Ephedra/Ephedrine Supplements: Now you CAN "have your cake and eat it too!" But is it worth it?

As I was laying on the couch last night watching Seinfeld reruns I noticed a large amount of fast food commercials. McDonalds, Harveys, Pizza Pizza, the list goes on and on. I couldn't help but salivate over the delcious looking commercials, but before I could pick up the phone to order a scrumtious treat (pizza), my brain snuffed out my craving. I knew I would feel bad after I ate a full medium pizza but more importantly I really didn't want the 5 pound baggage that came with it. I thought to myself, what if there was a way to "have your cake and eat it too"?

Well many different sports supplement companies would argue that you can. The answer lies in GNC and its shelves among shelves of various weight loss pills. I thought for this blog post it would be interesting to zero in on one weight loss supplement in specific and whether or not its worth it.

Ephedra/Ephedrine weight-loss supplements:

Ephedra/ephedrine supplements are one of the most controversial dietary supplements on the market today. In 2004, the FDA banned ephedra supplements from stores because it was stated that these supplements presented an "unreasonable risk of illness or injury" (Dunford, 2006). In 2005, the ban was removed but under the stipulation that these supplements would only contain a low dose of ephedra.

Ephedra & ephedrine comes from the plant Ephedra sinica Stapf (Dunford, 2006). It has been used over the years as a Chinese herbal medicine to treat asthma and nasal congestion. But it has also served another purpose recently as a dietary supplement used for increasing energy, weight-loss and improved performance (Dunford, 2006). Ephedrine based supplements work by suppressing appetite will stimulating a person's metabolism. However it is important to note that ephedra/ephedrine supplements have only been seen to produce short-term weight loss, not long-term.

Even though ephedra/ephedrine supplements (weight loss) are still very present throughout dietary supplement stores today, the FDA is still pondering over this product. Increased adverse side effects such as headaches, increased heart rates, increased blood pressure and insomnia have been connected to people taking these supplements (Dunford, 2006). There has also been deaths of otherwise healthy middle-aged and young adults. Ephedrine based supplements have also been connected to increased risk for heat stroke. NFL lineman Korey Stringer and MLB pitcher Steve Bechler (age 23) died from heat stroke and in both instances ephedrine containing supplements were tied to their deaths (Dunford, 2006).

Now mind you most of the information I discussed above pertains to athletes but ephedrine supplements are often marketed to the "normal" Joe as well. You don't have to be an athlete to take ephedrine, these supplements are often marketed as a magic weight-loss solution... so yes you can have your cake and eat it too! But after reviewing the literature on ephedra/ephedrine I asked myself is this really true? Are these supplements really worth it just to keep off a few pounds? No, they are not! I started to think about the definition of health. Yes these ephedrine pills might help a person to lose weight/maintain a healthy weight but with it comes a lot of detrimental side effects and physical health is only one aspect of "being healthy". It doesn't matter how fit a person is, if they are not mentally/spiritually healthy as well.

So next time your deciding whether you should order a pizza late at night while watching Seinfeld reruns ask yourself, will this make me happy? If it does, then do it! Just make sure you hit the gym the next day instead of GNC's weight-loss shelves.

References:

Dunford, M. (Ed.) & Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionists Dietetics Practice Group (2006). Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals. 4th Ed., Chicago, IL: American Dietetic Association.