A Comparison of Four Popular Hoodia Products

Hoodia thin, Hoodia Gordonii Plus, smart burn with hoodia and Hoodia XR are popular diet aids with prices ranging from almost $40 to almost $90 per bottle. Are the more expensive products really better?

Only one hoodia product we've found is doctor endorsed and has been independently verified to contain genuine hoodia gordonii. And that product is Desert Burn.

Thousands of people are using, or thinking of using, a hoodia product to help them lose weight. Choosing a product can be difficult. Many people make the decision based solely on price. A one month supply of smart burn with hoodia costs $87.92. A one month supply of hoodia thin costs $54.95. A one month supply of Hoodia XR is $49.95. And Hoodia Gordonii Plus sells for $39.95. It is difficult to determine what justifies these extreme price differences. Hoodia gordonii is hard to grow and expensive to import, but one would think that the prices would be a little more comparable.

Perhaps the price difference relates to the amount of hoodia each product contains. If this was the case then smart burn with hoodia should contain the most, since it costs the most. But, smart burn with hoodia product information does not indicate exactly how much hoodia gordonii is in each tablet. According to the manufacturers, hoodia thin and Hoodia XR contain 100% pure hoodia gordonii. Hoodia thin is a liquid and Hoodia XR is a 1000mg extended release tablet, so it is difficult to compare these two products in terms of dosage. The least expensive of the four is Hoodia Gordonii Plus which contains 400mg of hoodia gordonii concentrate and a variety of other natural appetite suppressants. So, apparently the price difference is not related to the amount of hoodia each product contains. Perhaps the more expensive products offer a better guarantee or more complete documentation of authenticity.

Guarantees are a tricky thing. For example, if a customer purchases a one month supply of hoodia thin and is dissatisfied, he or she must return the unused portion within 30 days to get a full refund, less shipping and handling. This is 30 days from the date of purchase, not the date the customer receives the product. Hoodia XR suggests that the customer uses the product as directed for a full 10 days and then if he or she is not completely satisfied, they may return the unused portion for a full refund. But the customer must call for a return authorization number which must be displayed on the outside of the package or the package will be rejected. Smart burn with hoodia and hoodia gordonii plus have similar return policies. With each of the four products the customer only has about ten days to try it, before he or she must make a decision about returning it. While the price breaks for large supplies are tempting, it is probably wise to order the smallest amount available.

There is a problem with the CITES certificate displayed on the hoodia thin website. A CITES license is required to export hoodia gordonii from South Africa. The problem with the hoodia thin CITES certificate is that the section which should display the manufacturers name is blank. Smart burn with hoodia displays no CITES certificate at all. Hoodia XR and Hoodia Gordonii Plus display proper CITES documents. Hoodia thin may purchase their hoodia from a middle man which they do not want to disclose and this could be the reason that the company name section is blank. An e-mail to hoodia thin concerning this question has yet to be answered.

So, the more expensive products, smart burn with hoodia and hoodia thin, do not offer better guarantees and their documentation of authenticity is questionable. There seems to be no explanation for their higher prices.