Elson M. Haas, M.D.
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 There have been some deaths from ephedra use/overuse and deaths, and because of this, there are current legislation attempts to eliminate ephedra stimulants from the public marketplace.
Both extracted and synthesized caffeine may be added to other products. Many common pharmaceutical preparations contain caffeine for its stimulating effects, which counteract the sedating antihistamines, or for its cerebral vasodilating effects used to relieve vascular headaches. |
Ray Strand, M.D.
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 The FDA has issued warnings about the amount of ephedra that consumers should use. These state that you should take no more than 8 mg "per serving" and never exceed 25 mg for the entire day. (It warns that patients with heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, or a previous stroke should avoid this nutrient altogether.)6 This recommendation seems ridiculous, though, in an industry with no quality control. How would one actually know how much ephedra is in the herb he is taking?
Dangerous Herbs
Several herbs are known to have harmful side effects for the user. |
Elson M. Haas, M.D.
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| There have been some deaths from ephedra use/overuse and deaths, and because of this, there are current legislation attempts to eliminate ephedra stimulants from the public marketplace.
Both extracted and synthesized caffeine may be added to other products. Many common pharmaceutical preparations contain caffeine for its stimulating effects, which counteract the sedating antihistamines, or for its cerebral vasodilating effects used to relieve vascular headaches. |
Ray Strand, M.D.
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| Adding caffeine to the ephedra accentuates the adverse side effects of increased heart rate and blood pressure and has led to strokes, heart attacks, and seizures in numerous individuals.5
The FDA has issued warnings about the amount of ephedra that consumers should use. These state that you should take no more than 8 mg "per serving" and never exceed 25 mg for the entire day. (It warns that patients with heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, or a previous stroke should avoid this nutrient altogether. |
The Life Extension Editorial Staff
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 Bee pollen prevents onset of allergenic symptoms in asthmatics due to the presence of quercetin, which inhibits the release of histamine in the body.
• ephedra has long been used by the Chinese to relieve bronchial spasms and treat asthma. Most species of ephedra contain the adrenaline-like substances ephedrine and pseudoephedtine, which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and help relieve asthma, cold, and allergy symptoms. Synthetic ephedrine compounds are widely used in over-the-countet cold remedies like Sudafed. |
Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.S.
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 By stimulating specific adrenergic receptors, synephrine is thought to stimulate fat metabolism without the negative cardiovascular side effects experienced by some people with ephedra, also called ma huang.
Bitter orange usually contains about 1 to 6 percent synephrine, but some manufacturers boost the content to as much as 30 percent. It does
93 have a thermogenic (fat-burning) effect ; in animal studies, synephrine caused weight loss but also increased the risk of cardiovascular problems. |
| See below for more about bitter orange.)
If ephedra does manage to dodge the bullet and stay on the market— and you decide to try it—make sure that you do not fit into any of the categories mentioned above, and never take more than the recommended dosage. When all is said and done, it is still an adrenal stimulant—a kind of legal speed, if you will—and it's hard to believe that longtime use can have any beneficial effects on your health.
The bottom line is this: medications don't cause you to lose weight. |
| There are many nutritionally oriented health practitioners who are fans of ephedra when it's used properly (though they are certainly a minority), notably Dr. Shari Lieberman, author of The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book, and Dr. C. Leigh Broadhurst. But it probably doesn't matter anymore. "Its time is over," says Broadhurst. There's just too much bad publicity and public outcry about it, and it will almost certainly be taken off the market soon. |
Ralph Golan, M.D.
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 Or use ephedra Plus (one or two capsules two or three times a day), a combination herbal formula containing ephedra, ginger, licorice root, marshmallow root, and other synergistic herbs, available from PhytoPharmica, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Warning: Too much ephedra can increase your heart rate and be too stimulating. Do not use if you have high blood pressure or heart disease.
• Allerplex I, an anti-allergy herbal combination capsule (one to three capsules two to four times a day), can help diminish and control symptoms. Available from Herb Technology/Khalsa Health Center of Seattle. |
Kevin Trudeau
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 Keep in mind that over ten million people had used ephedra during this time. I have stated that this is an outrage. The FDA has not banned aspirin even though 2,000 people die every year by taking a single dose of aspirin. The FDA has not banned Vioxx even though it is confi rmed that well over 100,000 people have died by taking Vioxx. The FDA has not banned drug after drug after drug even though hundreds of thousands of people have been confirmed dead by the use of these drugs, yet, the FDA bans the all-natural herb ma-huang?! Can you see the flagrant abuse of power? |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 It is now a crime to sell ephedra. They're criminalizing medicinal herbs, while legalizing the drugs that kill you. This is what's going on today.
It's really about control
There's a lot at stake here -- a lot of power, control, and, of course, a whole lot of money. |
Kevin Trudeau
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| The judge agreed that ephedra was WRONGLY being regulated by the FDA as a drug and not a food! This is a great win for all of us. The FDA has finally been put in its place. The judge's statement is now forcing the FDA to follow the rules that Congress set down for it instead of making their own rules and acting as judge, jury, and executioner! The FDA said they will continue to fight this ruling.
The bottom line here is it is now becoming more and more evident every day that the FDA is not protecting consumers, but is in fact protecting the monopolies and the profits of the drug industry. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Frank: ephedra – which maybe killed a person or two, maybe it didn't – really begs the (previous) question. Because, I believe the third- or fourth-leading cause of death in the United States today is properly prescribed drugs. In other words: Hospitals and doctors prescribing drugs, so called "ethical drugs," the way the pharmaceutical companies tell them to, are the third or fourth largest killer of patients in the US today. |
Kevin Trudeau
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| The book is entitled ephedra Fact and Fiction, authored by Mike Fillon, and published by Woodland Publishing, (800) 777-2665.
Richard Kreider, Ph.D. from Baylor University says, "The book is fascinating, a classic example of how misinformation stemming from various special interest groups and broadcast by the media can cause a political and legal firestorm regarding a supplement."
The American Association for Health Freedom says, "The book is a disturbing look at the political and financial agendas, media hype, and ulterior motives surrounding the wrongly accused supplement industry. |
| The book's discoveries and explanations of the scenarios are not simply about ephedra, but rather expose the entire supplement industry, the legislation that governs it, and how lobbyists, special interests, the drug companies, and media are all working together to hide the truth about nutritional information from the public. I highly recommend this book. It goes into great detail and validates everything I've been saying in my book and in my newsletters. |
David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG
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 Avena sativa (oats)
Ballota nigra (black horehound)
Calendula officinalis (calendula, pot marigold)
Capsella bursa-pastoris (shepherd's purse)
Capsicum annuum (cayenne)
Carum carvi (caraway)
Cetraria islandica (Iceland moss)
Chelone glabra (balmony)
Chondrus crispus (carrageen)
Crataegus laevigata (hawthorn)
Cytisus scoparius (Scotch broom)
Daucus carota (carrot)
Drosera rotundifolia (sundew)
Elymus repens (couch grass)
Ephedra sinica (ma huang or ephedra)
Eschscholzia californica (California poppy)
Eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus, blue gum)
Eupatorium perfoliatum (boneset)
E. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 One of the things that really makes us stand out is that a lot of the energy products I'm sure you've seen are loaded with stimulants -- caffeine, ephedra, ma huang, whatever it may be. CoQ10 is a remarkable antioxidant. It's known as the supreme anti-aging antioxidant. It has been shown to reverse congestive heart failure, but its primary role is at the mitochondria, providing the electron transport in the cell, feeding the energy in the cell. The difference is that CoQ10 costs about $5,000 per kilo, as compared to caffeine, which is relatively cheap.
Mike: Very expensive. |
Byron J. Richards, CCN
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 Since the 1980s nerve stimulation of BAT has been a favorite weight loss target of many strategies that employ ephedra, caffeine, stimulant drugs, or some other type of nerve stimulant to lose weight. The idea is that by stimulating BAT extra fat calories will be 100% melted away in the form of heat production.
We now know that this type of weight loss strategy is risky and prone to relapse. |
Amarjit S. Basra
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 The stimulation of the CNS is a useful bonus when the drug is given in such situations, but ephedra has achieved some notoriety due to toxicity when abused in high doses as a mental stimulant, since it gives much the same effect in high doses as MMDA (Ecstasy).
The young leafy shoots of Catha edulis (Vahl) Forsskal. ex Endl., known as khat, are chewed extensively in Ethiopia and Yemen for their ability to improve mental concentration and prevent sleep. The major active compound is generally thought to be cathinone (see Figure 17. |
| In vitro micropropagation of ephedra, Journal of Horticultural Science, 68: 1013-1020. mLaurain, D., Chenieux, J.-C, and Tremouillaux-Guiller, J., 1996. Somatic embryogenesis from immature zygotic embryos of Ginkgo biloba, Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 44(1): 19-24. nArya, S., Arya, I.D., and Eriksson, T., 1993. Rapid multiplication of adventitious somatic embryos of Panax ginseng, Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 34: 157-162.
°Krishnan, P.N., Sudha, C.G., and Seeni, S., 1995. Rapid propagation through shoot tip culture of Trichopus zeylanicus Gaertn. |
| Some related medical indications were also described, such as ephedra (herb) for asthma, Rheum (root and rhizome) for thyroid enlargement and Artemisia annua (herb) for malaria. Furthermore, the author divided these herbs into three different categories in accordance with their properties, applications, and toxicities. In Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency (ca. 333 A.D.), the method to treat malaria was described: "A handful of Herba Artemisiae Annuae is added to two liters of water and pounded into juice to take"; in Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D. |
Kevin Trudeau
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 There is absolutely no conclusive evidence that ephedra caused those deaths or even had any remote association with those deaths. However, the FDA keeps saying how dangerous ephedra is. Every single nonprescription drug is dangerous! If you went into your medicine cabinet, took a drug, and took more than what the label said, there is a high probability that you could die. Every single drug is incredibly dangerous. This is not about danger, it is about who controls these products. The scary part is whatever the FDA says, it is presented as truth and no opposing opinions are allowed to be heard. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 In Chinese medicine, ephedra is never taken alone, and never in high doses. It's only taken as part of a medicinal recipe prescribed to patients on a person-by-person basis, and it has been used for literally thousands of years in China and Asia without harm. But here in the United States, a few individuals took it to an extreme and managed to give themselves a heart attack by overdosing on an isolated herb, so the FDA said, "It's dangerous, and we have to take it out of everyone's reach. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Remember ephedra? It was a perfectly safe Chinese herb that's now illegal to import, sell or prescribe to patients in the United States. It was used safely and effectively in Chinese Medicine for literally thousands of years, with no toxicity problems whatsoever. But when some American companies got their hands on it, they isolated the herb (which Chinese doctors never do), amplified its active chemicals, and sold them to consumers who started taking them by the handful. Not surprisingly, a couple of weak-hearted overweight people suffered heart attacks and died. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Sudafed even gets its name from ephedra: "pseudo-ephedrine." So why is ephedrine illegal in herbs, yet legal in pharmacy drugs manufactured by drug companies? You already know the answer.
With all that in mind, why do you think prescription drugs that kill people remain legal? Think carefully now...
If you guessed, "Because powerful corporations generate billions in profits selling drugs, and governments get a cut of that via state sales taxes and corporate income taxes" then BINGO! You win a prize: a lifetime of free Prozac to keep you happy! |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 And they have chosen in some cases not to, and then they suggest that ephedra has caused a couple of hundred people to die, when in fact they know there's over 100,000 deaths a year due to pharmaceutical drugs that are totally classified as safe and effective.
Mike Adams: And mahuang has been used for 5,000 years in China as part of traditional medicine.
Amazon John: Five thousand years in China. It's not something we choose to use, because if you're using really high-grade material, it can excite the nervous system. Not the modality that we choose to use. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 The FDA merely bans whatever natural substances it wishes, usually based on reports of very small numbers of people being harmed be extremely rare overdoses (such as with ephedra). In those cases, the FDA proudly proclaims it is, "Protecting everyone from a dangerous herb!"
In other words, the FDA now sees its job as protecting the public from "dangerous" herbs while shirking safety responsibilities on truly dangerous prescription drugs. It's up to the public to decide whether deadly drugs are worth the risk, according to the FDA. |
Kevin Trudeau
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| In my book Natural Cures I talk about the outrageous FDA ban of the herb ma-huang, a natural source of ephedra. I have repeatedly stated that the FDA abuses its power. I believe the FDA is not protecting consumers, but rather used by the drug industry to protect the profits of the powerful pharmaceutical cartel. The drug companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to persuade lawmakers to ban safe and effective all-natural remedies. |
Kevin Trudeau
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| Remember those deaths were linked to ephedra, not proven to be caused by ephedra. But the FDA still said they believed it showed that the herb was too dangerous and must be banned. However, Vioxx is now known to have killed over a 100,000 people. Yet the FDA still has not taken any action and banned it from the market place. In the last few weeks there have been organizations now that have shown and proven that drug advertising has been false and misleading. Where is the Federal Trade Commission??? |
Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.S.
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| When ephedra has been used in supervised weight loss research studies, it's been used in the dosage of 60 milligrams per day in three divided dosages (20 milligrams each) combined with 200 milligrams of caffeine per dose. In every supervised study using this dose, it has not shown itself to be dangerous, and the side effect of "jitters" was usually pretty well tolerated. |
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