HCG drops have recently come under fire by the FDA, fueling hysteria that is only partly based on truth. The main issue is how to deal with claims about homeopathic HCG products. The problem is that they may contain no HCG at all.

Homeopathic HCG Above the Radar

Recent media reports about a warning by the FDA that retail HCG diet drugs are frauds have created even more confusion than this weight loss protocol deserves. However, two key points should be kept in mind for clarity about this warning.

Point 1: The FDA is not a human health agency except in name only. It is a rogue government agency whose main function is to be the enforcement arm of the pharmaceutical industry. In other words, it is a corporate health agency. Warnings by the FDA should therefore always be taken with a grain of salt

Point 2: Journalists have managed to mangle this warning to include all HCG weight loss products, whereas the FDA specifically directs its ire at homeopathic HCG drops. The key word here is homeopathic.

Truths About Homeopathic HCG

The FDA is correct in pointing out that this type of product contains only traces of HCG. In fact, according to the principles of homeopathy, medicines increase their potency the more they are diluted. Indeed, the most powerful homeopathic medicines contain no molecules of the original material whatsoever.

Do the homeopathic dilutions of this hormone also increase in potency as the hormone becomes more diluted? This is an unanswerable question based on scientific research, because there are no peer-reviewed scientific articles on this subject.

One of the claims by the FDA is that there is no scientific evidence to support weight loss claims regarding homeopathic HCG. This is a valid point, although it is an example of the weakest kind of thinking that anyone can subscribe to. Absence of evidence is just that. It just means that the research has not been done. It does not mean that it does not work. We simply do not know. (Testimonials are not to be construed as experimental evidence. Only a well-designed experiment can provide that.)

Violation of Homeopathic Principle

The kicker in all this is that one of the principles of homeopathy is violated by homeopathic HCG. This principle holds that treatments for a symptom must be derived from substances that cause that same symptom. A rash, for example, is best treated by substances that cause that same rash. (Highly diluted substances do not cause the symptom, though.)

The symptom that involves HCG weight loss is fat gain, specifically the gain of abnormal fat. However, HCG is not a substance that causes this symptom, so it is an inappropriate candidate for homeopathic treatment of fat gain.

The Definitive Experiment

Ideally, a well-designed experiment that evaluates a potential change in the percent of abnormal body fat would answer the question of whether the homeopathic treatment works. Unfortunately, even seemingly well-designed studies, from the 1960s and 1970s, on standard HCG treatments for weight loss came to contradictory conclusions. The definitive experiment has yet to be done for either form of product for weight loss.

What You Can Expect

The only legitimate way that HCG products can be labeled is either with the amount of HCG they contain, in International Units (e.g., 10,000 IU), or with the amount of dilution that they have undergone if they are homeopathic (e.g., 10X). I have to side with the FDA a little here, since I have found that many internet sites that offer homeopathic HCG do not provide this information clearly, right up front. The key for you is to see an actual ingredients list, which seems to be hard to find.

Oh, one more thing that you should be aware of is that some products claim to be herbal equivalents of HCG. There is, of course, no such equivalent in the plant kingdom. Trust an old plant biochemist on this one.

With homeopathic HCG drops updates,

Dr. D