Every now and then, a new diet pops up and grabs lots of attention before fizzling out amid the ever increasing logic of the scientific community. You read about diets and you research which one would be the best for you to fit your lifestyle and body type. Then you come across one that uses a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. It’s been around for about fifty years, so it’s nothing new, and it’s slowly gaining popularity. But what is HCG, and how does it help you lose the weight?
Humand Chroionic Gonadotropin, or HCG, is a hormone that is produced by the placenta of a pregnant woman. It prevents the breakdown of corpus luteum in the ovary, a body that is necessary to the production of progesterone and essential to a successful pregnancy. HCG is also present in males as well, but in much smaller quantities.
In males, HCG is useful in promoting testosterone production in the testes. It can also be used to treat hypogonadism, which is a defect in the testes causing them to produce inadequate amounts of hormone and/or sperm.
Where did the HCG Diet come from?
Back in the 1950′s a British endocrinologist, Dr. A.T.W. Simeons discovered that HCG helps people on an ultra-low calorie diet to break down excess fat stored in the body for use as an energy source. He came up with his landmark publication, “Pounds and Inches,” in which he details a protocol for a weight loss per day diet with HCG injections in order to prompt the body into using its fat stores.
People who try the 15, 30 or 40-day course of the diet often find that they can lose one to two pounds per day without exercise, and eating food that they enjoy. As a weight loss supplement, HCG has run into a bit of controversy stemming from some scientists’ claims that it is neither effective nor safe. With proper medical supervision, however, the HCG diet has been proven effective and quite safe, provided that the patient follow the protocol closely and his or her doctor helps them to design their own course of the diet.
RE: What is Human Chorionic Gonadotropin? « hcgdietdirect.com. I came across this post while searching for diet pregnancy and found it to be compelling. Something to think about.