I do a lot of research and writing on hoodia supplements. I realized that I haven’t written about the hoodia 60 minutes and BBC reports. I feel it’s important to bring these reports up because they are being twisted around on many websites. The claim that 60 minutes and the BBC endorsed a specific brand of hoodia diet pills is bogus. Don’t believe the lie.

Visit almost any website that is selling or promoting hoodia supplements and you’ll likely see the words prominently displayed, “As featured on” or “Endorsed by,” followed by the CBS 60 Minutes logo and the BBC logo. What you are led to believe is that the hoodia diet pill being promoted was featured or endorsed by these two media programs. Not only was a specific hoodia supplement not featured or endorsed by 60 minutes or the BBC, but no hoodia diet pill was tested or endorsed at all!

60 minutes reporter, Leslie Stahl, did do a story on the hoodia gordonii plant on November 21, 2004. She traveled to South Africa’s Kalahari Desert to see the native plant growing in the wild. She ate a small piece of it. She later reported that she wasn’t hungry all day and that the hoodia gordonii plan did work in suppressing her appetite.

This was all that Stahl reported about hoodia. Stahl, nor 60 minutes, endorsed a specific brand of hoodia diet pill. In fact, 60 minutes didn’t even feature a specific hoodia supplement in their show. But, you wouldn’t know this unless you had seen the program yourself or read the show’s transcript. Hoodia sellers are simply taking this report and twisting it around to their advantage in an attempt to sell their specific hoodia supplements.

Another example of how shady marketers are trying to get you to believe a lie is they have used the same tactics with the hoodia BBC report. Tom Mangold, BBC correspondent, did a show on hoodia in 2003. He, too, went to the Kalahari Desert to see for himself if the hoodia gordonii plant would affect his appetite. Not only did Mangold eat a small piece of the plant, but his camera man also ate a small piece of the hoodia gordonii plant. Afterwards they said they, “did not even think about food” that day. They went on to say they weren’t hungry for breakfast the following morning and their appetites for lunch were almost nonexistent.

As before with the hoodia 60 minutes report, the BBC did not test a specific hoodia supplement, or endorse one. All that Stahl and Mangold did was test the plant directly to get a first hand report on whether the plant controlled their appetites. Neither journalist endorsed or tested a particular hoodia supplement.

If you find yourself visiting a website that claims their product was featured on 60 minutes or the BBC, go to another site. Any company that would twist the hoodia 60 minutes or BBC reports to their own advantage is misrepresenting themselves and their product. They are not being honest. If they aren’t honest about something like this, how honest are they about the effectiveness and authenticity of their product?