Ephedra

Until recently no herb have been researched as heavily and extensively as ephedra. Ephedra has been broadcasted all over the news in the past few years. But it hasn't been all good news that has been portrayed, its been the deadly effects of the herb that has caught the public's eye.

More than half the American population is obese, so it's no surprise weight loss supplements are popular. What is surprising is that these supplements are not tested for safety. They promise to fight fat, burn fat, and enhance metabolism, but some of the new ingredients may be dangerous. They have been known to cause things such as high blood pressure, stroke, and even death. The FDA has finally began to recognize these drugs, and in 2004 the FDA banned the sale of all products containing ephedrine.

Ephedra, also known as ma huang and by its scientific name, Ephedra sinica, is an herbal product that comes from an evergreen plant. The Chinese used these plants 5,000 years ago, possibly for the treatment of and hay fever. However, they used plant preparations unlike the modern ephedra supplements that are now banned.

Ephedra grows throughout the western United States in arid desert grasslands and sagebrush country. When the Mormons first came out west, the Indians taught them how to make a tea out of this plant's "twigs." It soon became known as Brigham tea or Mormon tea. Ephedra is classified as a Gymnosperm and is primitive in evolutionary terms much like horsetail.

After making an extract of ephedra, the alkaloid ephedrine was discovered by Chinese scientists in 1924. Two years later, Merck pharmaceuticals produced a synthetic version of ephedrine that is still used in asthma medications today. Scientists also revealed that ephedrine is both a cardiac stimulant and central nervous system stimulant. So, in keeping with allopathic methods, chemicals were used to synthesize ephedrine resulting in the discovery of an entire new class of drugs - amphetamines.

Ephedra is also used as an herbal supplement that was found in a number of over-the-counter products. These products are designed to help people speed up there metabolism and lose weight, and has long been the subject of much criticism.

One of the reasons ephedrine is such a powerful agent is that it operates through a variety of mechanisms, including increasing

levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine, and stimulating both alpha and beta adrenoreceptors. Appetite suppression -Ephedrine stimulates the alpha(1)-adrenoreceptor subtype, which is known to induce hypophagia (appetite suppression) . It is estimated that appetite suppression accounts for 75-80% of the weight loss attributed to ephedrine.

The benefits of ephredra not only include weight loss, but it also includes asthma relief. It can also be used to relieve chest congestion. Some others benefits of the drug include increased muscle preservation, and accelerated exercise performance.

Although ephedra deems some attractive benefits, its also has many dangerous side effects. Side effects that were dangerous enough for FDA to ban the use of ephedrine in any products. Some effects include- high blood pressure, increased pulse, insomnia, stroke, skin rashes, nausea, dizziness, heart attacks, hypertension, and even death.

Due to these adverse side effects the FDA has determined that products containing ephedra present an unreasonable risk of illness and injury.

The FDA also issued a consumer alert warning the public to stop using