Seems like there is a push to make it legal again.
I have used ephedra (with caffeine as “the Stack”) for help in weight loss and seems to give me “energy” for my long training efforts. I typically have taken only 1/3 to 1/2 the daily dose recommended on the bottle (Twin Lab’s Diet Fuel) 3-4 times a week when it was available.
Actually, I still have one bottle left and only take 1-2 pills before a long ride or run on weekends. Considering my low dosage as compared to the recommended dosage (an that the popular deaths associated to it were above the recommended dosage), I hope it get’s back on the market.
Have you taken ephedra products? What’s your view of it as a PED?
Don’t do it. I’ve been in medicine a few years, and have admitted my share of people to the cardiac unit with various heart rhythm disturbances after using it in it’s various forms. (I haven’t seen any deaths, though). On top of it, it has been banned by the FDA.
That said, you will definitely get to the finish faster in the back of an ambulance.
I’ll start out by saying that I’m a little biased, since I own a health food store. I know I will get flamed for this, but I’ll point out a few interesting facts about ephedra.
It’s the oldest know medicine. Use of it dates back about 5000 years.
Before it was banned, literally millions of people took it on a daily basis.
I’ve read that the FDA has documented almost 200 people that have had a problem using the herb. Alot of these cases were never investigated properly. There was supposedly some case of a guy that was in a car accident. He coincidently had some ephedra in his system, so they cited this as a problem with ephedra. I never did understand this one.
Every day, almost 200 people die from asprin related complications. (Well, I guess this isn’t a fact about ephedra, just a point to illustrated that there are problems with about everything…Yes, I even read about a guy who died from drinking too much water, but you don’t hear people saying "Don’t drink water…it’ll kill you!!!)
I’m not saying to take it or not. It’s a strong herb and people need to realize that. There are plenty of warning on the label. Take these warning seriously.
But having said that, I’ve never read where it helps endurance. I personally would be nervous taking it before workouts.
My opinion is that Congress screwed the pooch when they decided (in the 90s?) that supplements did not have to be regulated. That opened the door for anyone to market whatever they wanted (“this product is not meant to diagnose or cure disease…”), without any quality oversight. Until somebody died, of course. Failing the legal barrier, the FDA had no other option than to attempt to ban the product. Why do we regulate medicine, again? Can’t the free market just work it out by itself?
As for the claim that it has been used for 5,000 years: big f’in’ deal. The Chinese have been using brown bear gall bladder, rhinoceros horn, and various tiger bits for millenia too. That doesn’t mean it has value (ignoring the ethical concern of harvesting endangered animals for non-existent medicinal value).
but you don’t hear people saying "Don’t drink water…it’ll kill you!!!)
Actually, you do. It’s in today’s NY Times (syndicated to any number of other papers): “athletes Ð marathon runners, triathletes and even hikers Ð are severely diluting their blood by drinking too much water…some falling gravely ill and even dying, the doctors say…want to educate runners to not drink so much.”
I have taken it in the past and loved it, it is one thing that really does what people claim. It is way better then coffee or GOFAST or Red Bull for a energy burst. I stopped taking it before the ban not because I feared it directly but rather the lack of oversight and I had no idea what ephedra I was taking, how much or who decided on that dose and if the dose was safe.
My GF worked for a supplement company so we got it cheap but have since found out the owner decided on the dosage based on what he felt was a good dose and that is what is scary.
This is priceless "Company president Bruce Hough said the decision is about “protecting the public’s access to safe and effective dietary supplements.” Knowing what I know (in general) about the cash that was made on Ephedra I can’t see how he could say that with straight face.
And, that company was (is) defending itself from more than one lawsuit based on ephedra sales.
Several plants in the genus Ephedra are referred commonly as ‘Mormon tea’. Mormons are prohibited from using caffeine, so many of them used ephedra tea as a substitute.
Interesting. I’m actually Mormon, but have never drank ephedra tea before. I know that some teas are prhobited and some are not (mainly herbal are not)…maybe that’s where it comes into play?
Let me get this straight. You were ardent and outspoken in your opposition to my suggestion that insured, adult riders should have the freedom to chose whether or not to wear a helmet. In fact, you said:
“It is immature to believe that just because you are an adult, you do not have to live by rules.”
And yet you take banned PEDs while training?
I suppose cheating is ok as long as you wear a helmet?
I had serious problems as a result of ephedra based products. I actually had a period of about two months in which I passed out and went into a convulsive state twice. The second time when I came to and the woman in the Wal-mart told me it was as though I was having a epileptic siezure it scared the shit out of me. The first time I sort of put it off as over-training, eating improperly, stress, etc. I had every test imaginable ran on me at that time. Everything was fine regarding my personal health. It was without a doubt a result of the ephedra. I consider myself very lucky that it didn’t in fact kill me. I wouldn’t touch the stuff ever again.
I’ve taken it mostly because I have a customer that makes weightloss supplements and I was curious what it was all about. Only took it a couple of times, made me feel a little weird. Personally I think it’s much ado about nothing. The stuff basically speeds up your system and makes your body work harder and suppresses your appetite, which helps some people lose weight. It does have side effects and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone especially if you or someone in your family has heart problems. Mostly I would not recommend it because the people that take it for weight loss are looking for the easy way out. Pills are not the answer to weight loss, diet and exercise are, don’t be lazy. I can’t imagine why you would want to take the stuff before an endurance sport, I think it defeats the purpose. Perhaps it could be useful if regulated a bit more by the government. The amount of ephedra in one companies pills vs another varied greatly. A little common sense on some of the peoples part might have prevented a lot of the bad press. But then again I’m not a doctor so what the hell do I know. Flame away
I love how the press keeps bringing up Steve Bechler, like because he was a pro “athlete” (and yes, I have a problem with that label on most baseball players) he was in top shape and the ephedra reached out and cut him down. And they neglect the fact that he was out of shape, moved from a cold to a hot environment, had a pre-existing condition that precluded his use of ephedra (off the top of my head I forget what that condition was), and that he was using over 50% MORE than the suggested dosage.
I’m personally glad that some one had the cajones to stand up to the FDA, but I’m not holding my breath on seeing it on store shelves.
Yes, I have taken ephedra products in the past. But I wasn’t training heavily or competing at the time. I don’t think it has a place in endurance sports, however. Even before it was banned by the FDA it was on the IOC banned list.
I also did a Medscape search on the cases that the FDA were citing (this was about a year and a half ago) – and there were some similarities among them:
Pre-existing conditions that are WARNED ABOUT on the product labels that the people ignored. Things like heart conditions, high blood pressure, etc…
Taking more than the label dose or staying on it longer than recommended.
Ignoring early warning signs and continuing taking the stuff.
The ban on ephedra was a witch hunt financed and lobbied by the pharmaceutical companies (why do you think it was ephedra that was banned and not Tylenol?). Then it’s pro-steroids (and I’m not talking about pro’s taking steroids, it’s steroid precursors). Next might be Endurox.
This is all about big regulated pharmaceutical companies trying to take out the little guy. And personally I’d like to see that campaign fail miserably.