Ephedra and Weight Loss

Question:

I'm looking for information about as-seen-on-TV diet pills and supplements.

Answer:

A great many questions get posted on the Weight Loss message board asking about diet supplements that get sold in stores, on TV, and over the Internet. This is a massive business with people being exploited right and left, some probably suffering very negative health consequences. These products are poorly regulated, so just because something is advertised does not mean it works or is safe.

One common ingredient these days is ephedra. It, or supplements like it, are in popular products I get asked about repeatedly. Xenedrine, Metabolife, and Stacker 2 are examples of products that have or did have ephedra.

A fine (and trustworthy) publication called The Dietary Supplement (Issue 6, April-June, 2001) did a thorough review of information on ephedra and listed 12 products in a table as examples of the many products that include ephedra (or ephedra-like) supplements. These 12 are:

Dexatrim Natural, Green Tea Formula; Xenedrine RFA-1, maximum strength; Optidrene; Metabolife 356; Diet Pep; Stacker 2; Diet Boost; Metab-O-LITE; Thermadrene; Sure Trim; Metabolift; Ripped Fuel

The article concluded, "Ephedra is a potential stimulator of the cardiovascular system, brain, and other organs. Its claimed benefits to health and human performance have only limited scientific support, and its capacity to harm or even kill some small faction of its users is hotly disputed." The publication concludes, "Ephedra's potential risks seem to outweigh its proven benefits for most people."

The article also noted that many states have taken action to limit the sale of products with ephedra, but the industry selling these things has spent millions to fight off government action. The industry was successful in stopping a requirement in Texas that ephedra be dispensed by prescription only, but Texas did require that labels contain the phone number of the Food and Drug Administration so people can report adverse effects. The American Medical Association has asked the FDA to ban ephedra, and organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest have criticized the FDA for not enacting such a ban.

Information like this is sobering and makes me highly suspicious of such products. I will not recommend them to anyone.

The question is whether ephedra-free products are any better. There is so little government oversight with these products that people can sell just about anything. I would not put my life in the hands of the dirtball people who sell them.

I hope this answers your question.