What is hCG,
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin?
What is hCG, human chorionic gonadotropin?
After reading this page, you’ll have answered the question What is hCG, human chorionic gonadotropin ?
- What is hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin?
- What does hCG do?
- HCG Uses in Medicine
- HCG Diet Controversy
- The Weight Loss Cure
- HCG Diet Marketing
As always, the more information you read here at thehcgdiet.ca BEFORE you start your diet, the better results you’ll see in the end!
What is hCG or humand chorionic Gonadotropin?
Let’s start with this: “hCG” is just a simply abbreviation for “human chorionic gonadotropin.”
The abbreviations “hCG” or “HCG” are the common and quicker ways to write or say it, but both forms of hCG mean the same.
You may have also heard it called or referred to as “human chorionic hormone” or “chorionic gonadotropin.”
Did you know that HCG is a hormone found in both females and males? Yup!
It’s produced in small quantities in our bodies, primarily by the pituitary gland, the liver and the colon.
However, it’s mostly widely known for being a hormone that’s naturally produced in the placenta of pregnant females.
What does hCG do?
In non-pregnant females, hCG triggers the release of eggs in the ovaries. However, the hCG in the body at this time is a very low amount that’s not detectable by a pregnancy test.
Pregnancy tests are designed to detect a minimum amount of hCG in a women’s urine. That minimum amount would have to be enough to indicate a possible pregnancy.
Approximately 11 days after conception, hCG levels can become detectable in a pregnant females blood.
Then, approximately 14 days after conception, it can be detectable in the urine.
When the pregnancy gets to 15 days, hCG levels really begin to rise, with amounts close to doubling every 3 days during the first 8-10 weeks of the pregnancy!
Somewhere around 16 weeks, the hCG levels begin to drop again. You can see this in the table below.
Weeks since last menstrual period | hCG levels (mIU/mL) |
3 | 5 – 50 |
4 | 5 – 426 |
5 | 18 – 7,340 |
6 | 1,080 – 56,500 |
7 to 8 | 7,650 – 229,000 |
9 to 12 | 25,700 – 288,000 |
13 to 16 | 13,300 – 254,000 |
17 to 24 | 4,060 – 165,400 |
24 to 40 | 3,640 – 117,000 |
In pregnant females, HCG stimulates the production of more estrogen and progesterone. These hormones help to thicken the lining of the uterus, which in turn helps maintain a healthy pregnancy. These hormones also signal the body to stop producing eggs (menstruating.)
In males, hCG helps maintain and restore production of testosterone in the testes. Testosterone is a key hormone and is responsible (in part) the following:
- Muscle mass and strength
- Distribution of fat
- Density of bones
- Production of red blood cells
- Growth of body and facial hair
- Production of sperm
- Sex drive
For further information on what hCG does for men, please visit our page “HCG for Men.”
HCG uses in medicine
There are three common uses for human chorionic gonadotropin.
- An infertility treatment in females
- Treatment of low testosterone in males (which also contributes to low sperm counts)
- As an aid in weight loss (also known as The hCG diet)
In all three situations, the hcg is administered to the patient as an injection.
(for general information on dosing amounts, please visit our “HCG Dosage” page)
When used as a treatment for infertility in woman, a chorionic gonadotropin injection can stimulate the release of eggs in the ovaries.
Eggs are released 36-39 hours after the injection takes place, if the injection of hCG is successful.
To increase testosterone in men, injections are of a lower amount than used for female infertility.
HCG Injections for men are typically done 2-3 times per week, and can continue for 6 months to a year.
When used as hcg or gonadotropin for weight loss, following the original hCG diet protocol originated by Dr. Simeons over 90 years ago, small amounts of hcg are injected daily for as many as 40 consecutive days.
Changes in marketing (and the attempt to sell more than required) have altered the amounts injected as well as the number of consecutive days of injections.
This has created a lot of confusion for people who want to try this diet!
HCG Diet Controversy
Did you know that the hCG diet really began around 1930 through the works of the famous Dr. Albert T.W. Simeons?
It then grew in global popularity, even without access to information we have today with the internet and innumerable social media platforms.
During the 1950’s, it was used by “The Elite” crowd, Royalty and Hollywood stars!
In 1970, Dr. Simeons passed away and then the diet awareness started to slightly fade.
It faded, but it did continue!
And doctors stood behind it while others said it wasn’t possible and that hCG did not help you lose weight, regardless of the hundreds of thousands around the world who had success with it.
The Weight Loss Cure
In 2007, Kevin Trudeau created a massive resurgence of the diet, when his book “The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You To Know About” hit the best sellers lists all over.
He was featured on talk shows all across The USA and the world. You may have seen him!
Then, all of a sudden, the hcg diet was at an all-time high!
As more people became aware of it, more doctors started weight loss programs and clinics for their obese patients.
HCG Diet Clinics sprang up all over and hundreds of thousands of people began paying an average of $1200 US to take the doctor supervised diet! Whoa! That’s a lot of cash!
But as the diet grew in popularity, so did the money hungry marketers looking to make a quick buck!
HCG Diet Marketing
The powdered HCG used in the diet is only available through prescription, pharmacies, clinics and doctors.
That left many marketers to import HCG from foreign countries and the legitimacy of the diet became to come into question as counterfeit hcg entered the US Market.
Marketers then came up with the term “Homeopathic” hcg and homeopathic hCG Drops in an effort to provide an alternative to injections (which many have a fear of) and to circumvent US law.
Unfortunately, the drops came with outlandish claims and soon the FDA became involved.
As there had been no expensive, comprehensive studies done under FDA rules to approve hcg as a medical aid to dieting, The FDA published warnings about hcg. In short, the warnings stated there is no evidence that hCG helps in weight loss and that all homeopathic versions be removed from shelves and marketing immediately.
All this without considering how effective it’s been proven since 1931!
And with not even asking for input from doctors, clinics or patients that were seeing extremely successful results!
Although it’s not “FDA Approved” for weight loss, a doctor can still write a prescription for “off label” usage (off label meaning to be used for a condition that the product was originally approved for) and the diet continues in full force today.
Now, the next time you tell someone about the diet that’s working for you and they reply with “what is hCG human chorionic gonadotropin,” you can explain in detail!
