THE EPHEDRINE SAFETY SCANDAL OF THE 90S

THE EPHEDRINE SAFETY SCANDAL OF THE 90S

If you were around bodybuilding or were a hardcore gym-goer back in the 1990s or early 2000s, you’re probably familiar with ephedrine (or in its natural state, “ephedra,” from the herb called ma huang). You may also remember all of the controversy around it too. Ephedrine is a powerful stimulant, probably more powerful than the recently banned DMAA (aka geranium oil), both of these being of a similar molecular structure to amphetamines. Ephedrine was not only used to jack up energy levels before lifting, but when combined with caffeine (and often salicin/white willow) at certain specific dosages, it was the best legal fat burner available. Then, supposedly due to pressure from the drug companies and the media wanting a story, questions started to arise about its safety. Initially, it was banned in a few states. Then, remarkably, it was “un-banned” and then banned again by the FDA. It still remains legal in Canada (Canada has much stricter supplement regulations but often makes much more balanced and less political decisions on health matters because the media doesn’t have the same penchant for creating one-sided hysteria as in the USA).

The Facts

Ephedrine, Caffeine and the ECA Stack
First, a quick word on the effectiveness of ephedrine. When combined with 200 milligrams of caffeine, 20 milligrams of ephedrine taken three times daily (and some studies show a similar effect with 10 milligrams) significantly decreases appetite and increases thermogenesis (the process whereby the body burns off calories as heat). Several studies and reviews make it quite clear that this results in weight loss and fat loss within weeks or months. Many studies also added willow bark (a source of salicin, aka “aspirin”), thus causing it to be designated the “ECA stack.”

Not surprisingly, hundreds of companies launched their version of the ECA stack in the ‘90s, resulting in millions of users worldwide. Of course, whenever a supplement ingredient is being used by millions of people, the odds of a small number of those people having an illness that could have potentially been caused by that ingredient are virtually 100 percent. At the same time, when a supplement ingredient(s) gets really popular, the media and certain groups who have an inherent hatred of supplements salivate, waiting for reports of these occurrences.

Ephedrine Ban
The FDA tried to ban ephedrine between 1997 and 2000 but failed because there was no good evidence that ephedrine actually caused any of the few adverse events reported. A ban was enforced in 2004 after two high-profile athletes died. Next, a federal court in Utah determined that there wasn’t enough evidence of ephedrine’s alleged harmful effects and overturned the ban. The ban was finally reintroduced in 2006, partly because it was being used to make methamphetamine.

To date, many experts still believe that the hard facts don’t justify the banning of ephedrine. Unfortunately, the lawyers got involved in 2003 and launched huge class-action lawsuits. At the same time, an often misinformed and misleading media were running lots of ephedra reports in the news. Thus, juries were easily made sympathetic to the “alleged” victims of ephedrine, resulting in numerous substantial payouts by many of the big supplement companies.

Conclusion
Of the millions of users, only 84 deaths were alleged to have been caused by ephedrine. Of those, ephedrine was the likely culprit in only five! Statistically, and in comparison to many widely used preparations, ephedra has proven to be quite safe. So, while I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone (partly because it can make many users shaky and moody and can cause heart palpitations), some people tolerate it quite well and it certainly helps with fat loss and controlling appetite.

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