PubMed, the medical database at the National Institutes of Health, lists an all-time total of 20,489 research articles on hCG as of May, 2013. Only 93 of these pop up when searching the database for 'hcg' and 'weight loss' together. Over the past 10 years, the numbers are 5,341 and 33, respectively. Of those 33, none are actual studies of the hCG diet itself. This is clearly not a high priority in the research community.
In spite of these results, one particular study has appeared recently, which is not even listed as a weight loss study on PubMed. This is because it focuses on changes in cardiovascular risk factors with weight loss. HCG just happens to be the strategy for reducing weight for this study. The full citation data for this study are:
Mikirova NA, Casciari JJ, Hunninghake RE, Beezley MM. Effect of weight reduction on cardiovascular risk factors and CD34-positive cells in circulation. Int J Med Sci. 2011;8(6):445-52.
This study was designed to stick closely to the Simeons hCG diet plan, with certain modifications. It was designed as follows:
1) Daily sublingual treatments by vitamin B12 (1,000 mcg per day); 2) Oral supplements consisting of the following nutrients: 250 mg tyrosine, 2 mg beta-glucan, 200 mcg selenium, 1 mg folic acid, 5 mg iodine, 7.5 mg potassium iodide, 600 mg magnesium, 5 g vitamin D3, 60 mg coenzyme Q10, 150 mg lipoic acid, 340 mg acetyl-L-carnitine, 100 mg vitamin B complex, and a probiotic (2 billion CFU acidophilus with 2 billion CFU bifidus and 109 mg FOS); 3) Daily treatments of hCG nasal spray, at doses of 125 - 180 IU; 4) Meals totaling 500 calories per day, consisting of: breakfast of coffee/tea with no sugar or one fruit serving, with lunch and dinner each comprising of 3.5 oz of lean protein, a vegetable serving, a bread serving, and a fruit serving.
The program schedule was as follows: patients took supplements, B12, and hCG for two days prior to beginning a 36-day very low calorie diet. This was followed by a 35-day treatment period during which calorie intake was gradually raised while restricting sugar and starch intake. Then the hCG treatment was stopped.
The greatest weight loss by any subject was about 37.8 lbs and the least was 5.5 lbs. The authors did not explain this wide discrepancy except to say that the greatest losses happened in those who started out the heaviest.
Furthermore, average body fat decreased by 12.4 percent, along with a mean decrease in lean body mass of 5.7 percent. In other words, fat loss dropped at double the rate of lean body mass. This result is exactly what Dr. Simeons had already shown way back in 1954.
The main results of blood tests for accepted indicators of cardiovascular risk showed statistically significant improvements in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. In addition, improvement also occurred in levels of fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, and VLDL cholesterol. The only measure that did not change was HDL cholesterol.
What about those CD34-positive cells in circulation? Researchers are continually looking for additional indicators of cardiovascular health other than blood lipids. One of the relatively new indicators is a cell type that negatively correlates with damage to the lining of vascular tissue. Damage to cells that help replenish such tissue accompanies obesity. As the numbers of such cells go down, damage goes up. An increase of one of these types of cells, called CD34-positive cells, may therefore be an indicator of improvement of vascular health.
Changes in CD34-positive cells are best summarized as a correlation with changes in percent body fat. This study found a strong positive correlation between an increase in this cell type and the percent change (i.e., amount reduced) in body fat. This is the result that we want to see. It means that more cells promoting vascular health are produced as body fat gets reduced.
In spite of these results, one particular study has appeared recently, which is not even listed as a weight loss study on PubMed. This is because it focuses on changes in cardiovascular risk factors with weight loss. HCG just happens to be the strategy for reducing weight for this study. The full citation data for this study are:
Mikirova NA, Casciari JJ, Hunninghake RE, Beezley MM. Effect of weight reduction on cardiovascular risk factors and CD34-positive cells in circulation. Int J Med Sci. 2011;8(6):445-52.
This study was designed to stick closely to the Simeons hCG diet plan, with certain modifications. It was designed as follows:
1) Daily sublingual treatments by vitamin B12 (1,000 mcg per day); 2) Oral supplements consisting of the following nutrients: 250 mg tyrosine, 2 mg beta-glucan, 200 mcg selenium, 1 mg folic acid, 5 mg iodine, 7.5 mg potassium iodide, 600 mg magnesium, 5 g vitamin D3, 60 mg coenzyme Q10, 150 mg lipoic acid, 340 mg acetyl-L-carnitine, 100 mg vitamin B complex, and a probiotic (2 billion CFU acidophilus with 2 billion CFU bifidus and 109 mg FOS); 3) Daily treatments of hCG nasal spray, at doses of 125 - 180 IU; 4) Meals totaling 500 calories per day, consisting of: breakfast of coffee/tea with no sugar or one fruit serving, with lunch and dinner each comprising of 3.5 oz of lean protein, a vegetable serving, a bread serving, and a fruit serving.
The program schedule was as follows: patients took supplements, B12, and hCG for two days prior to beginning a 36-day very low calorie diet. This was followed by a 35-day treatment period during which calorie intake was gradually raised while restricting sugar and starch intake. Then the hCG treatment was stopped.
The greatest weight loss by any subject was about 37.8 lbs and the least was 5.5 lbs. The authors did not explain this wide discrepancy except to say that the greatest losses happened in those who started out the heaviest.
Furthermore, average body fat decreased by 12.4 percent, along with a mean decrease in lean body mass of 5.7 percent. In other words, fat loss dropped at double the rate of lean body mass. This result is exactly what Dr. Simeons had already shown way back in 1954.
The main results of blood tests for accepted indicators of cardiovascular risk showed statistically significant improvements in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. In addition, improvement also occurred in levels of fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, and VLDL cholesterol. The only measure that did not change was HDL cholesterol.
What about those CD34-positive cells in circulation? Researchers are continually looking for additional indicators of cardiovascular health other than blood lipids. One of the relatively new indicators is a cell type that negatively correlates with damage to the lining of vascular tissue. Damage to cells that help replenish such tissue accompanies obesity. As the numbers of such cells go down, damage goes up. An increase of one of these types of cells, called CD34-positive cells, may therefore be an indicator of improvement of vascular health.
Changes in CD34-positive cells are best summarized as a correlation with changes in percent body fat. This study found a strong positive correlation between an increase in this cell type and the percent change (i.e., amount reduced) in body fat. This is the result that we want to see. It means that more cells promoting vascular health are produced as body fat gets reduced.
About the Author:
See Dr. Dennis Clark's scientific views of common issues with the hCG diet in his free report, Myths and Truths About HCG Weight Loss and his recommendations on where to order hCG.
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