Posted by Questionmark on June 16, 2003, at 5:58:45
In reply to Re: , posted by Stacey fu on June 11, 2003, at 15:34:17
> I guess people will do what they want regardless of the dangers to their health. By now it has already been established that Ephedrine and its alkaloids are NOT safe and should not be used by anyone, especially not people being treated for psychiatric illnesses, and even more importantly not people on MAOI's. I live in Illinois, and Ephedra was just banned about a week and a half ago. I don't know where you live, but stay away from this supplement. You don't need to have a fatal interaction or a hypertensive crisis that could kill you at the expense of a little extra "pep".
Who says they're not safe and should not be used by anyone? The FDA and the handful of families who (understandably) complain b/cz of their loved ones who abused the crap out of it or used it unsafely/unwisely and had a dangerous or fatal reaction. Certainly not safe for people on MAOIs, i agree, but that doesn't mean jack-- neither is blue cheese.
My question is, why are amphetamines and methylphenidate not being banned and yet ephedra is? Could this be because there are no wealthy pharmaceutical companies backing up the relative safety of this herbal drug? i doubt ephedra herb is much more dangerous than coffee. Think about it, concentrated caffeine can be dangerous and even fatal if you take too much also, and most of the ephedra products are either concentrated extracts, or the pure ephedrine alkaloid-- combine that with a person taking more than reasonable amounts (for energy or weight loss or euphoria or what have you), and yeah, you're gonna have some freaking bad reactions. THIS, in my opinion, is why this beneficial herb is being made illegal in states throughout this country. It's ridiculous.
poster:Questionmark
thread:231377
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030614/msgs/234259.html