If you’ve shopped around for hoodia online you’ve likely read about the supposed hoodia Oprah connection. You’ve probably seen claims that Oprah Winfrey endorses hoodia or that she uses it herself to reach her weight loss goals. You may have even seen such bold claims that Oprah endorses a specific hoodia product. You’ll be surprised to learn that there may not be any truth behind the hoodia Oprah connection.
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.
There is a minor hoodia connection, however, in Oprah’s magazine, O, that many websites reference as proof that Oprah endorses it. The article all these websites refer to was published in the July 2005 issue of her magazine titled, “Diet Pills: The Next Generation.” I wasn’t able to find an archive copy of the article anywhere online so I purchased the issue on eBay to find out what exactly Oprah Winfrey supposedly said about hoodia. I was very surprised what I found out.
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 article opens with the first two paragraphs briefly talking about the history of hoodia and the popularity of hoodia diet pills. However, the article doesn’t talk very highly of hoodia supplements. In fact, here is a direct quote from the article, “So far, however, there’s little proof that the supplements are even mildly effective: Most contain only small, probably insignificant levels of Hoodia extract” This is hardly a ringing endorsement for hoodia supplements - let alone a specific brand of hoodia!
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.
With so many websites using Oprah’s name to make consumers believe there is a hoodia Oprah connection, there is bound to be some legal actions taken in the future. Oprah’s legal department will no doubt come down on these people. They are twisting a small mention of hoodia in an article in Oprah’s magazine to make it appear that Oprah herself endorses their brand of hoodia, when in all honesty, that is just not true.