Is Ephedra really bad for you?

by Eda

(U.S.)

I am currently taking Lipodrene to help curb my appetite and help me during my work out. The pills only have 25mg of Ephedra and I always cut them in half (I get way too jittery if I take a whole one).

I remember years ago when it was banned because people were getting very ill due to it’s use. Although it was never stated whether there is a “healthy” amount of consumption.

I just wonder if I can get the same results of appetite control and by using something else, possibly more natural? It seems when I take it, it lasts for a while but then I crash! I eat a pretty healthy diet and I would like to tone up a little more before my High School Reunion next month! 😉

Skye’s Answer:

Ephedra and ephedrine are widely sought after by dieters but most don’t understand the difference between them as well as the side effects and legal issues.

I wrote a two part article which explained the differences and assessed the safety, legality of both compounds and also looked at scientific studies to see if they prove their effectiveness.

You can find both articles here:

Ephedra vs Ephedrine Part 1
Ephedra vs Ephedrine Part 2

Lipodrene itself markets itself as an ephedrine product but upon close inspection it actually doesn’t even contain real ephedrine!

If you look at the label it contains ephedrine extract,

this doesn’t contain the alkaloids which are the thing that makes ephedrine work!

Another thing I noticed is that yohimbe extract is also included and whilst its only yohimbe extract mixing it with ephedrine is a big no-no.

This could be why you become jittery.

Ephedrine Dosage

Regarding the appropriate dosage, it appears to be 20mg ephedrine coupled with 200mg caffeine three times per day. This is based on some science but mainly on anecdotal feedback from dieters and I wrote about this in ephedrine dosage.

As mentioned in the articles, it’s important that if you do decide to supplement with ephedrine that you follow the manufacturer instructions other wise you’ll run into serious problems.

You mention that you follow a healthy diet and that you workout which is great as it shows your not one of those people hoping the “magic pill” will lose the weight for them!

Appetite Suppression

In my opinion the best attribute of ephedrine and caffeine is the appetite suppression and you mentioned you’d like a natural way to achieve this.

There are a number of natural ways to suppress appetite which don’t involve supplements, here’s a summary:

1 – Eat more protein
2 – Eat some fatty foods (healthy fats)
3 – Exercise (For some people this suppresses appetite, others the opposite!)

I hope this helps Eda and I wish you luck for getting in shape for your high school reunion!