ephedra is bad for you

[archenemy]

please discuss

ad nauseum

[roboboy]

whether it's bad for anyone depends on whether it overall helps or doesn't help the particular individual.

it must be on the market for a reason.

other than that, this thread is DOOMED.

[Gary_Yngve]

it's on the market because people will buy it.

 

next question.

[roboboy]

it must be allowed on the market for a reason.

(why do I sense an attentive moderator lurking?)

[Dru]

its on the market for the same reason you can buy solid-gate biners.

 

caveat emptor!

[roboboy]

yeah, but I thought it just came back on the market.

did solid-gate biners just come back or have they been continually available?

(see archenemy, this post was a good idea)

[Gary_Yngve]

it must be allowed on the market for a reason.

 

The folks who allow it can be bought.

 

Next question.

[Doug]

Hmmm...did my post get deleted? if not, and I just screwed up, here goes again:

 

Ephedra is on the market because it is not regulated by the FDA or any other body. It was banned temporarily due to pressure from a couple of high profile deaths that occurred in people that used it. There is also plenty of supporting anecdotal evidence suggesting links between ephedra use and cardiac and pulmonary abnormalities.

 

The ban was lifted due to effort of lobbying groups (see G. Yngve's post) who worked to get it done.

[roboboy]

ephedra is bad for you.

[archenemy]

ad nauseum

[magellan]

A bunch of posts are missing. Why? Why ask why?

 

Crack is bad for you.

[roboboy]

bunch of posts are missing. Why?

=

attentive moderator lurking

--> too much total BS in a "Fitness Forum" ?

[fern]

there are 5 removed posts, none of them are about how ephedra is bad for you . Please continue using this thread to discuss how ephedra is bad for you. Maybe we should launch a new EPHEDRA IS BAD FOR YOU FORUM since it seems such a popular topic? in any case, keep Spray in the Spray forum. thank you.

[Greta]

Yikes! Better tighten it up folks or you're outta here. Fair warning.

 

Oh, and Ephedra is bad for you.

Edited November 24, 2005 by Greta

[whidbey]

 

This shit is ugly and I hope you fellow peeps don't decide to use it... . hit the gym... low fat foods and good green stuff and you'll get the same results... well maybe you will not but you will not be doing stupid stuff to your body. Might take more work but it will be worth it.

[EWolfe]

Well, Knotzen, you can see the goldmine of qualified advice here.

 

I make all my medical decisions based on the knowledge of my peers here on cc.com.

[archenemy]

Really? I think you should ask your chiropractor.

[Doug]

The last word on the subject (Source: Mayo Clinic)

Note : On February 6th, 2004 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule prohibiting the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids (ephedra) because such supplements present an unreasonable risk of illness or injury. The rule became effective 60 days from the date of publication.

 

On April 14, 2005 a Federal District Court in Utah under Judge Tena Campbell struck down a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on ephedra. The ruling is specific only to Utah, although it calls into question the FDA ban in general. The suit in question was brought by the dietary supplement manufacturing company Nutraceutical Corporation. The decision specifically questioned the ability of the FDA to ban ephedra completely without conclusively demonstrating danger at low doses .

 

Although most evidence around the risks associated with ephedra use is based on higher doses or combination use with caffeine, a universal ban was implemented by the FDA, as it would be unethical to conduct human studies of lower doses in order to establish safety. Therefore, Judge Campbell felt there is inadequate safety data at lower doses. This places the FDA in a bind under current dietary supplement regulatory law - it suspects dangers at low doses, but cannot seek to prove these dangers .

 

It remains unclear whether ephedra will find its way back onto shelves, despite widespread acknowledgement of significant safety risks, including serious potential cardiovascular events or death .

 

Ephedra sinica , a species of ephedra (Ma huang), contains the alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which have been found to induce central nervous system stimulation, bronchodilation, and vasoconstriction. In combination with caffeine, ephedrine appears to elicit weight loss (in trials of 1-12 months duration). However, studies of ephedra or ephedrine monotherapy have been equivocal. The majority of human trials of weight loss have been small with methodological weaknesses including large dropout rates due to adverse effects, and incomplete reporting of blinding or randomization. Numerous trials have documented the efficacy of ephedrine in the management of asthmatic bronchoconstriction and hypotension. However, commercial preparations of non-prescription supplements containing ephedra have not been systematically studied for these indications.

 

Major safety concerns have been associated with ephedra or ephedrine use, including hypertension, tachycardia, CNS excitation, arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, and stroke. In 1997, due to over 800 U.S. reports of serious toxicity (and many more worldwide) including at least 22 deaths in adolescents and young adults, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adopted a policy that ephedra-containing products must: (1) be labeled with all possible adverse effects, including death; (2) contain no more than 8mg of ephedrine per serving; and (3) be used for no more than seven days. The FDA also proposed a maximum daily dose of 24mg, and a ban on ephedra-caffeine combination products (these proposed limits were subsequently withdrawn).

 

In 2002, Samenuk et al. identified 926 cases of possible ephedra toxicity reported to the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System of the FDA between 1995-1997. In 37 patients, use of ephedra was temporally related to stroke (16 patients), myocardial infarction (10), or sudden death (11). Autopsies performed in patients who experienced sudden death showed a normal heart in one, coronary atherosclerosis in three, and cardiomyopathies in three. In 36 of the 37 patients, use of ephedra was reported to be within the manufacturers' dosing guidelines.

 

In 2003, a report was prepared by Shekelle et al. on behalf of the RAND Southern California Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This study reviewed available clinical trials, as well as more than 1,500 adverse event reports to the FDA and adverse event reports to the manufacturer Metabolife. Although most prospective trials were not sufficiently large and most adverse event reports were not sufficiently detailed, the authors identified three deaths, two myocardial infarctions, two cerebrovascular accidents, one seizure, and three psychiatric cases that were considered to be "sentinel events" (i.e., strongly tied to ephedra use within 24 hours without other plausible explanations). In addition, 50 other possible sentinel events were identified.

 

A 2003 analysis by Bent et al. in Annals of Internal Medicine found that products containing ephedra account for 64% of all adverse reactions to herbs in the United States, but only represent 0.82% of herbal product sales. The relative risk for an adverse reaction in a person using ephedra compared with other herbs was extremely high, ranging from 100 (95% CI, 83 to 140) for kava to 720 (95% CI, 520 to 1100) for Ginkgo biloba . It was concluded that ephedra use poses a greatly increased risk of adverse reactions compared with other herbs. A 2003 analysis published in Neurology also found increased risk of stroke associated with ephedra-containing products.

 

Despite widely publicized safety concerns and the highly publicized 2003 death of a U.S. major league baseball pitcher thought to be related to ephedra, prior to the ban on ephedra, 14% of individuals using non-prescription weight-loss products in the U.S. continued to take ephedra or ephedrine-containing products.

[Squid]

I'm a little unclear on what all that means. Could someone summarize?

[matt_warfield]

Ephedra is a supplement. As a supplement, it is riskier than many other supplements. Ephedra is a stimulant. As a stimulant, it is riskier than caffeine but not as risky as coke or crack. It is definitely riskier when taken at high dosages, which is probably the case in reported deaths. The government rarely regulates supplements but did in this case and now is being challenged in court.

 

Ephedra is a risk. Life is a risk. Posting opinions on cc.com is a big risk.

 

Also, archenemy specifically requested that we discuss ad nauseum but instead we are discussing ephedra.

Edited December 1, 2005 by matt_warfield

[Doug]

Also, archenemy specifically requested that we discuss ad nauseum but instead we are discussing ephedra.

 

Uhh, isn't ad nauseum one of the side effects of ephedra?

[matt_warfield]

Anyways, thanks to Doug for posting the good, the bad, the ugly, and the legal on our subject and all in one post!

[tomtom]

Stuff it in a cigarette and it's not a problem.

[Squid]

Wait...now I'm confused. Are you saying that ephedra is a safe diet drug?

[knotzen]

Stuff it in a cigarette and it's not a problem.

That's what I do. That way, I kill one bird with two s.