Tid Bits: A honey bee must tap two million flowers to make one pound of honey.

HCG for weight loss is not responsible medicine and you will never see it in our offices. HCG diets restrict you to 500 - 800 calories per day. Guess what - if you reduce your food intake that drastically you will lose weight with or without HCG!

Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone produced during pregnancy. It is used by doctors to treat fertility problems. There have been many scientific studies done to determine if it is effective in weight loss. These studies have repeatedly shown that it is not any more effective than placebos. In other words it does not help. Of course there are self serving studies that come up with different results (hmm, I wonder why?) but for real medicine and real science those are disregarded.

A quality weight loss program will teach you how to change your lifestyle in healthy ways. You will then be able to lose the weight and keep it off for the long term.

Below are some links (that open in a new window) to provide more information. Please visit them if you are considering trying an HCG diet. Be fully informed.

• Dr. Mark Siegel on Fox News with warnings about HCG Diet (video)
• American Society of Bariatric Physicians Position Statement: Use of HCG in the Treatment of Obesity
• About Body Wraps, Pills And Other Magic Wands For Losing Weight
• HCG Worthless as Weight-Loss Aid
• hCG Diet Pregnancy Hormone Injections are a Weight Loss Scam
• Can Hcg Assist You With Your Weight Loss?
• HCG injections: Good for weight loss?
• hCG for Weight Loss - Not a Prudent Idea
• Someone's 'Quick Buck' Can Come at Your Expense
• HCG Injections for Weight Loss? Nope.
• A clinical study of the use of human chorionic gonadotrophin in weight reduction.
• Ineffectiveness of human chorionic gonadotropin in weight reduction: a double-blind study.
• In the matter of Simeon Management Corporation et al. Order, opinion etc., in regard to alleged violation of Secs. 5 and 12 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Docket 8996. Complaint, Oct 15, 1974. Final Order April 29, 1976.
• FTC: Marketer Kevin Trudeau Violated Prior Court Order
• HCG Diet Marketed by Convicted Fraud Kevin Trudeau
• Spotting Weight Loss Fraud
• Human chorionic gonadotrophin and weight loss. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
• HCG Diet Studies Show Results Equal to Placebo
• HCG Diet: Look Elsewhere for Weight Loss
• Chorionic gonadotropin in weight control. A double-blind crossover study.
• Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) treatment of obesity.
• Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity: a critical assessment of the Simeons method.
• Risk-benefit analysis of a hCG-500 kcal reducing diet (cura romana) in females
• Influence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in combination with a 500 calorie diet on clinical and laboratory parameters in premenopausal women with and without hormonal contraception
• The contempt citation they do want you to know about
• Dietary practices in obesity
• Report: HCG Medical
• The prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. Summary of the advisory report by the Health Council of The Netherlands.
• Is HCG therapy obesity warranted?

A few tips and thoughts:

• There are no magic pills. Weight loss involves work.
• Beware of programs that charge a lot up front.
• Some programs state "Physician Supervised". That does not mean you will see them. What exactly are they supervising if they are not seeing patients?
• Beware of people promoting these diets who used to be doctors.
• Check out the offices you will be visiting. Are they medical offices where you see a medical provider? Or are they lab drawing stations where you get to see a lab tech who will add to your bill?
• Considering trying it over the internet? Watch out for fake medications, illegal medications, diluted medications, money transfer scams, poor support and no responsibility, and much more.
• Does the program provide you with the required FDA warning?
• There are many stories of people losing weight fast and then gaining it all back quickly. They did not really solve the problem. (but they did get to spend a lot of money)
• Some of the websites online have been caught using fake success stories and photos stolen from other online weight loss sites (see above links). Do you want to trust your health to those people?

Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome: suggestions@TucsonMedical.com