The HCG Diet
Thousands of people are latching onto a diet that promises rapid weight loss—up to 30 pounds a month— but the so-called hCG diet is a dangerous fraud. The plan combines drops or injections of hCG, a pregnancy hormone, with just 500 calories a day. While some believers are so convinced of its power they'll willingly stick themselves with a syringe, the government and mainstream medical community say it's a scam that carries too many health risks and doesn't lead to long-term weight loss.
Though hCG dieters have some leeway in how they spend their 500 daily calories, they're urged to choose organic meats, vegetables, and fish. Dairy, carbs, alcohol, and sugar are all off limits. A day's meals might consist of coffee and an orange for breakfast; a little tilapia and raw asparagus for lunch; a piece of fruit in the afternoon; and crab, spinach, Melba toast, and tea for dinner. If dieters slip up, they're encouraged to compensate by drinking only water and eating nothing but six apples for 24 hours. That's thought to help squeeze out water weight, a psychological boost to help them get back on track.
"It's reckless, irresponsible, and completely irrational," says Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Can you lose weight on it? Of course, but that's mainly because you're hardly consuming any calories. And any benefit is not going to last."
In January, the FDA warned that homeopathic hCG is fraudulent and illegal when sold for weight-loss purposes. What's more, all hCG products, including injections prescribed by a doctor, must carry a warning stating there's no proof they accelerate weight loss, redistribute fat, or numb the hunger and discomfort typical of a low-calorie diet. Nonetheless, doctors are still doling out prescriptions for the daily injections, typically inserted into the thigh.
In 1995, researchers analyzed 14 clinical trials on the hCG diet. Only two concluded hCG was any more effective than a placebo at helping people lose weight. And nearly 10 years earlier, a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal stated hCG has "no value" as a means of managing obesity, and that the diet has been "thoroughly discredited and thus rejected by the majority of the medical community."
Taking the hCG hormone itself can cause a variety of complications that can read like the fine print in a prescription disclaimer: Users may report incidences of headaches, blood clots, restlessness, leg cramps, constipation, temporary hair thinning, depression and male breast enlargement. Also, you may feel, well, like you're pregnant -- swelling, breast tenderness and water retention, anyone? HCG can also cause a potentially life-threatening condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), in which ovaries over-stimulated by hormones can swell and leak fluid into the abdomen. This can cause vomiting or nausea, excess urination, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain and weight gain but can lead to blood clots, kidney failure, fluid build-up in the abdomen or chest, and electrolyte imbalances.
Other side effects in women include rash, itching or irritation, weakness, light headedness, confusion, dizziness, anxiety, insomnia, sudden weight gain, increased anger and mood swings, feeling sluggish, stomach ache, pelvic pain, muscle cramps, lumps, water retention, tender breasts, swollen feet and hands, as well as hunger.
Many of the symptoms for women are present in men on the diet as well. Men may experience abdominal discomfort since the hormone may mimic pregnancy symptoms. Irritability and mood swings may appear as well. Since the caloric intake of 500 is too restricted for men, they might experience food cravings, hunger pains, fatigue, thinning hair and light-headedness.
When you're on an extremely reduced calorie diet such as the hCG plan, you're basically starving yourself. By allowing so few calories per day, it can be difficult to meet your daily nutritional needs. You may also experience some not-so-pleasant side effects such as fatigue, nausea, constipation and diarrhea. Your hair might start falling out. Even worse, you may develop gallstones, which could require surgery to correct.
Another problem with severely restricted calorie diets is that once you go off them and start eating a regular amount of calories, you're bound to regain the weight you lost, and then some.
The FDA has also received at least one report of an hCG dieter who developed a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lung that can potentially be fatal.
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