Herbal Ephedra
Herbal ephedra or Herbal ecstasy is just another name for ephedra. There are also names like Mormon Tea, Squaw Tea, Desert Tea, Ma Huang, Chinese Ephedra, and Epitonin. There are three Asian species of ephedra, Ephedra Sinica, Ephedra Intermedia, and Ephedra Equisetina. Ephedra is a shrub that is found in arid places around the world. It was used by the Chinese for over 5,000 years and by the Mexicans, Native Americans, and Mormons for many years for medicinal purposes. Ephedra is said to be the oldest medicine. Research shows that ephedra increases metabolism and aids in weight loss, relaxes the air passages into the lungs , stops cough, is used for asthma, common colds, used as an energy booster, fever, sports performance booster, sinus congestion, water retention, alleviate sweat, and shortness of breath. Ephedra did not become popular with physicians in the United states until 1924. And was used for congestion of the bronchial tubes and lungs.
Ephedra is a shrub found in arid regions of the world. It is a stimulant and thermogenic but can increase heart rate and cause irregular heart beat as well as increase blood pressure. Other side effects from the use of ephedra are insomnia, nausea, vomiting, nervousness anxiety, tremors, stroke, heart attack, seizures, allergies, itching, hives, psychosis, and death. Ephedra was banned in the United States in 2003 and again in 2006. From 1994 to 2003 there had been over 800 reports of people who had suffered from using ephedra products and some deaths. The FDA had ephedra banned. Then some people thought ephedra was not dangerous so they filed a petition to get the ban lifted. The court decided to lift the ban in 2005 because they didn’t think the FDA had enough evidence to prove that ephedra was dangerous enough to warrant a ban on it. They felt that if used in lower doses it would be safe to use ephedra. The Food and Drug Administration continued to receive reports of people suffering strokes and heart attacks as well as other side effects from products that contained as little as 8 mg of ephedra. From 1997 to 2006 there were over 1,000 people reported hospitalized with serious health issues and at least 17 deaths from the use of ephedra. The FDA tested some of the products which contained ephedra and some of them had more and some had less ephedra than was listed on the labels and some contained no ephedra at all. The FDA took their evidence back to court and ephedra was banned in the United States for the second time. There are other natural herbs which can do as much as the ephedra did but are much safer to use and have no side effects.
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