Ephedra: Is It Safe? Where's the Proof?
 

In another group I belong to, there are several people using "supplements" which contain ephedra. They argue that it is safe and that they have no ill effects from this "natural stimulant". I am interested in actual studies and personal stories relating to ephedra use. Thanks in advance for posting. :D

I tried it once a few years ago, but it felt too much like speed to me, it felt like too much caffeine in my system, so I dropped it right away. It's just not worth it to me to put my body thru that.

A couple of years ago I tried a Low-Carb diet product that contained caffeine and ephedra. It hyped me up a bit but did nothing to break my LC plateau. That is best done by cutting excessive fats, calories and keeping carbs below 10 gm. I went to 1600 calories for my 160 pound lean body mass and lost 1 to 1.5 pounds per week very successfully. I was experiencing very high metabolic resistance and this broke it.

My friend's daughter was a distributor of a popular ephedra-caffeine diet product. She did not do LC but had only moderate weight gain, not obesity. She had a heart attack and died about a year ago at the age of 42, leaving two late teenage daughters and husband. My friend thinks the diet product was the cause of her death and I agree.

Kent :wave:

VarisSul,

The ephedra isn't proven to be safe because it doesn't *have* to be. Unfortunately, that's the FDA's position on suppliments. As long as it's a "nutritional suppliment", they don't seem to care. They'll take "adverse reaction reports," and that's about it. :exclm:

Here's a couple:

Thermogenic, metabolic, and cardiovascular responses to ephedrine and caffeine in man. Astrup A, Toubro S. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993 Feb;17 Suppl 1:S41-3.

The effect and safety of an ephedrine/caffeine compound compared to ephedrine, caffeine and placebo in obese subjects on an energy restricted diet. A double blind trial. Astrup A, Breum L, Toubro S, Hein P, Quaade F. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1992 Apr;16(4):269-77.

As those studies indicate, the beta-2 sympathetic effects (jitterness, inc. heart rate and bp) subside rather quickly while the beta-3 thermogenic (fat-burning) effects last much longer. I've found this to be the case - been on CKD and using ECA for most of the last 5 years, on a 5/2 day cycle just like CKD itself, periodically taking a month or so off.

Dangers of Ephedra There are many resources to look up what dangers there are in ephedra, if one does a search for them. Ephedra,Ephedrine,pseudo-ephidrine, ma huang (ephedra plant), all have been shown to cause problems in individuals. The question would be... were these individuals who may have had other health problems/conditions that with the ephedra that attributed to their deaths/injuries? IMHO, ANYTHING can be abused/misused if not used in the manner for which it was intended or not used according to instructions. There are always going to be ppl with sensitivities to certain products. I got the following off of the net :
The thing is, the Chinese and other Eastern cultures have been using ephedra for thousands of years. I have used ephedra/ephedrine/pseudo-ephedrine based products for treatment of asthma.EPHEDRA:FRIEND OR FOE
I think a person should check out both sides of the issue. For some it may not cause any problems, but there are those unlucky few who will suffer major health problems, sometimes death due to side effects. The question is: how does one know which it'll be for them? Anyone considering taking this,please read up on the pros & cons, & if you do take it~ take it wisely~ I will get off my soapbox now~

Do you have links you could post to those studies so I can look myself? Thanks :wave:

Some Links on ephedra
 

We must have posted about the same time :lol: If you want to know more... go to any search engine (my fav. is google.com) & put in ephedra... see what comes up.. happy reading! :read:

P.s. varissul: click on the underlined text
 

I didn't specify it as links... shame on me... :blush: The links are the underlined text in my post!

Are you talking to me or Suze?

I use PubMed to do initial research:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

I've been on various dieting/bb'ing/exercise/etc forums and mailing lists for a long time and ephedrine is a very beat-up and flammable topic. People seem to have very strong opinions one way or another.

I happen to use ephedrine. I certainly won't pimp it to anyone but will argue that it should remain legal, although consumer education and product labeling information could use some improvement.

For further research, check http://www.drumlib.com

Wa'il

every day 30 min prior to a workout i take 1 aspirin 3 caffeine pills and 3 ephedra. If you buy several weight loss ,fat burning pills on the market (hydroxycut or ripped fuel) you will pay more in those pills then what i do with those 3 . Then you will say but are you mental using all of this and my reply would be no. i've been using this concoction for the last 6 years and i have no problem whatsover. this concoction will give you a thermogenesis effect and will help to give you strenght (increase of 5-10%) energy and stamina. several studies show it's good to take 1 aspirin daily cause it will help your heart because the blood will be less thick. the caffeine will make the heart pump faster and the ephedra will only allow your lungs to get in more air. so more air to the system is also more air to the blood wich is transported quicklier to the muscles and they also get more air. it gives a faster recuperation and you can have a heavier workload.

Not Necessarily a Good thing
 

Dr-Rock, you may have good results with this,it may have worked for you, but I would NOT recommend it to all who read this. You are obviously one who has been working out. Your heart is more than likely in good shape... the thing is... many ppl who are doing LC'ing who are obese, and morbidly obese... our hearts are already working hard from the excess weight we are carrying... from the fat that surrounds our hearts... I am NOT saying that a good workout is wrong by any means... I would be VERY RELUCTANT to put such a concoction into my body, not to mention that most ephedra products state DO NOT TAKE WITH CAFFEINE,may cause excess stimulation... I hear what you are saying about what it does for you~ but fellow LC'ers PLEASE do think before taking such a combination~ it MAY be a deadly one~
Talk to a doctor,or someone in the health field,...get their opinion~ Most ephedra products on the market have a daily recommended dosage on it... I would think this surpasses it...plus what I have ever read on the bottle, it is generally take 1 or 2, not anymore, then to combine it with caffeine? Whew... Dr-Rock, I am NOT putting you down... so pls don't take it that way, but your advice for others to take this combination is DEFINITELY at their risk, and given all the given side effects of taking ephedra with caffeine... I am VERY leary.

Re: Not Necessarily a Good thing
 

May I suggest reading some of the references I posted above? They specifically discuss the effects of combining caffeine and ephedrine.

Fully agreed: ephedrine, with or without caffeine, is not for everyone. However, you're not likely to find any physicians or dieticians who are not biased against ephedrine. That's my opinion, anyway.

Beware!!!! I used it in the form of Ma Huang (herb). I started having dizzy spells, but never associated it with the supplement. It was helping me lose weight and I had lots of energy. I went to the dr when I started passing out - he thought it might be blood sugar problem. I had alot of horrible tests and nothing showed up. Finally, he asked me what supplements I was taking. I told him about the herbs I was using. He told me that ephedra could cause seizure, stroke, heart attack, and a whole list of other nasty things. I stopped taking the herb and within a week I was back to my old self - no more dizzy spells, heart palpatations, or fainting. I consider myself lucky - since then I've done some research and discovered people have died while using the supposedly safe all-natural supplements containing herbal ephedra.