JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's a popular diet that helps many people lose a pound a day. Now the Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on the HCG diet.
U.S. regulators have taken the first step to getting the hormone treatment off the market. The FDA sent letters to seven companies to stop selling the over-the-counter drops, pellets and sprays, saying the low-calorie diet can lead to gallstones, electrolyte imbalance and heart arrhythmias.
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Chiropractor Dr. Patrick Opachich has been recommending the HCG hormone treatment to his patients for two years and believes in it.
"My top loser has lost close to 90 pounds," said Opachich, who sells the spray.
HCG is the same hormone produced in pregnant woman.
Patients eat a 500-calorie-a-day diet, and the HCG tricks their body into thinking they're pregnant and keeps the metabolism high.
"You're eating well. We give supplementation of nutrients during the period as well. So there's no missing nutrients involved here," Opachich said. "We're just forcing the body into a burn-the-fat reserve mode, and it works real well."
Jennifer Callan, a registered nurse who runs the Memorial Hospital Bariatric program, is against the hormone treatment.
"Please don't," Callan said of trying the HCG diet. "Let's talk about behavior modification. Let's evaluate your diet. Let's look at what you have been eating and what your basic metabolic rate is."
Callan herself lost 130 pounds five years ago and kept it off. She agrees with the FDA's decision to pull the over-the-counter HCG products off the market.
"You need a certain amount of calories just for normal bodily functions to have your brain to work properly," Callan said.
Until the FDA makes its final call, Opachich said he'll continue to advise his patients to try HCG.
The HCG companies have 15 days to respond to the FDA.