hCG diet

Introduction:
hCG is the abbreviated form of human chronic gonadotropin (or gonadotrophin). It is actually a pregnancy hormone that causes the production of progesterone (hormone of the ovary responsible to prepare the womb for ovum which is fertilized) and estrogen (hormone produced in ovaries and responsible for female secondary sexual characteristics) required for maintaining the pregnancy.

hCG diet was found to be a weight loss diet having with low calories.

hCG diet dangers:
No potential side effects are found.

History:
Dr. A .Simeons firstly described this diet as a treament of Obesity in 1954. Use of hCG for treating the obesity is gaining popularity again. hCG is available, at this time, in the form of sublingual tablets and injectables. Injectable hCG diet is helpful in giving the proper response but the sublingual hCG has been found of no use.
Another study by Shetty in 1977 has found that hCG has found no hormonal or chemical changes in the body relating to circumferential measurements and skinfold thickness.

Now it has been established that hCG diet is not helpful in treating the obesity as is represented by the meta-analytic review of 1995 in British Journal of clinical pharmacology as was found in the Simeons method of research. Reports in favour of Simeons method of hCG diet research has also been declined very much after this review. It is said that the amount of protein was lower than the normal level for volunteers or patients. But at the same time, no reports have been found that hCG injections are harmful.

Uses:

References:

American College of Bariatric Physicians. Position statement: Use of HCG in the treatment of obesity. Approved Dec 2009.

Shetty, K. R.; Kalkhoff, R. K.; (1977), Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) Treatment of Obesity, Archives of Inter Medicine, 137(2):151-155.