Weight Loss Products With Ephedra
There are nor many weight loss products with ephedra since it was banned in the United States in late 2006. There were many weight loss products which contained ephedra before the Food and Drug Administration proved to the Federal Court that it was dangerous to your health. There were over 800 reports of serious health issues such as strokes, heart attacks, and even death from 1994 to 2003 so the FDA got ephedra banned for the first time. There were some people who did not feel that ephedra was as dangerous as the FDA claimed so they filed a petition with the court in 2004 and in 2005 the Federal Court decided to loft the ban on ephedra claiming the FDA did not have enough evidence to prove that ephedra was dangerous if used in small doses of less than 10 mg. per dose. The FDA continued receiving reports of people suffering from heart attacks and strokes even with as little as 8 mg. doses. They received over 1,000 reports of hospital emergencies from serious health issues and at least 17 deaths caused by ephedra products. The FDA had some of the products tested for the amount of ephedra in each dose compared to what was stated on each label of the bottles. The results were some contained more and some less than was stated on the bottles. Some contained no ephedra at all. The FDA took their findings and reports and filed them with the court and in late 2006 the court again banned ephedra in the United States. The side effects reported from the use of ephedra were heart attacks, strokes, rapid heart beats, irregular heart beats, insomnia, anxiety, nervousness, tremors, nausea, vomiting, allergies, itching, hives, psychosis, high blood pressure, death, and more.
Ephedra has been used by the Chinese for over 5,000 years for lung problems. It has also been used for many years by the Native Americans, Mexicans, and the Mormons. Different names for ephedra are Chinese Ephedra, Ma Huang, Mormon Tea, Squaw Tea, Desert Tea, Herbal Ecstasy, and Epitonin. Ephedra can be lethal or at least life threatening when mixed with aspirin (willow bark, salicytes, salicylic acid) and caffeine (kola nut, guarana, cocoa extract) and some of the products contained one or both of these ingredients as well as ephedra. Ephedra was used not only as a diet pill. It was used as an energy booster, a sports performance booster, asthma, common colds, cough, fever, to stop sweating associated with fever, congestion of the lungs, bronchial tubes, and sinuses, plus more. Products that contain ephedra have been discontinued or the companies have replaced ephedra with other ingredients which are much safer to use.
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