Because you will stumble upon the facts and
no longer be confused.
There’s a lot of confusion out there about “Ephedra” and
“Ephedrine” and exactly what they are.
I wrote about this a couple years ago and it’s time to
write about it again. There’s a lot of information so pay
attention – here we go.
Ephedra is back in the news again.
This time because of a decision last week by a federal court
in Utah that struck down the fda ban of Ephedra. First of
all, herbal Ephedra was never banned. Ephedrine alkaloids
were banned. Ephedrine is the active ingredient in Ephedra.
And Ephedrine alkaloids are the synthetic super concentrated
version of Ephedra.
The fda has stated that the ban is still in effect for higher doses
(above 10mg) of “ephedrine” products. And that the agency is
considering its options “with respect to next steps”.
There is a whole lot of controversy surrounding Ephedra
Because it has been confused and misrepresented by those
who are confused about what it is and is not.
Ephedra is an herb which is perfectly safe when used in
quantities that meet U.S. mega-dosing laws. Just like it’s
been used in Asian cultures for thousands of years for its
health benefits.
And because it is a broncho-dilator the actual herb Ephedra
is one of the most widely used and effective treatments for asthma.
Do you really think Asian cultures would use something for
thousands of years if it was dangerous? Let’s give credit where
credit is due.
Because to the misuse of the word Ephedra all of the negative
associations of Ephedrine alkaloids have been transferred to
the natural herb Ephedra. Including a number of deaths
caused by the synthetic Ephedrine alkaloids.
And this is how Ephedra has become demonized.
Pseudo Ephedrine HCL is found in nearly every over the counter
cold and decongestant sinus medication.
Pseudo Ephedrine, like Ephedrine alkaloids is a chemically
altered form of Ephedra. Most of these over the counter
medications have many times the content of concentrated
ephedrine alkaloids as compared to weight loss and other nutritional
supplements – most of which contain the natural form of Ephedra.
In fact, most medications contain far more Pseudo ephedrine in 2
Pills, because of its concentrated form, than an entire weeks worth
of nutritional supplements which contain the natural ephedra.
Dr. Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., Dr. Page has been a Classical Herbalist
for almost 30 years and has formulated over 250 effective whole herb
combinations, many of them containing ephedra. Dr. Page writes:
“I am continually distressed about ephedra’s misuse and abuse,
most importantly the isolated component of ephedra, ephedrine.
If herbalists and formulators lose the ability to use ephedra,
we are losing one of the best broncho-dilators from the plant
kingdom that is extremely valuable when used for asthma and
allergies. What then would people have to choose from to
alleviate their symptoms? Drugs of course”.
So what’s the difference between ephedra and ephedrine? Dr. Page
explains that “in a whole herb formulation containing ephedra,
there may be up to 50 mg of ephedra, containing only HALF a
milligram of ephedrine. But the products that isolate ephedrine
may deliver up to 20 mg of ephedrine – a full 40 times as much
as ephedra!”.
Yet, You can walk into any drug store or grocery store to
find a few dozen cold, sinus and CHILDREN’S products
which contain pseudo ephedrine hcl. Yes, that’s right 15mg of
pseudo ephedrine hcl in a children’s decongestant.
So you are asking yourself “wait a minute, what about all
the over the counter medications which contain synthetic
ephedrine?, Why aren’t those banned?”
That’s a great question, you’ll have to ask the fda.
Sources:
Jenny Thompson, HSI e-alert – “Get it right”,
4/21/2005
Jenny Thompson, HSI e-alert “Circle the Wagons”,
1/8/2004
