My brother swears that this pill Ephedra helps him utilize his body's energy, so he always takes it before he runs. To me, the pill looks like nothing more than caffiene, but it is unregistered with the FDA.
Does anyone have an idea on the potential health side effects?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Do some reading!
Here's a couple of the potential side effects:
(1) Stroke
(2) Heart attack
(3) Death
Get my point? Don't touch that shit.
That stuff is bad news. A number of athletes have died while using it. I have a friend who used it and he said it felt like his heart was pounding through his chest. He was really scared.
it is a stimulate, basically what you would find in diet pills.
Ephedra: EVIL SHIT.
Yea that stuff is not good. It is also banned by the NCAA, so it must be unhealthy. Awhile back I took a pill while trying to pull a late night study marathon for an exam and it messed me up. I couldn't sit still, my head was killing me, my stomach was hurting, and then when I wanted to sleep I couldn't. BAD NEWS!!!
I was watching CSPAN the other day and they were showing some hearings regarding the feds controlling some of these herbal items, including ephedra. One woman testified that after some period of use she became delusional. First she thought she could talk to God, then she thought she was going to marry God, finally, she thought she was God. She eventually kicked it and is back to normal. A doctor also testified and noted that the chemical construct is very similar to methamphetamine and is processed in the human body the same way.
I think you guys are getting a little carried away with your ephedrine stories. While it is true that a very small percentage of people will have poor tolerance to the drug, most people tolerate it just fine. Keep the dose to 20 mg or less, two times a day or less. After a brief time you won't even notice the stimulant effects.
Ephedra has been effectively used by hundreds of thousands of adults for weight loss. The problem arises when ignorant people take high doses and/or exercise in extreme conditions (heat) after high doses.
The NCAA, IOC, Iaaf, and such ban it because of a small benefit that may be achieved in explosive type events, where reaction time is important. I don't believe anyone is claiming that ephedra will increase performanc in distance running events in any way other than weight loss. Which is another topic all together. (I harkin back to studies done at Ball State University by Costill that showed the number one benefit of training aerobically for distance events was the weight lost....decrease the kg's in VO2Max (ml/kg/min) and your ml's go up).
Just remember that even "safe" drugs like tylenol and motrin have killed people....you don't hear anyone telling you not to take tylenol for a headache.
just my .02
All the negative comments are dead on. Do yourself a favor and never take that crap.
A buddy of mine had heart palpitations so bad that he had to go to the hospital after taking it, and they kept him there overnight until everything stabilized.
Here's the problem with Ephedra: Since it isn't regulated by the FDA as someone already mentioned, then you can't be sure how much of it you are getting in a pill. You might think you are getting 20mg and perhaps in one bottle of the stuff you are but in the next bottle you are getting 30mg - that's a 50% increase in the drug. You can't trust those labels.
All the negative press is deserved. Ephedra is not just similar to crystal meth, it IS the main ingredient that speed freaks use to make crystal meth!! That is why it was banned from all over-the-counter meds (cold & cough). All the freaks were buying up truck-loads of over the counter cold meds and using it to make cheap, super-strong speed. The FDA then replaced Ephedrine with pseudo-ephedrine, which is not quite as strong, but still risky to take too much (especially in conjunction with caffeine). It now appears that speed-makers are using the pseudo-ephedrine with almost as much success. (Ma Huang, the Chinese herb, contains Ephedrine & pseudo-ephedrine. That is where these things are naturally found). Bottom line is Ma Huang (or Ephedra/Ephedrine ) is VERY risky??definitely NOT worth the risk. And it may very well be banned as a controlled substance in the near future.
If you want a legal, safe boost, drink your coffee & tea (ESPECIALLY tea/green tea, which are VERY good for you in many different ways).