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Isn’t Ephedra Unhealthy?

14th February, 2011 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Of course if you misuse ephedra, you can come to harm. But to that point, so can you come to harm if you drink too much water – but nobody would recommend banning water. The question for the authorities is what is the correct or most cost effective response to learning that a few people have been stupid with how they have used ephedra in the past. You might argue that the correct response would be to educate the public, but the cheapest response has been to simply ban everybody for using the drug.

Ephedra can produce side effects, such as irritability, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and urinary problems. More serious side effects include high blood pressure, rapid or irregular heart beat, stroke, seizures, addiction, and even death. Use of ephedra should be discontinued and your health care provider contacted immediately if you experience any of these adverse effects.

The FDA had to take a stance on this as the media interest was so high. Unfortunately, the media interest wasn’t well informed and poor logic has led to the drug being banned when much more harmful drugs, such as aspirin, are freely available on the high street.

The FDA has to act as a drug regulation authority, but it doesn’t operate in a vacuum. If the political or media drivers are powerful, they do adjust their judgments. Drugs, such as eca thermogenic stack that are used in the bodybuilding world are especially closely looked at by the FDA and it will seek to jump on any drug that can have physiological effects.

If the FDA is able to regulate a drug, it is then able to charge a fee. If a drug is classed as a drug – and not a supplement, the FDA gains monetarily. However, if classed as a supplement, then the FDA can not regulate it and therefore can not impose a charge on its distribution. So there are financial drivers which may also affect the regulators decision making abilities.

Ephedra was almost completely safe given that you used the proper dosage and got clearance from a competent doctor who knew what shape your heart is in. I haven’t read about the ephedra deaths that much, but I’m pretty sure the people who died didn’t meet those two requirements.

They “think” they can link about 85 deaths to “misuse” of Ephedra over a 25-year study – less than four per year, and don’t forget about “misuse.”!

Don’t be fooled. The FDA didn’t ban ephedra because it was dangerous. They banned it because someone put pressure on them, or they wanted to make money off of it. The latter is exactly why dangerous prescription drugs are still on the market. The FDA won’t ban them, because they’re making money off them.

The FDA banned a herbal substance they couldn’t get paid for. And now doctors are offering replacement prescriptions the FDA does get paid for. This was only about the pharmaceutical community wanting to capitalize on a billion dollar industry.

Ephedra is an herbal product. It works by stimulating the nervous system, which can increase heart rate and blood pressure.