Hoodia in pregnancy and breastfeeding
What the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the NIH, reports about hoodia — in their words, not ours.
What NCCIH says about safety
Little is known about the safety of hoodia, but the one small study in people raised concerns. In that study, participants taking hoodia had more adverse effects, including nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and odd skin sensations, than those taking placebos. The researchers saw clinical and safety concerns for hoodia related to blood pressure and heart measures. Little is known about whether it’s safe to use hoodia during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Quoted in full from NCCIH so nothing is lost in summarising. Where they say “little is known”, that means the studies do not exist — not that the herb is known to be safe, and not that it is known to be harmful.
How much is actually known
We know very little about hoodia. Only one small study has been done on the effects of hoodia supplements in people.
What the research has found
The one small study of hoodia involved 49 women who were overweight. Those who took hoodia for 15 days didn’t lose more weight than those who took a placebo.
Before you take this
Dose and form change the answer completely. A culinary amount of a spice, a cup of tea, and a concentrated supplement extract are three different things, and most research is done on the last of them.
Supplements are also not regulated like medicines, so strength and purity vary between products. Bring the actual bottle to your midwife, doctor or pharmacist — that conversation is worth more than any page, including this one.
Show the evidence
Source: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health. NCCIH states: “This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.” Read the original on nccih.nih.gov.
We reproduce their safety section whole rather than paraphrasing it, and add no verdict of our own.
Educational reference, not medical advice. Never start or stop a herb, supplement or medicine while pregnant or breastfeeding without checking with your own clinician.