Is the HCG Diet a Risky Fad? Part 1



And the so-called health experts just will not let this go. As reported online for today’s HealthLine on Yahoo! Health, the following was printed:

As obesity hits an all-time high, desperate dieters may be risking their health to take pounds off with the controversial hCG diet.  A fad that started in the 1950s—and is now the latest weight-loss craze—the diet involves daily injections of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) combined with extreme calorie restriction. Women all over America are flocking to doctors’ offices and weight-loss clinics to shell out up to $1,100 a month for a medical visit, a supply of the hormone, and syringes to inject themselves. 

A cheaper version of the hCG diet, heavily promoted on the Internet, uses hCG drops, sprays, or lozenges that claim to be “homeopathic.” Both versions of the diet have sparked medical debate. “This diet is appalling,” Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Center, recently told ABC News. “It takes irresponsible diets to new heights.” Yet Dr. Mehmet Oz has promoted the diet on his popular TV program and declared it “worth a try.” So who’s right—and what’s the medical skinny on the hCG diet?

What is hCG? Human chorionic gonadotrophin is a hormone produced during pregnancy to help nourish the uterus. An injected form of the hormone is FDA-approved as a fertility treatment for women. We Agree…but what they did not print was that hCG for fertility is used in much larger doses than that which is used for medical weight loss.

What’s in the homeopathic drops and sprays? The “homeopathic” drops and lozenges claim to contain an oral version of hCG. While these products, which are also sold at drugstores and General Nutrition Centers, according to USA Today, typically promise drastic weight loss (in combination with a low-cal diet), such claims are both fraudulent and illegal, the FDA warns. We Agree…homeopathic is not the real deal. You can only get Medical grade hCG prescribed by a licensed physician and supervised in a clinic such as ours.

Check back tomorrow and we will fill in more blanks conveniently left empty by the health experts who are purposefully trying to scare the public at large away from Medical hCG for weight loss. We have provided a link to Dr. Oz’s video segments featuring the hCG Diet.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/weight-loss-controversy-hcg-diet-pt-1