Millions of overweight and obese individuals seek weight loss plans that prove to be efficient and safe. A lot of diet plans have been developed and promise quick and safe weight loss results. There are a lot of credible diet plans out in the market that people may use safely and healthily; however, there are also some which promise safe results, but in fact, they do harmful things to your body.
Most marketers would definitely want to show the public all good things about their product or service in order for them to purchase it. However, believing in these ads will just get you in trouble because of the unknown side-effects that some products may give.
A good example of this is the HCG diet. HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone released by the placenta early in pregnancy.
What is the HCG Diet?
HCG has been used in various studies. In the 1950s, Dr. Albert Simeons studied the use of HCG in Frohlich’s syndrome. This syndrome is a condition involving a delayed development in the genitals of pubertal boys. Since HCG is a gonadotropin, which means “stimulating the gonads”, HCG treatments had been used to stimulate testicular growth. During the study by Dr. Simeons, he saw decreased appetite, but absence of hunger in his subjects. This led him to the development of the HCG diet to help people who want to lose weight.
During the first trimester of pregnancy, mothers usually have reduced appetite for most foods, but have special food cravings. Even if mothers have reduced appetite, the fetus still gets much nutrition from the mobilization of fat stores in the body. This further supported the use of the HCG diet for weight loss.
The HCG diet developed by DR. Simeons involves HCG treatment along with calorie restriction to enhance weight loss. Even if there is calorie restriction, the person still won’t get hungry because of the presence of high levels of HCG. The high levels of HCG also allow the fats to be used for energy production since a very low calorie intake will not support energy production throughout the day.
What are the Side-Effects of HCG?
After Dr. Simeons, more proponents of the HCG diet began to promote this diet plan. However, the problem with these proponents is that they claim that the HCG diet is indeed safe, whereas there are a lot of side-effects caused by the diet plan.
Since the HCG diet involves a low calorie intake, as low as 500 calories a day, the body won’t be able to produce enough energy for the whole day. As a result, the body resorts to using fats and proteins for energy production. The metabolism of fats and proteins for energy production leads to a state of ketosis or metabolic acidosis. This happens because the breakdown of fats and proteins usually lead to the production of ketones as by-products. The starvation caused by the HCG diet is severe enough to cause severe ketosis as days go by.
Aside from ketosis, another side-effect of the HCG diet is the presence of unhealthy weight loss. HCG diets may cause severe weight loss because of starvation. The body usually loses weight at a rate of one pound a week in order to keep the person as healthy as possible. HCG diets do not provide the body with the needed nutrients leading to emaciation or vitamin deficiency.
Is the HCG Diet Legal?
The FDA does not approve the use of the HCG diet because of the following reasons:
- HCG is illegal if it is given to people who do not medically need it
- HCG diets do not contain real HCG
- HCG cannot be used or bought without a prescription
It clearly states that the HCG diet is not legal and all those HCG diets are scams because of the absence of real HCG. Nevertheless, some may still lose weight as a result of being a psychological placebo.
Guest Author Bio
This guest post is by Dr. Amarendra, the author who likes to write on general health issues like weight loss. He also occasionally writes on cord blood cells. He is a blogger cum freelance writer.
