Ephedrine has been used for many years as a stimulant and fat burner. It is found in many products such as Metabolife 356, Advocare, Yellow Subs, and Xenadrine. Ephedrine, also known as ma huang, has sickened or killed over 800 users. (Andrews pg. 1 of 4). Its many side effects such as increased body temperature, sweating, dry mouth, and tremors lead to more dangerous effects such as heart attacks, bleeding in the brain, strokes, and even death. The sale of ephedrine products to this day still continues to rise in spite of its harmful side effects. .
Ephedrine is one of the most dangerous of the dietary supplements. (Ephedrine Dangers pg. 1 of 3). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received more than 800 reports of injuries associated with the use of products containing ephedrine since 1994. These reports consist of cases of high blood pressure, insomnia, nervousness, heart rate irregularities, tremors, heart attacks, seizures, strokes, and even death. In fact, the 1988 death of Anne Marie Capati, a Huntington, New York woman, raises the question of whether warning labels have any protective effect at all. Pregnancy had left the mother of two with slightly elevated blood pressure, which was controlled by medication. The supplement Capati took which contained ephedrine, carried a warning, but she either ignored, misunderstood, or never read it. Several months later, during a morning workout, she suffered a stroke and died hours later. "She just wanted to lose a few pounds," says her husband who is now suing the manufacturer of the supplement. (Self Magazine April, 2000 pg. 38). April 17, 1999, a California man gulped his usual two capsules containing ephedrine with a cup of coffee, then he went on his daily jog. Later that morning he dropped dead from cardiac arrest. Between 1993 and 1996, the FDA collected reports of nearly 700 adverse reactions and 39 deaths. Last April, the FDA implicated ephedrine in 134 cases.
