Facts about New Fad Diet: HCG Hormone Diet

If you were overweight, would you take a weight-loss supplement formulated from the urine of pregnant women?

 

The supplement in question is HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). This hormone has been utilized as a medical solution since the 1950s. It was originally administered to boys in India to reverse their female physical traits, such as breasts.

 

In recent years, due in part to celebrity-authored diet books heralding the hormone, the HCG Diet has become quite popular.

 

Perhaps not a household name like Atkins, South Beach and the Zone Diet, the HCG diet has also experienced a resurgence because of laissez-faire supplement regulations on the Internet, fueling an explosion of companies hawking HCG online.

 

How does HCG Work?

Proponents of the HCG diet claim that the hormone resets the body back to its natural healthy fat metabolizing capability. The hormone influences your body to draw all of its energy only from your abnormal and excess fat, yet leaving your muscles and organs functioning healthily.

 

People pushing HCG also purport that the hormone helps your body reach a state where it can more effectively control hunger while burning fat quickly.

 

Claims of one to three pounds of weight loss per day are common on the HCG diet.

 

HCG signals the hypothalamus (area of the brain that affects metabolism) to mobilize fat stores. In pregnancy, this helps the body bring nutrients into the placenta, nourishing the fetus with the energy to grow.

 

Although the hormone is commonly associated with pregnant women, men are also able to supplement with the hormone and have naturally occurring levels in their system.

 

HCG supplements are most often sold in sublingual drops, although most dieticians would recommend being supervised by a doctor, who would most likely prescribe injections rather than drops or pills.

 

Because injections and doctors visits are often more costly than ordering a bottle online, the resurgence of the HCG diet has sparked controversy.

 

What are HCG diet dangers?

For starters, HCG is only licensed as a fertility drug. But diluted, unregulated forms are found all over the Internet.

 

The hormone is also used by some bodybuilders to increase testosterone production and counter the effects of diminishing testicle size during an anabolic steroid cycle.

 

The main kicker is that the HCG diet is severely calorie-restricted: 500 calories maximum per day.

 

Conventional wisdom recommends that adults consume at least 2,000 calories per day.

 

Consuming only 500 calories per day would make most dieticians’ hair fall out.

 

Under normal circumstances, that’s precisely what would happen if someone ate 500 calories a day. In addition, they would experience muscle loss, bone density loss and organ dysfunction.

 

What do proponents of HCG say about the dangerously low caloric intake?

The case for HCG supplementation is that it actively suppresses food cravings, and energy requirements are completely fulfilled thanks to rapid fat metabolism.

 

Although HCG dieters eat similar to the caloric intake of an anorexic, their bodies are acting as if they’re consuming much more.

 

“Even though you’re only consuming 500 calories while on the diet, your body actually receives thousands of calories to meet its energy requirements from the fat that is being broken down,” claims one website that sells the hormone.

 

“Once the diet ends this status quo remains because your body has been re-tuned to take its energy from excess fat rather than store it,” the website adds.

 

How long do you have to be on the HCG diet?

Most businesses that sell HCG online claim that if you have up to 25 pounds of weight to lose, it will take about 25 days to achieve the weight loss. A cycle of approximately 40 days is the norm for people with more than 25 pounds to lose.

 

Some on the HCG diet have failed to lose all the desired weight on their first cycle. They are advised to repeat the cycle after a period of three weeks; six weeks if on the 42-day program.

 

The Verdict on HCG

Testimonials of people losing dozens of unwanted pounds number in the thousands, but it’s probably best to consult a doctor, dietician, or naturopath before starting the HCG diet.

 

4 Supplements to Consider Taking on a Daily Basis

People often ask me what supplements I take. But before I get into the specifics of my personal supplementation, keep in mind that everybody is different. So before you start popping pills, just because I told you, or any other health "expert" says to, investigate on your own. 


That being said, here are some supplements I take on a daily basis. 


Sea Salt with Trace Minerals


I wrote a previous post on why supplementing with a sea salt/trace mineral product is beneficial. To summarize, trace minerals act like the spark plugs for your cells. Many people experience fatigue on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including chronic stress. Chronic stress zaps the body of important electrolytes like potassium and sodium. So, many of us are deficient in trace minerals and good salts.


I'm particular to Redmond's Real Salt as it contains over 60 trace minerals, which most of us aren't getting from our inadequate diets. Trace Minerals and real sea salt helps regulate blood sugar levels; regulates heart beat; helps balance Ph levels; can help stimulate thyroid production (your thyroid helps regulate metabolism); can help prevent muscle cramps, and other benefits. 


I sprinkle some on my food or after exercising, I'll even sprinkle some in water. Anybody who does long-distance running should pour a liberal amount into their water. 


Digestive Enzymes


While I'm partial to Peppermint as an efficient digestive enzyme, there are dozens of good enzymes on the market. Digestive enzymes break down the food in the body so that the nutrients can be absorbed. Enzymes are present in the food you eat which is why there is great importance placed upon having plenty of raw foods in the diet. I eat plenty of cooked food, especially in the winter when a salad doesn't warm the blood as much as a good pot roast.


Due to chronic stress, the body has to rely too much on its own digestive enzymes. The result is more stress placed on your system and organs leaving less time and energy for other jobs such as rebuilding and replacing damaged cells and tissue and keeping your immune system strong.


Probiotics


Unless you're a doctor, stop using anti-bacterial soap. Bacteria isn't a bad thing, in fact, our guts are colonized with plenty of helpful bacteria that perform a lot of beneficial functions, like keeping our immune system strong. If you eat fried foods and other unhealthy fare, definitely consider adding probiotics to your daily routine. 


Beware, though. Not all probiotics are created equal and if your system is deficient in good bacteria, you may actually need to pre-colonize your gut with prebiotics. Sound confusing? Yes, it is. In other words, some probiotics will be insufficient to repopulate the gut with good bacteria. I prefer a 20 billion organism count per day. (I take one pill that's 10 billion organisms in the morning; the other 10 at night). 


Vitaminn C


Colds and flus survive more easily in cold weather. Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, has many benefits, including keeping the immune system strong. People ask me about orange juice. I say ditch it or at least make sure you eat some fat and protein to prevent blood sugar crashes. Better yet, just eat an orange and/or plenty of leafy green vegetables. I also pop one or two 500mg Vit. C pills per day to make sure my immune system gets that extra protection. Vitamin C toxicity is possible so don't overdo it. 


Have questions or want a complimentary holistic health wellness consultation? Email coachjudd@gmail.com.

The Science Behind Why You're Chronically Tired

This morning, I woke up feeling like a pregnant woman who just ran a marathon -- bloated and exhausted.

While I usually have great energy in the morning, waking up today feeling hung over made me think of what I did differently last night.

Did I eat anything unusual? Did I gorge on ice cream? Pound one too many beers?

The only thing I can think of is that I did eat too many grains. At least for me, eating an excessive amount of grains (anything more than one slice of bread), even if they are sprouted or gluten-free or whole grain or advertised as healthy in 101 ways, puts me out of whack.

Constantly eating the wrong foods causes widespread systemic stress. And even if you are indeed eating for your Metabolic Type and a very healthy eater, having other chronic stress--be it a job you hate, being in a toxic relationship, exercising too much (Triathletes and marathon runners), indulging in drugs and alcohol--causes a physiological phenomena called the "Pregnenelone Steal".

When your body is under stress of any kind, cortisol is released by the adrenal gland (located on top of your kidneys). Cortisol is the stress hormone. If adrenaline prepares the body for fight or flight and has the energy that could be compared to a sprinter, cortisol, by contrast is the long-distance runner, preparing us for sustained stress.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing to have our bodies release a steroidal hormone to help us deal with stress. However, too much of a good thing, is, of course, a bad thing.

Once the body undergoes chronic stress, our adrenal cortexes struggle to make enough cortisol to keep up with stress. As a result, our bodies ingeniously take another hormone called pregnenelone (a precursor to estrogen), essentially preventing it from metabolizing into sex hormones. This is the Pregnenelone Steal.

All major systems of our bodies go out of whack. Too much cortisol can interfere with developing lean muscle . This is one reason why people who have gone through lots of stress often have trouble losing bodyfat and specifically adding muscle.

All long-term sicknesses are either caused or exacerbated by fatigued adrenals. This post could go on and on about how adrenal fatigue affects all systems.

Sparing you a boring lecture, just know that if you've been struggling with energy, you must first eliminate sources of chronic stress. Yes, this is easier said than done. But there are simple lab tests and 100% natural supplements like bio-identical hormones (derived from wild yam extract) that can help push you more towards balanced.

I'd be happy to help you or anyone else you know. I'm a graduate of the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition program that trains holistic health advocates in hormonal balance testing and digestive function. Call Judd at 858.442.6861 to receive your free wellness consultation.