Devised in 1954 by a physician, the hCG diet was a hypothesis proven wrong. Enter marketer extraordinaire, and bestselling author Kevin Trudeau. Today, the hCG diet has reemerged on the Internet and television thanks to the Chicago based marketing whiz. Many have heard of it, few understand it. So I’m going to sum it up: It’s another fad diet destined to steal the hopes and dreams of fat people everywhere. A few telling quotes:

“I used HCG in my bodybuilding years & it ruined my metabolism & made me fatter years later…” – Sandi

“I’m worried about my wife, she started the hCG diet and is looking weak, pale and is very lethargic.” – Dan

Kevin Trudeau isn’t the only promoter. A few irresponsible chiropractors and naturopathic doctors are coming out of the intellectual-closet to push the diet too. I think they just like saying “hCG,” which stands for human chorionic gonadotropin hormone. It makes them feel like they’re finally a part of the scientific community. But, it proves they are not. hCG has never been proven by science to cause fat loss. That’s the least of the bad news.

If you are messing around with hCG, the really bad news is – in the long run – that it can lead to overt obesity as well as type II diabetes and the mother of all disease, cancer! Before you let the Trudeau marketing noose tighten around your neck, you must know two things about the hCG diet.

hCG is the pregnancy hormone

The first hormone produced by a pregnant woman is hCG. It primes her body for carrying the new baby. Particularly, it turns on the faucet for the flow of progesterone and estrogen internally. These are the “Honey, I think I’m gaining weight, can you go buy me a pregnancy test,” hormones! And if not controlled, the estrogen dominance may lead to weight gain first, then type II diabetes.

The huckster of the diet tried to mask this symptom by telling users to go on a “very low calorie diet.” But, since starvation isn’t sustainable, the yo-yo effect kicked in faster than you can say “natural cures I wish I didn’t know about.”

The hCG hormone isn’t a one-trick pony

In addition to turning on the hormone faucet, hCG also preserves the early stages of pregnancy. But, if not pregnant, hCG preserves cancer growth by acting as a life-support to the biological superpower.

Specifically, hCG grants cancerous cells the ability to produce blood vessels, a process known technically as neovascularisation. The scientific journal known as Anticancer Research highlighted this in 2003, stating that, “hCG is able to induce neovascularisation in tumour cells.” Helping cancer cells grow is not a good thing. But this has been known for as long as scientists have understood pregnancy.

“Living young and taking charge of my health! Want my secret? Read Over the Counter Natural Cures! Proof positive – In January I was 40 pounds heavier.” – Derek, Harvested from Facebook Page!

Hormone intelligence therapy (HIT) conquers all

Hormones are not to be messed with. I learned this as a chemist designing “hormone mimics.” I also learned that hormone balance was far more important than hormone “quantity” when it came to achieving your leanest, sexiest physique. Write that one down.

As highlighted in my book, Over-The-Counter Natural Cures, the body has its own “hormonal intelligence,” which it uses to optimize hormone balance. This intelligence is like the magic wand that causes excess fat to vanish at any age. It also helps the body produce life-preserving muscle.