HCG the new (actually old) diet fad.

Weight loss

A controversial usage of hCG is as an adjunct to the British endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons' ultra-low-calorie weight-loss diet (less than 500 calories). Simeons, while studying pregnant women in India on a calorie-deficient diet, and “fat boys” with pituitary problems (Frölich's syndrome) treated with low-dose hCG, claimed that both lost fat rather than lean (muscle) tissue. He reasoned that hCG must be programming the hypothalamus to do this in the former cases in order to protect the developing fetus by promoting mobilization and consumption of abnormal, excessive adipose deposits. Simeons, practicing at Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome, Italy, recommended low-dose daily hCG injections (125 IU) in combination with a customized ultra-low-calorie (500 cal/day, high-protein, low-carbohydrate/fat) diet loss of adipose tissue without loss of lean tissue. After Simeons’ death, the diet started to spread to specialized centers and via popularization by individuals, such as the controversial author Kevin Trudeau, famous for promotion of alternative therapies and treatments.

The controversy proceeds from warnings by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition^[14] that hCG is neither safe, nor effective as a weight-loss aid.

Controversy about and shortages of injected hCG for weight loss have led to substantial internet promotion of "homeopathic hCG" for weight control. The ingredients in these products are often obscure, but if prepared from true hCG via homeopathic dilution, they contain either no hCG at all or only trace amounts. These preparations are generally advertised for oral use. Proponents of injected hCG for weight control have objected to homeopathic hCG as ineffective.

In 2007 The Weight-Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau was published and the diet was in the public attention again.

Kevin Trudeau served prison time for fraud in the early 1990s, Trudeau and a fellow inmate whom he met in prison joined Nutrition for Life, a multi-level marketing firm, where they were successful. He and his partner were sued by the Illinois Attorney General for running a pyramid scheme. Trudeau and his company entered into a settlement with Illinois and seven other states for US$185,000.

Trudeau then produced and appeared in infomercials, broadcast frequently on late night TV in North America and promoted a range of products, including health aids, dietary supplements (such as coral calcium), real estate investment strategies, memory-improvement courses, baldness remedies, addiction breaking strategies, and reading improvement programs, among others. The claims made resulted in regulatory actions by the FTC, based on his alleged misrepresentations and unsubstantiated claims. In 1998, he was fined, and in 2004 Trudeau settled an FTC contempt-of-court action by agreeing to a settlement that banned him from using infomercials to promote products, except for those publications protected by the First Amendment. He also agreed to pay a $2 million settlement.

In April 2007, Trudeau released The Weight Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About. The book describes a three-phase multi-month plan originally made famous by British endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons in the 1950s. The first phase involves switching to all organic foods with repeated colonic and liver cleansing. This is followed by a second-phase period of daily hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) injections under the direction of a health care provider. In phase three, use of hCG stops, but food must continue to be 100 percent organic. Other recommended activities include walking an hour a day or more and doing breathing exercises.

Critics say that as early as 1962, the Journal of the American Medical Association warned against the Simeons Diet. In 1976, the FTC ordered clinics and promoters of the Simeons Diet and hCG to inform prospective patients that there had not been "substantial evidence" to conclude hCG offered any benefit above that achieved on a restricted calorie diet. Clinical research trials published by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have shown that hCG is ineffective as a weight-loss aid, citing "no statistically significant difference in the means of the two groups" and that "HCG does not appear to enhance the effectiveness of a rigidly imposed regimen for weight reduction."

The FTC has filed a contempt-of-court action against Trudeau alleging that the alleged misrepresentations in the book violate a 2004 consent order.

In 2007, the FTC charged Kevin Trudeau with violating a court order by misrepresenting the contents of the book. In infomercials, Trudeau falsely claimed that the book's weight-loss plan is easy to do, can be done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they want. Previous FTC action had led to a court order banning from using infomercials to sell any product, service, or program except for books and other publications The order specified that he not misrepresent the content of the books. In 2008, the Court ruled that Trudeau had violated the previous order and ordered him to pay more than $37 million.

On February 11, 2010, Trudeau was arrested and appeared in U.S. District Court before Gettleman for criminal contempt of court after he "asked his supporters to email the federal judge overseeing a pending civil case brought against him by the Federal Trade Commission." He was forced to turn over his passport, pay a $50,000 bond and was warned he could face future prison time for interfering with the direct process of the court. On February 17, Gettleman sentenced Trudeau to 30 days in jail and forfeiture of the $50,000 bond. Well-known critic of Trudeau, Stephen Barrett, the creator of Quackwatch.org, "has for years labeled Trudeau a fraud" and was quoted: "He struck me as somebody who (believes he) is omnipotent. That is, no one can touch him," Barrett said. "That’s almost been the case." Trudeau appealed the ruling and on May 20 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted his motion, dismissing the contempt citation.

In the world of performance enhancing drugs, hCG is increasingly used in combination with various anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) cycles. As a result, hCG is included in some sports' illegal drug lists.

When AAS are put into a male body, the body's natural negative-feedback loops cause the body to shut down its own production of testosterone via shutdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA). This causes testicular atrophy, among other things. hCG is commonly used during and after steroid cycles to maintain and restore testicular size as well as normal testosterone production.

High levels of AASs, that mimic the body's natural testosterone, trigger the hypothalamus to shut down its production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus. Without GnRH, the pituitary gland stops releasing luteinizing hormone (LH). LH normally travels from the pituitary via the blood stream to the testes, where it triggers the production and release of testosterone. Without LH, the testes shut down their production of testosterone. In males, hCG helps restore and maintain testosterone production in the testes by mimicking LH and triggering the production and release of testosterone.

If hCG is used for too long and in too high a dose, the resulting rise in natural testosterone will eventually inhibit its own production via negative feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

Professional athletes who have been caught using hCG have been temporarily banned from their sport, including a 50-game ban from MLB for Manny Ramirez in 2009 and a 4-game ban from the NFL for Brian Cushing for a positive urine test for hCG.

The use of hCG has been found for men to increase testosterone linked to muscle growth, for burning fat; however, in some clinical studies with women, testosterone levels did not rise, leaving the possibility that hCG would be in a diet plan for men only, and taking hCG could be inappropriate for women.

For men, hCG can have some potential side-effects, including: gynecomastia (growing female breasts), water retention, increase in sex drive, mood alterations, headaches, and high blood pressure.

In my opinion the HCG diet would work without taking HCG and have very similar effects. Any appetite suppressant would work. The recent popularity will only lead to it becoming a banned substance and labeled as "performance enhancing drug."
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/29/9/940.pdf