Herb & supplement monograph

Hcg Diet Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by ·Updated July 2026
What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Hcg Diet interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Hcg Diet is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Hcg Diet is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

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Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Hcg Diet

0 medications have a known interaction with Hcg Diet, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

We don’t currently list any known drug interactions for Hcg Diet. This doesn’t guarantee none exist — always confirm with your pharmacist before combining supplements with your medications.

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

  • Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
  • Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
  • Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
  • No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

  • Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
  • Probable. Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • Possible. Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists
  • Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

  • Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
  • Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Hcg Diet combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
  • Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.
Monograph

Hcg Diet: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by · Reviewed July 2026 ·
The bottom line

The HCG diet pairs a very low-calorie diet (often around 500 calories a day) with human chorionic gonadotropin, a pregnancy hormone, and claims to cause fast, targeted fat loss. There is no good scientific evidence that hCG helps with weight loss or hunger, and the FDA has not approved it for this use; any weight lost comes from the extreme calorie restriction, which can be dangerous. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before trying any HCG product.

Part used
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone, used with a very low-calorie diet
Common forms
Injections, sublingual (under-the-tongue) drops, oral pellets, sprays
People commonly use it for
  • Rapid weight loss
  • Appetite control during dieting
  • Body fat reduction

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance
OverallBest avoided

hCG is not proven for weight loss and the very low-calorie diet it requires can be harmful.

PregnancyLikely Unsafe

When used by injection. HCG, which is a component of the HCG diet, is teratogenic. It has been linked to a high rate of congenital abnormalities in an...

Read the full pregnancy detail
BreastfeedingInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Jump to a section

Overview

The HCG diet is a weight-loss plan that combines a very low-calorie diet, often only about 500 calories per day, with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). hCG is a hormone the body naturally makes during pregnancy. It can be measured in pregnancy tests and is also used as a prescription medicine for certain fertility problems.

For weight loss, hCG is sold as injections, drops you place under your tongue, pellets, and sprays. Many of these products are marketed online and in some clinics with promises of fast fat loss. It is important to know that the U.S. FDA has not approved hCG for weight loss, and over-the-counter "homeopathic" hCG products are considered illegal and unproven.

How it works

Supporters of the HCG diet claim the hormone tells the body to burn stored fat for energy and to release fat from "problem" areas, while reducing hunger so that living on around 500 calories a day feels easier.

These ideas have not been proven in good-quality research. There is no solid scientific explanation for how hCG would target fat or reduce appetite, and studies have not shown these effects. In reality, the dramatic calorie restriction is what causes the weight loss, and the hormone appears to add nothing.

Effectiveness

Does Hcg Diet work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by .

Evidence overview · 1 use evaluated
1 Leans ineffective
How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.
2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.
3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.
4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.
5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.
6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.
7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.
Likely Ineffective Obesity
Rating & evidence shown verbatim from Natural Medicines

Clinical studies show that the HCG diet does not improve weight loss in patients with obesity.

Source & disclaimer. Effectiveness ratings and evidence summaries are provided by Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) and shown as licensed. Where Natural Medicines hasn’t rated a use, HelloPharmacist’s pharmacists may add their own reviewed rating and evidence (each such entry is labeled). This is educational information, not medical advice — talk with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or changing a supplement.

Safety & precautions

The biggest safety concern is the very low-calorie diet itself. Eating around 500 calories a day can leave you short on protein, vitamins, and minerals. It may cause gallstones, irregular heartbeat, muscle loss, and an imbalance of important body salts (electrolytes). A diet this strict should only ever be done under close medical supervision.

hCG is a hormone, and using it can affect the body in ways that are not fully understood when used for dieting. Over-the-counter "homeopathic" hCG drops and sprays are not approved and may not even contain what the label says.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: avoid the HCG diet completely. Severe calorie restriction and adding a hormone are unsafe for a developing baby and for nursing. Anyone who is pregnant, may become pregnant, or breastfeeding should not use these products.

Side effects

Reported side effects relate both to the hormone and to the extreme diet. They can include headache, fatigue, irritability, restlessness, and swelling (fluid buildup). The very low-calorie diet can cause dizziness, gallstones, hair thinning, and dangerous changes in electrolytes and heart rhythm.

A rare but serious risk linked to hCG is blood clots. hCG can also affect hormone-sensitive tissues. Get medical help right away for chest pain, leg swelling or pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or an irregular heartbeat.

Hcg Diet: Reported Adverse Effects

Documented safety reports on Hcg Diet from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database, shown word-for-word from the licensed record.

The HCG diet seems to be generally well tolerated when used under medical supervision.

Most Common Adverse Effects:

Depression, edema, fatigue, gynecomastia, headache, irritability, restlessness.

Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

Ascites, hypogonadism (in males), ovarian cysts, pleural effusion, testicular tumors, thromboembolism.

Reports by condition
Cluster headache Neurologic/CNS

The HCG diet can cause headache, fatigue, irritability, restlessness, and depression.

  1. Novarel (Chorionic Gonadotropin) prescribing information. Steris Laboratories, March 2006.
  2. Birmingham CL, Smith KC. Human chorionic gonadotropin is of no value in the management of obesity. Can Med Assoc J 1983;128:1156-7.
Depression Other

The HCG diet can cause refeeding syndrome. In one case report, a patient developed refeeding syndrome, including severe muscle weakness, nausea, hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, elevated creatine kinase, and ST-segment depression with marked U waves, after taking HCG 1000 IU subcutaneous daily and restricting food consumption to less than 500 calories per day for 3 weeks.

  1. Schunemann MJ, Bertschinger M, Trachsel C, Bachli E. Severe refeeding syndrome after human chorionic gonadotropin diet: a potentially lethal complication. BMJ Case Rep 2021;14(11):e244011.
Pregnancy-related edema Cardiovascular

The HCG diet can cause edema, thromboembolism, ascites, and pleural effusion. In a case report, a 64-year-old female presented to the emergency room with a deep venous thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism after taking 20 drops of HCG sublingually twice daily for 2 weeks. The patient was treated with anticoagulants and started on chronic warfarin therapy.

  1. Novarel (Chorionic Gonadotropin) prescribing information. Steris Laboratories, March 2006.
  2. Birmingham CL, Smith KC. Human chorionic gonadotropin is of no value in the management of obesity. Can Med Assoc J 1983;128:1156-7.
  3. Goodbar NH, Foushee JA, Eagerton DH, et al. Effect of the human chorionic gonadotropin diet on patient outcomes. Ann Pharmacother. 2013 May;47(5):e23.
Turner syndrome Genitourinary

The HCG diet can cause testicular tumors and hypogonadism in males, enlargement and rupture of ovarian cysts in females, and gynecomastia in both males and females.

  1. Novarel (Chorionic Gonadotropin) prescribing information. Steris Laboratories, March 2006.
  2. Birmingham CL, Smith KC. Human chorionic gonadotropin is of no value in the management of obesity. Can Med Assoc J 1983;128:1156-7.
DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.

Adverse-effects data: Natural Medicines, Therapeutic Research Center

Dosing

There is no safe or approved dose of hCG for weight loss. Because the FDA has not approved this use, no reliable dosing exists, and over-the-counter products are not standardized or proven.

We do not recommend the HCG diet. If you are trying to lose weight, talk with your doctor or pharmacist about safe, evidence-based options. Never start a very low-calorie diet or use hormone products on your own.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Hcg Diet & Pregnancy

Likely Unsafe

When used by injection. HCG, which is a component of the HCG diet, is teratogenic. It has been linked to a high rate of congenital abnormalities in animal models. Do not use HCG or follow the HCG diet while pregnant.

  1. Novarel (Chorionic Gonadotropin) prescribing information. Steris Laboratories, March 2006.

Hcg Diet & Breastfeeding

Insufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.

© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

Pregnancy & lactation ratings: Natural Medicines, Therapeutic Research Center

References & further reading

The 4 references that drive our Hcg Diet monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Novarel (Chorionic Gonadotropin) prescribing information. Steris Laboratories, March 2006.
  2. Birmingham CL, Smith KC. Human chorionic gonadotropin is of no value in the management of obesity. Can Med Assoc J 1983;128:1156-7.
  3. Goodbar NH, Foushee JA, Eagerton DH, et al. Effect of the human chorionic gonadotropin diet on patient outcomes. Ann Pharmacother. 2013 May;47(5):e23. PubMed
  4. Schunemann MJ, Bertschinger M, Trachsel C, Bachli E. Severe refeeding syndrome after human chorionic gonadotropin diet: a potentially lethal complication. BMJ Case Rep 2021;14(11):e244011. PubMed
Keep reading

This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Hcg Diet: Common Questions

What is Hcg Diet used for, and does it work?
People use Hcg Diet for a range of reasons, but according to the Natural Medicines database the current clinical evidence is insufficient to confirm it works for the specific conditions it has been studied for. See the graded list on this page, and talk to your pharmacist or doctor before relying on it for any condition.
Does Hcg Diet interact with prescription medications?
We do not currently list any known drug interactions for Hcg Diet. This does not guarantee that none exist, so always confirm with your pharmacist before combining it with your medications.
How are Hcg Diet interactions rated?
Each interaction is graded major, moderate, or minor based on how clinically significant it is and the strength of the evidence behind it. Major interactions are the most serious and are best avoided, or used only under close professional supervision.
Is it safe to take Hcg Diet with my medications?
It depends on the specific medication. Some combinations are fine, while others call for monitoring, timing changes, or should be avoided. Check your exact drug above and confirm with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or changing anything.
Where does this Hcg Diet interaction information come from?
Our interaction data is built on the Natural Medicines database — an evidence-graded reference for vitamins, herbs, and supplements — and is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists, who may add clinical context.
Does the Hcg Diet actually work for weight loss?
Any weight loss comes from the extreme low-calorie diet, not the hCG hormone. Studies show hCG works no better than a placebo, so it does not add real benefit.
Is the Hcg Diet safe?
It carries real risks. Living on about 500 calories a day can cause gallstones, muscle loss, electrolyte problems, and heart rhythm changes, and over-the-counter hCG products are unapproved.
Are over-the-counter hCG drops and sprays legal?
No. The FDA considers homeopathic, over-the-counter hCG weight-loss products illegal and unproven, and they may not contain what the label claims.
Can I do the Hcg Diet while pregnant or breastfeeding?
No. Severe calorie restriction and added hormones are unsafe during pregnancy and breastfeeding and should be avoided completely.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

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