Prickly bush in the Kalahari Desert could be key to weight-loss success

NBC News
Janet Shamlian
Correspondent

Today show
Updated: 11:57 a.m. ET Oct. 24, 2005

Could a plant from South Africa be the weight-loss secret that could help millions of overweight Americans slim down? NBC News correspondent Janet Shamlian talks about the possible magic pill we’ve all been waiting for.

Prickly bush in the Kalahari Desert could be key to weight-loss success

NBC News
Janet Shamlian
Correspondent

Today show
Updated: 11:57 a.m. ET Oct. 24, 2005

Could a plant from South Africa be the weight-loss secret that could help millions of overweight Americans slim down? NBC News correspondent Janet Shamlian talks about the possible magic pill we’ve all been waiting for.

It’s the look everyone wants — a body to diet for. They’re on the beaches, in magazines and all over Hollywood. How far will we go to get one? How about thousands of miles and deep into a distant culture? South Africa’s Kalahari Desert is home to what could be the answer to an appetite.

It’s a cactus called hoodia. “You strip off the skin, you strip off the spines, and then you consume it,” says weight loss expert Madelyn Fernstrom.