Guest column: Beware of HCG diet - it can be dangerous

I would like to warn the community about the perils of the HCG diet. HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin and is a hormone that is produced by the placenta during pregnancy.

This diet requires that the individual participating follow a very low calorie diet of 500 calories daily while taking HCG. Such an extreme low calorie diet can lead to starvation ketoacidosis, especially in very large individuals who require more calories to maintain their larger size than normal weight individuals.

Starvation ketoacidosis is a condition where dangerous acidification of the blood and low potassium levels can lead to potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias.

As one example, a 34-year-old West Chester, Ohio mother of three died in 2013 of cardiac arrest attributed to the HCG diet only 18 days after starting the diet.

This diet can cause the formation of blood clots in the veins and lungs (the latter is called a pulmonary embolism) which cause sudden death.

The list of potential side-effects is very long but include gallstone formation and the development of enlarged breasts in men. After the death of the Ohio woman in 2011, the FDA outlawed all over-the-counter oral HCG products and, along with the FTC, have sent “cease and desist” letters to seven companies that produce these products. The USDA calls HCG oral supplements illegal and fraudulent. A physician can still prescribe HCG intravenously but the only approved indications are for infertility in women and for other rare endocrine disorders.

There is no approved indication to prescribe intravenous HCG for weight loss.

The following is an excerpt from the FDA’s website:

Current scientific evidence does not support the claim that HCG is safe and effective for weight loss or for the treatment of obesity. In fact, FDA labeling for the approved HCG drug products require the following statement about the use of HCG for weight loss:

“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.”

The FDA is aware that health care professionals sometimes prescribe prescription injectable HCG for unapproved uses such as weight loss … FDA has received reports of serious adverse events associated with the use of HCG injections for weight loss including cases of pulmonary embolism, depression, cerebrovascular issues, cardiac arrest and death.

The main reason that the diet has been shown in studies to be ineffective is that any weight that a participant loses is rapidly gained back once the diet is stopped.

The only successful diet programs are the ones that train participants not only how to safely and gradually lose weight but also how to keep from gaining the weight back by maintaining a healthy diet after one’s goal weight is achieved.

One example of such a diet available in our community is Wellness Weighs. The lowest recommended caloric intake per day for dieting is 1,200 calories for women and ,500 calories for men, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Beware of the HCG diet.

(Terence N. Hankins, D.O. practices internal medicine for Northern Montana Health Care.)