hCG Diet Reviews

Fad diets seem to appear on a weekly basis and the media greedily laps them up, promoting them to all those who want to look like their favorite red carpet star. However, after a while, when problems start arising the media turns the tables, because they don’t want to be caught on the wrong side of the fence and start showing all the negatives of the diet. Funnily enough, most new fad diets are in fact “remakes” of older diets, just like the HCG diet which is based on research done in the 1950’s.

Whether or not the HCG diet is a fad or not is up to you to decide. However, this article will present the facts allowing you to make an informed decision.

What is HCG?

HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and is a hormone that appears predominantly in pregnant women. It was first observed in 1927 when it was identified as a substance that was only present in the urine of pregnant women. It is still the basis of pregnancy tests today, as its appearance in female urine clearly indicates pregnancy with an error of less than 0.1%. Doctors also use HCG to determine the risk of birth defects in the fetus.

What does HCG do?

In pregnant women, among many other functions, one role of HCG is to make sure the fetus survives no matter what by making sure that it receives adequate calories and nutrients even if the mother is not receiving sufficient food. In other words, HCG diverts all the required nutrients from the mother to the child, overriding any survival instincts in the mother’s body.

HCG forces the body to release fat from fat deposits which are usually found in women’s problem areas, like the hips, tummy and rear. In fact, that is why women store fat in these areas, it is nature’s way of guaranteeing that the fetus will be healthy. One other interesting fact is that the quantities of HCG peak in the body at around 14 weeks and then begin to diminish. The reason is that before medical progress a pregnancy becomes noticeable at around 14 weeks and that is when women will modify their behavioral pattern to focus on the child. However, until she becomes aware of her state, it’s HCG’s job to make sure that the fetus receives everything it needs.

HCG Diet Protocols

Due to its ability to burn fat no matter the state of the mother, studies were conducted to determine its capacity to help in weight loss. It seems that in small doses HCG helps with weight loss as it also controls hunger pangs. All HCG diet protocols demand a low calorie-level, no more than 500 calories per day, and without HCG sustaining this calorie level for the minimum duration of the diet would be virtually impossible.