Ephedra’s Effectiveness

Ephedra has a long history in Chinese medicine as a treatment for colds, allergic rhinitis and asthma. In recent decades, it was discovered to be a powerful thermogenic which excited the weight loss industry in the nineties.

How Good Was It?

A lot of weight loss supplements we know today were brands made popular by ephedra’s success. No doubt you may have heard of Metabolife or Hydroxycut, their popularity due mainly to the effectiveness of their ephedra-driven fat burning qualities.

Ephedra could have been the weight loss industry’s ultimate answer to a desperate fat market. Although most of the weight loss experienced was modest, the losses were not necessarily by-products of diet and exercise. With diet and exercise, though, ephedra was exceedingly more effective.

How Bad Is It?

The reason you don’t see ephedra or ephedrine in the stack of ingredients of any over-the-counter weight loss supplement is that it has proven to be a dangerous substance and consequently, a banned one. The FDA slammed down on its use after numerous reports of deaths and dangerous side effects, clinched by the untimely demise of a baseball athlete, Steve Bechler, in 2003.

Ephedra is a plant with an active alkaloid ephedrine, a substance akin to amphetamine. Just like this drug, ephedrine works on the central nervous system, raising the heart rate and blood pressure to increase metabolic rate and suppress hunger. Because of its numerous contraindications, you can no longer buy over-the-counter products with ephedrine. This substance is available only under a doctor’s prescription.

The Long and Short Of It

Ephedra worked fantastically for many consumers during the first few weeks, albeit the common side effects a lot of them had to contend with. It was, however, only effective in the short-term as ephedra lost its potency after a while when the body started to adapt. As the body did so, some individuals increased their dosage and prolonged its use so that they ultimately became hooked on ephedrine.

We don’t recommend its use because the value of pound loss is not commensurate to the health risks ephedra poses. We recommend you take a safe, non-prescription supplement called Phentramin-D. Phentramin-D does not rely on ephedra or ma huang for its weight loss ingredients. To know more about this supplement, peruse WeightComment.com‘s articles and discussions on Phentramin-D.