Dangers of Ephedra

A few years ago, I thought we were done with ephedra. I really thought that we would never see it again in any form because of the deaths and other serious side effects long with the FDA ban on ephedra. But unlike any other banned or should I say the formerly banned ingredient, ephedra can now be found in many popular gas stations and other energy and weight loss supplements. And why not, bottom line it did work. The only problem is that ephedra use has now been limited to a maximum of 25mg per dose, which means that most will probably take more than one dose at a time. But here’s a little more about ephedra.

The History of Ephedra

The truth is that ephedra has been successfully used to treat asthma for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine. It has never been banned in China, and frankly, ephedra has never been known to cause serious problems with heart attacks, strokes, or death in Chinese medicine. And truth be told, it’s not particularly surprising.

The United States is a country of excess. We love to use more, eat more, and unfortunately, we don’t necessarily love the idea of exercising more or practicing self-control when it comes to healthy dieting. So we theorize that if we take more of a powerful weight loss ingredient like ephedra, we should get better results, even when it’s dangerous and even deadly. Most companies make recommendations based on the best concentrations. But we as a society completely disregard those.

Is Ephedra Safe?

Ephedra was allowed back into the market to treat asthma, and in the legal amounts of 25mg, it could very well be safe. But then again, the likelihood of people using that amount and only that amount is slim to none. And if you do stick to that small amount, I can guarantee that you won’t be able to actually lose weight. Some people could still experience side effects, even with small amounts. But the bigger concern for me is the complete lack of results. There is no chance that 25mg of ephedra will burn fat.

The Cost of Ephedra

To actually get weight loss, you would have to take at least 10 servings of any formula twice daily, meaning the average bottle would last you about 2-3 days. And many companies use different types of ephedra such as the “Mormon tea” that do not burn fat no matter how much you happen to use. So regardless, even if these products did work, you would be spending a lot of money, definitely more than most can afford to waste.