Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Potential Dangers Of The HCG Diet

Potential Dangers Of The HCG Diet The HCG diet program is extremely popular in the US and has seen a wave of resurgence over the past 10 years. It was initially developed in the 1950's by a British endocrinologist, Dr ATW Simeons, who obtained HCG form the urine of pregnant females and used to as a weight loss agent. Today the HCG still comes from the urine of pregnant females, although it is stringently processed.

What are the potential dangers of the diet? First of all, the weight loss amount can be very impressive, up to 1 to 3 pounds daily. Strenuous exercise on the diet is actually prohibited, as it may make patients too hungry and end up failing. Fortunately, there are no reports of serious adverse events so far or overdose cases. The FDA has not approved HCG for weight loss, but only for fertility.
The FDA has not come out and said it is dangerous, simply that substantial evidence does not exist yet for its approval for the weight loss indication.
If the person does too much exercise, he or she may get extremely fatigued and pass out. The calorie restricted diet does cause the body to utilize fat as a source of energy, so people who are concerned about the low calorie's dangers should realize the body is still getting 1500 calories by utilizing the fat reserves. Interestingly, most of the time patients restrict their calories so severely, irritability or lightheadedness can set in. But the HCG typically prevents this and people often feel better than they have in years.
There is no long term or large scale research for the HCG program's safety. There is concern over malnutrition with such a low amount of calories, however, so a lot of doctors have shifted the caloric intake upwards to over 800 calories daily. Also, nutritional supplements should be obtained from the doctor. And most of all, doctor visits should be kept to watch over the dieter for any signs of problems.
The adverse profile for HCG may include headaches, blood clots, leg cramps, temporary hair thinning, constipation, and breast tenderness in women. There is concern over whether the caloric restrictions will lead to electrolyte imbalance, gallstones, and bone or muscle loss. These are proposed as dangers, but not proven yet.
The fact is there's a lot of debate for and against HCG as a diet treatment. Some people say it's no better than placebo. Others point to its ability to target the fat reserves and avoid hunger. There's a lot we just don't know, and hopefully studies will be forthcoming to give us those answers.
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1 comment:

  1. It is a helpful informative post. Thanks for sharing this great information about potential dangers of the HCG diet and its harmful effect on our health...weight loss clinics in Phoenix

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