When it comes to losing weight we have all looked for a quick fix at some point or another, but this latest bit of news might just make you change your mind about magic weight loss cures. According to reports, federal regulators are ordering seven companies to stop selling an unproven weight loss remedy that uses protein from the human placenta.

The Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to companies selling human chorionic gonadotropin, a protein produced by the placenta and found in the urine of pregnant women, as a diet supplement with claims that the protein changes abnormal eating habits and can help people lose 20 to 30 pounds in as little as a month when used with a low-calorie diet, usually around 500 calories per day. The FDA and health experts are warning consumers that while the protein has been shown to help some cases of infertility there is no proof that it helps reduce weight and the effects of crash dieting can be extremely dangerous.

“These products are marketed with incredible claims and people think that if they’re losing weight, HCG must be working,” said Elizabeth Miller, of FDA’s division for non-prescription drugs and health fraud, in a statement. “But the data simply does not support this – any loss is from severe calorie restriction. Not from the HCG.”

The companies cited by the FDA have 15 days to respond and detail how they intend to remove their products from the market or face potential criminal prosecution. Just goes to show once again that if you want to lose weight stick to the old fashioned methods…diet and exercise.

Check out what Frugivore’s own resident doctor, Sherica Rosser M.D., had to say about HCG

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