at what I found.

When I turned to the article I saw a large picture of a San tribe member holding a piece of the hoodia gordonii plant. I immediately thought there was probably a significant connection after all. However, after reading the entire article there was absolutely no hoodia Oprah connection. The article wasn't even written by her and there were no quotes from Oprah about hoodia.

The first two paragraphs of the article discussed the history of the plant and its popularity in the weight loss industry. Yet, the article in O didn't speak very favorably of hoodia weight loss supplements and said, "So far, however, there's little proof that the supplements are even mildly effective: Most contain only small, probably insignificant levels of Hoodia extract" If anything, if I didn't know better, this article would make me doubt the benefits of hoodia gordonii supplements, though no brand was mentioned.

The article goes on to inform the reader that pharmaceutical firms are still trying to come up with the latest and greatest weight loss supplement. Beyond the first two paragraphs, there is no mention of hoodia at all. As far as Oprah's magazine is concerned, there is no hoodia Oprah connection.

It surprises me that Oprah hasn't started legal proceedings against the websites that use her name, and the name of her magazine, to endorse their hoodia products. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before Oprah's legal department takes action against these websites. The truth is Oprah has not endorsed hoodia, and there is no hoodia Oprah connection.