Weight Loss: A History of the HCG Diet

Although the HCG diet has been receiving a great deal of attention lately, it actually is not a new concept.  In fact, the use of HCG as a diet aid was first discussed in a report that Dr. A.T.W. Simeons published in 1954.  The report did gain some attention at that time, but it took several years before the use of HCG with dieting really started to catch on.  Today, an increasing number of dieters are turning to HCG to help them lose those unwanted pounds.About Dr. SimeonsDr. Simeons, who was a British physician, is credited with having first discovered the use of HCG for weight loss.  While practicing medicine in Rome, he devoted many years to the study of obesity and ultimately published his report extolling the benefits of HCG in 1954.  Dr. Simeons was mostly impressed by HCG because it could be paired with a low calorie diet without causing the same side effects commonly associated with low calorie diets.  For example, Dr. Simeons noticed that his patients could drastically reduce their caloric intake without experiencing irritability, hunger pains, headaches, or weakness while also taking HCG.  As Dr. Simeons continued is research, he found that an HCG injection did more than just help his patients lose weight.  In fact, he found that the injections also helped to naturally reshape his patient’s bodies even if they did not engage in exercise while on the diet.  Dr. Simeons concluded that this was because the patients lost their fat tissue from adipose tissue accumulations, which made changes in the body shape more visible.HCG TodayToday, HCG is still recognized by many weight loss clinics for its abilities to help patients lose dramatic amounts of weight.  Although HCG is still not recognized by the FDA as a weight loss treatment, the FDA has determined that it is a safe drug to use.  The basic concept behind using HCG to aid in weight loss remains much the same as it was with Dr. Simeons’s initial studies, but it was recently taken to a whole new level with Kevin Trudeau’s best selling book entitled “The Weight Loss Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.”  According to Trudeau, the effectiveness of HCG can be further enhanced by eating a diet that consists of 100% organic foods.  Trudeau’s plan also calls for implementing herbal supplements as well as vitamins to help improve the overall health of the body.Although HCG has been around as a weight loss aid for over 50 years, it took Trudeau’s book to help spark new interest in its use.  A great deal of controversy still surrounds HCG and whether or not it is effective at helping people lose weight.  Nonetheless, there are many anecdotal records from people claiming that the injection changed their lives.