As we all know, there are a multitude of diets on the market and it is confusing to try to understand the methodology behind many of them. I recently assessed the Dukan Diet.
The HCG diet is more effective than a low-calorie diet, because the hormone suppresses appetite and improves the mood- Kathryn Borg
However, there is a controversial diet which was first popularised in the 1950s which has seen a surge in public interest in recent years. It is known as the HCG diet, which combines hormone injections with a low-calorie diet.
It has made a huge comeback in the US and there are now hundreds of websites dedicated to promoting its effectiveness. Once again, despite all the claims and the hype, there is little proof that the diet actually works. Also, once again, it may actually be bad for your health.
HCG stands for ‘human chorionic gonadotrophin’. This is a hormone which is produced by the placenta during pregnancy and excreted in the urine of pregnant women. The HCG diet combines daily injections of this hormone with severe calorie restrictions – 500 calories per day. The idea is that you lose one to two pounds each day without feeling hungry, irritable or weak.
The use of HCG for weight loss was first proposed more than 50 years ago by British doctor Albert Simeons. Simeons claimed that the hormone, when coupled with a low-calorie diet, caused the body of obese people to preferentially burn stored fat – especially fat from the stomach, hips and thighs.
According to Simeons, the HCG diet is more effective than a low-calorie diet, because the hormone suppresses appetite and improves the mood, thereby increasing the likelihood that the dieter will stick to the stringent regime.
In a report published in 1954 in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet, Simeons reported that he had treated 500 obese patients (did we have obese people around in the 1950s?) and found that those who had followed the HCG weight-loss plan for 40 days had managed to lose 20 to 30 pounds (nine to 14 kg) without feeling weak or excessively hungry.
Since that time HCG injections have been used as a weight-loss aid with amazing commercial success. However, despite Simeon’s scientific report, there is no reliable evidence to show that the HCG diet actually works.
In subsequent studies and trials, HCG has proved to be ineffective, implying that the weight loss was due entirely to the remarkably severe low-calorie diet rather than the hormone injections combined with the low daily intake of calories.
Supporting this one review, researchers in Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Los Angeles, found that weight loss was identical to two groups of dieters whether they received HCG or a placebo. Additionally, there were no differences regarding hunger, mood and body measurements.
One study, however, did publish positive findings. Published in 1973 by two US-based doctors, one of whom was the executive director of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, the study involved 40 women who had received either HCG injections or a placebo and who followed a diet of 500 to 550 calories per day.
The results showed that the HCG group lost significantly more weight than the placebo group. In a questionnaire, the women given HCG said they were less hungry and generally felt better than the control group.
This study has been criticised by a team of researchers trying to replicate the earlier study who failed to find any differences in weight loss, measurements and symptoms between the two groups”
Their conclusion was that “HCG does not appear to enhance the effectiveness of a rigidly imposed regimen for weight reductions”.
Despite all this, the HCG diet continues to be promoted as a miracle weight loss cure and appears to be more popular than ever. It may be that now HCG is available in the form of homeopathic drops and sprays, which tends to be more user-friendly and acceptable than injections, the popularity has increased.
HCG side-effects have been reported as causing head-aches, irritability, restlessness, depression, fatigue, water retention, and breast enlargement in men. This treatment has also been linked to blood clots, early puberty, fluid accumulation in the lungs and abdominal cavity and others symptoms.
So, in conclusion, the HCG diet does not seem to live up to its claims, and reports generally suggest it could even be dangerous.
The extremely low-calorie intake alone is undoubtedly bad for your health. Add that to the side-effects of HCG, the safety of injections and, as usual, it sounds too good to be true.
Scientific tests of the homeopathic HCG have yet to be published, but it is to be assumed that it is no more effective than HCG when injected.
Once again, a change to a healthy lifestyle, eating sensible food and including a manageable exercise programme is still the best way to change your body shape.
kathryn@maltanet.net