Expert Warns Against Health Risks of Diet Plan With Compound Derived From Placenta

An obesity expert has warned women of the health risks that come with taking supplements dervived from placenta to aid in weightloss.

During the 1970’s, the compound HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin which can be found in the placenta and urine of pregnant women, when ingested, is believed to help aid weightloss.

Now, more and more Australians struggling with their weight are turning to this diet, which an obesity expert has warned poses health risks.

Professor John Dixon, the head of clinical obesity research with the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, explained to Daily Mail Australia that the HCG diet didn’t work and is a ‘scam.’

“Multiple trials have been done and shown it doesn’t generate weight loss, it doesn’t generate a sense of wellbeing and it doesn’t suppress appetite.

“It’s generally a scam,” he said.

He also warned against some weightloss clinics that are continuing prescribing customers with the supplement and spruiking low calorie diets to accompany them.

Even 39-year-old Canberra woman, Elizabeth Maher, has told Daily Mail Australia that the HCG diet supplement, which she bought online and took in the form of homeopathic drops, left her feeling tired while struggling to keep the weight off.

“I lost a lot of weight very quickly, maybe seven kilos, but as soon as I took my eye off the ball I put it on and more,” she said, explaining that she was also eating only 600 calories a day and drinking ‘feral’ tasting herb mixes on the plan.

Ms Maher’s weight dropped from 85 kilos but within a few weeks, she weighed more than she did before starting the controversial diet. “It messed with my metabolism – 600 calories a day obviously isn’t great for your body,” she said.’

However, Gold Coast man, Rob Molhoek, 57, said the diet, based on taking HCG drops, had helped him lose eight kilos in four weeks. He said he was introduced to the weight loss program about five or six years ago after weighing 106 kilos and his GP had him on blood thinners and cholesterol lowering medication for a month which he said made him feel sick. He said he repeated the program a month later and lost another six kilos, losing 14 kilos in eight months.

However, Professor Dixon said HCG diet supplements were a placebo that had no effect on someone’s health. “It’s actually the thing that generates a positive pregnancy test so if you want human chorionic gonadotropin you’re either going to make the hormone artificially or you’re going to get it from pregnant women’s urine. It’s a hormone from the placenta,” he said.

He added that the 1970’s-style low calorie diets, often complemented with HCG supplements, were a major health risk because they involved cutting out carbohydrates and protein, which led to electrolyte problems, kidney issues and even deaths.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk