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Safety and Efficacy of Ephedra For Weight Loss
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Ephedra (Ma huang) Ma huang is an herb that has been used in China for over three thousand years. Ephedra contains ephedrine alkaloids, which are naturally occurring compounds found in plants. Another alkaloid in ma huang, pseudoephedrine, is less potent than ephedrine and is used in common cold remedies. For the last several years, there has been a great deal of debate involving the use of weight loss products that contain ephedra (also known as ma huang). Some in the medical establishment have claimed that ephedra is unsafe; on the other side of the coin are millions of consumers who rely on these products to aid them in weight loss. The only way to understand what is accurate about ephedra regarding its safety and efficacy as a metabolic enhancer which produces weight reduction is to examine all of the scientific evidence available. Effectiveness of Ephedra in Weight Loss The most important question that needs to be answered is Does ephedra work in reducing weight? There have been hundreds of studies done on ephedra¡¯s weight loss properties since the early 1990s, and every one of them shows that ephedra has the capacity to help lower body weight substantially. Let us look at six significant studies which demonstrate why ephedra is the gold standard for weight loss. ¡ö Recently, a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study by James Blum, Ph.D. and Peter Marshall, M.D., in which the protocol had IRB approval, was completed. The results demonstrated 92% of the participants had significant eight loss using an ephedra/caffeine-based weight reducing agent. After eight weeks, the ephedra/caffeine group lost 12.75 pounds, while the placebo group lost only 5.63 pounds. The study group also lost 6.28 percent body fat, while the placebo group lost 2.73 percent body fat. There were no major adverse events reported. This study has just been submitted for publication. (1) ¡ö One of the most notable studies on ephedra and weight loss was conducted at the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke¡¯s-Roosevelt Hospital by Boozer et. al. In this study, 167 obese men and women were given either a combination of ephedra and caffeine or a placebo for six months, in doses of 90 mg. ephedrine alkaloids and 192 mg. of caffeine per day. The ephedra/caffeine group lost an average of 15.2 pounds, while the placebo group lost only 6.8 pounds. The ephedra/caffeine group also lost a significant amount of body fat compared with the placebo group; the ephedra/caffeine group lost 3.2% body fat, while the placebo group lost only 0.6% body fat. In this study, it was concluded that herbal ephedra and caffeine promoted weight loss and fat reduction, as well as improving blood lipids, without adverse events. (2) ¡ö Boozer et. al. conducted research at St. Luke¡¯s-Roosevelt Hospital in which sixty-seven overweight subjects were given either placebo or 72 mg. ephedra/ 240 mg. caffeine (guarana) a day for the study period of eight weeks. The ephedra/caffeine group had significantly higher weight loss than the placebo group, 7.5+/-8.8 pounds compared to 1.75+/-5.3 lbs. The treatment group also had more fat loss than the placebo group, -2.1+/-3.0% compared to 0.2+/-2.3%. The herbal ephedra/caffeine mixture effectively promoted short-term weight and fat loss. (3) ¡ö The effects of ephedra/caffeine on weight loss were studied by Astrup et. al. at the Research Department of Human Nutrition at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark. One hundred and eighty obese patients were put on a 1000 calorie/day diet and either an ephedrine/caffeine combination (20 mg/200 mg day), ephedrine alone (20 mg), caffeine alone (200 mg), or placebo, three times a day for eight weeks. Weight loss was significantly higher in the combination group than with placebo from week 8 through 24 (36.6 +/-15.0 lbs vs. 29.1 +/- 14.55 lbs).
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