Ephedra Diet Pills Review

What is Ephedra?

Biologically speaking, Ephedra is a plant that lives in dry climates, traditionally used for a variety of medicinal purposes.

In recent years attention has been focussed on the safety of ephedra by the Food & Drug Administration and critics in the biomedical community due to the abuse of the herb as a stimulant and a dieting aid. As a result of adverse effects of ephedra overdose to the cardiovascular system, Western medical professionals recommend against the consumption of any ephedra. Despite these warnings, ephedra is a safe herbal medicine when prescribed in appropriate doses by trained practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

How it works:

Ephedra is both a stimulant (similar to adrenaline) and a thermogenic. It stimulates the brain, increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels (increasing blood pressure), and expands bronchial tubes (making breathing easier). Its thermogenic properties cause an increase in metabolism, evidenced by an increase in body heat.

Just like other stimulants, in high doses ephedra can cause heart attacks, stroke, and seizures. The sale of ephedra is now regulated by the FDA due to the abuse of the herb by dieters and athletes who take it in excessively large doses with the intent of losing weight and enhancing athletic performance.

Side effects:

Ephedra overdose may include:

• irritability
• nervousness
• dizziness
• trembling
• headache
• insomnia
• profuse perspiration
• dehydration
• itchy scalp and skin
• vomiting and hyperthermia.

A long history:

• Begin 1990s , concerns about the safety of Ephedra and Ephedra-based products began to be publicly raised in the US. Due to abnormalities caused by ephedrine such as the heart rat raise and blood pressure.
• After receiving over 800 reports of "adverse events", the country's federal FDA proposed regulations in 1997 for a warning label, and a limited dose of 8mg (no more than 24mg per day).
• After various petitions for and against the regulations, a study eventually linked 155 deaths to Ephedra, most of them caused by cardiac problems and strokes .
• In May 2003, the health food store General Nutrition Center announced that they would stop carrying ephedra-containing products as of June 2003.
  
• The FDA must approve all drugs before they may be sold in the United States. It considers the risks and benefits of medications for specific medical conditions, may require a doctor's prescription, make labeling requirements, or ban the drug entirely. The burden of proof for safety is on the manufacturer. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 creates a class of substances known as dietary supplements , which are not subject to pre-approval, and for which the burden of proof is on the government if it wishes to restrict availability. As a traditional herb, Ephedra qualifies as a dietary supplement.
• On December 30 , 2003 , the FDA announced a ban (effective 12 April 2004 ) on the uncontrolled sale of dietary supplements containing Ephedra, citing "an unreasonable risk of illness or injury" from the use of the drug. The active ingredients ephedrine and pseudoephedrine remained available as an ingredient in some over the counter (OTC) medications that are clearly labeled in accordance with FDA regulations. Chemicals created in a laboratory do not qualify as dietary supplements, even if they are the same as those found in natural products.
• Many advocates maintained that Ephedra was safe in low doses typical of traditional herbal preparations, and that the adverse cardiovascular effects were associated with higher doses.
• The Nutraceutical Corporation of Park City, Utah , which had been selling a relatively low dose (10mg, compared to 40mg-100mg doses also on the market) sued the FDA. On 14 April 2005 , Utah federal district judge Tena Campbell ruled in favor of the company. The ruling stated that because of the 1994 law and Ephedra's status as a dietary supplement, the FDA did not have the statutory authority to require the manufacture to prove that the product offered a benefit, and that it had failed to meet its burden of proof that the 10mg dose posed a sufficient risk. Nutraceutical said that it did not plan to re-introduce Ephedra, and that it had brought the suit merely to protect its other product lines from overzealous regulation by the FDA. The FDA said that it considered further research into the dose-dependent safety of Ephedra to be unethical, given the lack of benefit (other than for short-term weight loss) and potential risk. Critics renewed calls to reform the 1994 dietary supplement law.
• The state of California banned Ephedra dietary supplements in January 2004, followed by New York and Illinois . These laws are not affected by the federal court decision.

FDA Statement on Tenth Circuit's Ruling to Uphold FDA Decision Banning Dietary Supplements Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids ( August 21, 2006)

"On Aug. 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver upheld the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) final rule declaring all dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated, and therefore illegal for marketing in the United States, reversing a decision by the District Court of Utah. " full FDA statement here