Can hcg help weight loss?

In a word, no.



HCG is a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women. It's what turns the stick blue on home pregnancy tests. Pregnant women produce it to insure their fetus receives adequate nutrition, even if they don't. Adipose fat stored during more successful times is used to feed the fetus if the woman is not consuming enough to feed herself and her fetus. It peaks in production around 14 weeks of pregnancy.


More than 50 years ago, Dr. Albert T. Simeons, a British-born physician, contended that HCG injections would enable dieters to subsist comfortably on a 500-calorie-a-day diet. He claimed that HCG would mobilize stored fat; suppress appetite; and redistribute fat from the waist, hips, and thighs. There is no scientific evidence to support these claims. Moreover, a 500-calorie (semi-starvation) diet is likely to result in loss of protein from vital organs, and HCG can cause other adverse effects. Gabe Mirkin, M.D., has noted:

At one time, HCG was the most widespread obesity medication administered in the United States. Some doctors liked it because it assured them of a steady clientele. Patients had to come in once a week for an injection.

Since 1975, the FDA has required labeling and advertising of HCG to state:

HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or "normal" distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.


Also, it's a prescription drug. Anyone selling it who doesn't require a script isn't selling the actual protein at all.