In order to discern how HCG rose to prominence within both the medical and anabolic world, we really need to look no further than the pregnancy test.
This test was preceded by the discovery of HCG in the 1920’s – at the time, it was the first and only hormone ever discovered that may be able to positively indicate pregnancy status.
As such, scientists began to inject the urine of pregnant women into juvenile rabbits – should the rabbits come into heat, it was then determined that the woman was pregnant.
Remarkably, these tests proved to be 98% accurate. Latter testing even involved frogs, which too proved to be considerably accurate. Sadly, these tests were expensive, meaning that a more economic means of testing needed to be developed.
When the 1970’s came around, scientists had managed to develop the first home pregnancy kits – these proved to be accurate to a rate of 97%, and preceded the modern kits we now see today. These modern kits came to fruition in the 1990’s.
Through our understanding over the years of HCG and the manner in which it fulfils its mechanism of action in pregnancy, researchers decided to isolate this hormone for use as a fertility aid, to which end it enjoyed a great deal of success.
Owing to its role in the production of luteinising hormone and therefore testosterone, it didn’t take long for bodybuilders to experiment with this product as steroids (even during the 70’s / 80’s) were well known suppressive agents.
This is how and why the use of HCG occurs within the anabolic steroid using community to this day.
The Medical Evolution Of HCG
Considering its humble (and quite odd considering the testing methods) beginnings as a means of gauging levels of pregnancy, HCG has ended up enjoying quite a “colourful” career as a fertility aid for both men and women, a means of potentially enlarging the penis and as a way to burn body fat.
It’s particularly as a proposed fat burning agent that it has enjoyed widespread attention – the theory is that hcg promotes the sustenance of lean tissue through boosting testosterone which in turn forces the body to act on fat cells when searching for a fuel source, as opposed to lean muscle which would theoretically be its first target.
HCG has also been shown to have a positive impact on testicular steroid genesis and some users have experienced penis growth by as much as 0.8 inches whilst using HCG.
Overall, the hormone enjoys a wide range of treatment uses and is considered to be somewhat dexterous.
Famous Doping Cases
There are some famous doping cases involving HCG; it is deemed to be able to provide an unfair advantage in sports due to the manner in which it elevates the levels of testosterone in the male body.
Some of the most famous “culprits” include but are not limited to:
● Brian Cushing (NFL)
● Dennis Siver (MMA)
● Manny Ramirez (MLB)
Though the severity of each individual case and the extent to which each individual was penalised differs, these cases did help to make HCG a more prominent and well known name amongst the performance enhancing community in both sports and bodybuilding alike.