Ephedra Review

What You Should Know

Ephedra has been used as a product by itself, and as a single ingredient. It is an ancient Chinese medicinal herb that has been used for over 5,000 years. Although Ephedra has been used as a weight loss agent in modern days, it was not always used in such a way. In this review, some of the issues that are found in relation to Ephedra will be addressed so that the effects of Ephedra may be better understood.

Ingredients

Ephedra is the ingredient itself. The scientific name is for it is Ephedra sinica. It is known in China as Ma Huang. Ephedra has been used for over 5,000 years in ancient Chinese medicine, but not as a diet product. It was actually used as a treatment for respiratory conditions such as bronchial situations, asthmatic situations, seasonal allergies, and symptoms that may be related to the common cold and influenza.

There appears to be 2 primary alkaloids that are contained in Ephedra. These 2 alkaloids are known as Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine. Both of these alkaloids have been known to increase heart rate, raise blood pressure, increase metabolism, and expand the bronchial tubes.

Product Features

Ephedra was founded as a weight loss product is the early 1980’s. When it was found to be highly effective as a weight loss product, it slowly started making it into more and more products. By the mid 1990’s, Ephedra had made it’s way into nearly every diet product on the market. Then, in the year 2006, the United States FDA placed a ban on Ephedra and all products that contained Ephedra. Before it was banned, it was thought to have the ability to maximize stamina, enhance metabolism, and act as an appetite suppressant. Most of the time it was used with what was called the ECA stack. This consisted of Ephedra, Caffeine, and Aspirin. At first, it was believed that adding Aspirin and Caffeine to an Ephedra based product would maximize the effects. Now, this combination is considered very dangerous.

As it turns out, Ephedra was not only banned by the FDA, but also by several national sports associations. These sports associations may include the International Olympic Committee, the NCAA, and the NFL. The overall reason that Ephedra was banned in the United States was because of the dangerous side effects that continuously appeared in association with the consumption of products that contained Ephedra. These side effects may include the following: nausea, headache, dizziness, irritation of the stomach, diarrhea, anxiety, psychosis, kidney stones, tremors, dry mouth, irregular and rapid heart rhythms, permanent heart damage, high blood pressure, restlessness, nervousness, sleeping problems, decreased appetite, flushing, sweating, and increased urination. In some extreme cases, even sudden death was reported.

Advantages

• None.

Disadvantages

• Banned in the United States.
• Extensive list of potential side effects.

Conclusion

This review revealed that Ephedra has been banned since the year 2006 in the USA due to extensive and dangerous side effects. It should be noted that there is now a long list of safe products that are readily available that do not have such side effects. Basically, there are too many safe products out there to even consider Ephedra, not to mention that it is illegal to attempt to possess or consume.