About HCG to Lose Weight

HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin. It's a hormone that's produced in the placenta and is most commonly found in the urine of pregnant women. Its purpose is to "regulate embryo development and influence the levels of other hormones" during pregnancy, according Dr. David L. Katz in his article "Are HCG Injections a Good Way to Lose Weight?" published on O, The Oprah magazine's website. Many doctors and other weight-loss specialists have suggested that taking HCG injections will curb your appetite and help you stay on a low-calorie diet.

History

HCG injections were first used as a treatment for obesity by a British physician named Dr. A. T. W. Simeons. Simeons spent years studying obesity and weight loss. He noticed that after giving his patients HCG injections, they lacked the "symptoms one would expect from a patient on a very low-calorie diet. For example, his patients had "no headaches, hunger pains, weakness or irritability." Simeons published a report detailing these findings in 1954.

Function

Simeons observed that, during pregnancy, obese woman were able to lower the amount of calories in their diet without becoming hungry or irritable. Simeons posited that due to the increased levels of HCG produced by the body during pregnancy , a woman's "diencephalic banking capacity seems to be unlimited, and abnormal fixed deposits are never formed," according to Hcgdietinfo.com. For this reason, Simeons believed that taking HCG injections would help to curb a person's appetite.

Considerations

Despite these claims, HCG injections are probably not the best weight-loss aid. A study conducted in 1990 by the Department of Medical Physiology and Biochemistry at the University of Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, South Africa found that patients receiving HCG injections did not lose any more weight than those on placebo, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. According to the Mayo Clinic, many other medical researches have studied the effectiveness of HCG injections on weight loss. The results of these studies "weren't promising."

Warning

Manipulating the amount of HCG in your body by taking HCG injections could cause health problems. HCG is designed to stimulate the ovaries. It causes the amount of estrogen and progesterone in your body to fluctuate. Supplementing your natural level of HCG with an injection could lead to the formation of ovarian cysts according Dr. Katz in his article on the O, The Oprah magazine's website.

Expert Insight

Because of these concerns, you'll probably be better off trying to lose weight the old-fashioned way. The only surefire way to lose weight is to live a healthy lifestyle. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should "take an honest look at your eating habits and daily routine." The best thing to do is to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.