What is The HCG Diet, and Does it Work? The HCG diet has been popular for many years. It's an extreme diet, claimed to cause fast weight loss of up to 1-2 pounds per day . What's more, you're not supposed to feel hungry in the process. However, the FDA has called it dangerous, illegal and fraudulent . This article takes an objective look at the science behind the HCG diet. What is HCG? HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone present at high levels in early pregnancy. In fact, this hormone is used as a marker in home pregnancy tests. HCG has also been used to treat fertility issues in both men and women . However, elevated blood levels of HCG may also be a symptom of several types of cancer, including placental, ovarian and testicular cancer. A British doctor named Albert Simeons first proposed HCG as a weight loss tool in 1954. His diet consisted of two main components: An ultra low-calorie diet of around 500 calories per
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