The Good Effects of Ephedra

The Chinese were always an amazing people, they discovered ephedra a few thousand years ago when they used the Ma Huang plant which became one of the basics of their medicine. Ephedra helps many ailments and has been used for everything from colds, fever and flu to increasing poor metabolism which will in turn relieve water retention and help the body burn off excess fat. It’s also used to curb appetitive and help asthma with its resulting cough.

Why the FDA put a Ban on Ephedra?

As good as ephedra seemed for health purposes the FDA put a ban on steroids diet supplements containing it in 2004 because of the ill effects to the cardiovascular system, an increase in high blood pressure and irregular heart beat. However, the ban did not include teas that were herbal or remedies containing ephedra in traditionally Chinese Medicine. The ban which was the first the FDA ever put on a supplement that was dietary in nature got an indigent protest from the industry. The ban was not effective against either ephedrine or supplements that were pseudo ephedrine.

Reactions to the Ban

There were mixed reactions to the ban. The FDA stopped some people from taking ephedra, but others who were true believers in the medicinal effects found ways to get around the ban. A survey taken by the Government of the United States found that people had begun to use duplicate products to achieve the same effects as ephedra.

The Government put a ban on the duplicates also but in 2005 Judge Campbell ruled in favor of the company that opposed the FDA’s ban. The claim against the FDA was that they were treating ephedra as a drug and not as a food. Fortunately for them the Judge was in agreement. If ephedra was a drug the manufacture would have to prove it was safe for use but as it stood by falling into the food category the FDA would have to prove any charges against it. Since the FDA did not try to prove their charges against it the ban was partially revoked. Supplements with no more then 10mgs. or less could be legally sold.

The Ban as it Stands

The FDA so far is standing on its ban but has done nothing to refute the ruling made by Judge Campbell and because of this the ephedra supplements are on the market again and being sold legally. Some of these would include Zanalean, Ripped Fuel and Metabolife.