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Press Room
Over-the counter medications differ from prescriptions - including hCG
December 22, 2011
The News-Press
Guest Editorial
Submitted Dec. 21, 2011
Over-the-counter medications differ from prescriptions – including hCG
Recently, you may have heard that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have halted the sales of over-the-counter weight-loss products containing human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG.
Seven manufacturers may no longer sell homeopathic hCG in pellets, liquids or sprays for weight loss because hCG is a medication and – when sold over the counter or advertised in spam messages over the internet, for example – is not regulated by the FDA and has not been approved as a weight-loss agent.
As a licensed physician and the Medical Director for Nuviva Medical Weight Loss, I wanted to clarify information that has appeared since the FDA’s ruling about the use of hCG for weight loss.
Nuviva Medical Weight Loss clinics legally dispense pharmaceutical-strength hCG to our clients, who must undergo medical testing and a physician review prior to commencing the program.
Nuviva’s hCG is prescribed by a physician and dispensed by a pharmacy as a prescription medication. Our clients are monitored weekly and receive individualized, personalized nutrition counseling to ensure adherence to the program and overall health.
The hCG prescribed by Nuviva physicians is not “homeopathic” but rather a prescription-strength suspension that the client self-injects.
Homeopathic hCG – the kind banned by the FDA and FTC – only comes in pellets, liquids or sprays. Unfortunately for those who have purchased these products, the small amounts of hCG they contain is immediately broken down in the stomach, thereby fully negating the hCG’s effectiveness.
Injecting prescription-strength hCG is the only effective means of delivering hCG into the body.
This injection, coupled with a reasonable, structured and personalized weight-loss program with supplements, has helped Nuviva patients lose thousands of pounds safely and effectively under the guidance of physicians.
We have been helping patients achieve their weight-loss goals for more than three years in Southwest Florida and over a year in four new clinics in other geographic locations in Florida.
As a board-certified cardiologist, I am aware of the concerns of the medical community of low-calorie diets combined with hCG, which is why I have actively participated in the development of the medical protocols used in every Nuviva clinic on a daily basis.
I have personally witnessed the success of patients who have struggled with weight issues, often over a lifetime, who have achieved long-term success with the use of pharmaceutical-strength, injectable hCG.
I also have personally witnessed the success of these patients in reducing or eliminating other medications needed when they were severely overweight, including blood pressure medication and treatment for diabetes, among many others.
While extensive, proper clinical studies have not yet been conducted on the effectiveness of pharmaceutical-strength hCG injections for weight-loss, the reality is that this type of hCG has been clinically effective in helping thousands of patients achieve their goals safely and successfully over many years.
All forms of hCG are not the same, and the FDA’s recent actions should be considered in the context intended: the ruling was against companies selling over-the-counter, oral, homeopathic hCG.
Nuviva Medical Weight Loss continues to proudly offer safe, effective and long-term results for our clients utilizing established protocols and the medically supervised use of pharmaceutical-strength hCG.
