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Article: Using Ephedra to Lose Weight?(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Women's Health Letter
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Women's Health Letter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ephedra (also known as Ma Huang) is an herb that has been used in many weight-loss formulas because it increases the metabolism and helps burn calories faster. The problem is the FDA found ephedra definitely or probably caused death or injury in 43 out of 140 people who used it. Their problems included heart attacks, stroke, and hypertension.
Ephedrine is the chemical stimulant in ephedra causing these problems -- when they occur -- and not all supplements have a standardized amount of ephedrine. This means you could get too much ephedrine for your body to handle or too little to make a difference. When you combine ephedra with other stimulants, like caffeine, you ...