Thanks to a lot of celebrity endorsement, the HCG Diet is more popular than ever, but is it actually beneficial to your wellbeing? Let’s explore the controversies surrounding the HCG Diet.
What is it? Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, or HCG for short, is a hormone found naturally in the urine of pregnant women. Yep, people are injected with the same hormone found in pregnant women’s urine in order to lose weight. The theory goes that the hormone causes your hypothalamus to release fat reserves, which it then uses to fuel your body.
What are its claims? The HCG promises a quick fix for weight problems, but considering any wellness expert will tell you that there is, in fact, no quick fix for weight loss, this promise falls a little flat. Users assert that they have lost as much as 10kg in 30 days, as well as stubborn fat that hasn’t previously responded to diet and exercise. However, as the weight loss programme also involves a very low-calorie diet, since the reserved fat is what fuels the body’s energy needs and excess caloric intake is not required, it’s more likely this element – rather than the injections – that causes weight loss.
What’s the science? Although there is a plausible theory behind the HCG diet, there is no scientific research to back it up. According to a research analysis published in The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology in 1995, HCG has absolutely no benefits for weight loss, but rather it is the dangerously low 500 calorie diet that users follow, and this has harmful repercussions. All clinical trials have concluded that HCG is ineffective and pointless, while a 2009 report from the American Society of Bariatric Physicians stated that HCG isn’t recommended to any obese person for weight loss.
Is it approved? In short, no. The Federal Trade Commission and the FDA issued strict warnings in December 2011, telling almost seven companies that their product didn’t have the necessary FDA approval and the claims they were making were not backed by research or examination by experts.
What are the side effects? The low calorie diet will cause vitamin, mineral and fat deficiencies, as well as headaches, loss of muscle tissue, stomach ulcers, hormone imbalance, and blood sugar imbalance. Plus, any weight you lose will always come back, and this time as all-fat instead of the fat-and-muscle combo that you lost.