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A key ingredient in a wide variety of dietary supplements sold in health-food stores and over the Internet, ephedra (also called ma huang) is advertised as a safe way to enhance weight loss, increase energy, and boost athletic performance. Many products containing ephedra in any form are advertised with such names as "thermo," "lean," or "fat burner" under the brand names Metabolife, Herbalife, Thermalean, Trim Life, Xenadrine, Thermo-Lift, and many others. But recent reports suggest that the dietary supplement may actually be hazardous to your health. The herb is a natural source of ephedrine, which stimulates the heart and nervous system and can raise blood pressure, at times to dangerous levels; ephedrine alkaloids can also be produced synthetically.
Deaths, strokes, heart attacks, and other health problems have been linked to ephedra or synthetic ephedrine products, prompting the FDA to expand its investigation into the safety of these dietary supplements. Users have reported insomnia, seizures, heart attack, and stroke after using the supplements.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine/NIH advises consumers under the age of 18 or pregnant women to avoid ephedra-containing products. Adults with a history of high blood pressure, heart or thyroid disease, seizure disorders, depression, diabetes, or prostate enlargement--as well as individuals on other prescription medications--are also at risk and advised to check with a physician prior to using dietary supplements containing .ephedra.
Health and Human Services director Tommy Thompson urges consumers to report adverse events as a result of taking ephedra-containing products by calling 1-800-MEDWATCH.
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