Ephedrine use grows amid health concerns

  BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff From left to
right: Speed Stack, Ripped Fuel Fuzz, Stacker-2, Pro-Ripped
Ephedra, Thermo-525,Yellow Jackets

By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Reporter

Jon Kim’s heart rate was out of control. He felt strange
during his workout. His heart started pumping really quickly, and
his body started to shake as a nutritional supplement coursed
through his veins.

“You can really feel it,” said the second-year
economics and biophysics student. “You’re on something
like a speed high.”

And the popular over-the-counter supplement that caused such a
reaction in Kim’s body can be bought in Westwood.

The speed-like supplement was ephedrine, a popular
performance-enhancing supplement often used by workout enthusiasts
and others to lose weight quickly.

But not everyone is as enthused with the drug as the weight room
crowd.

The Canadian government issued a voluntary recall of retail
products containing ephedra or ephedrine on Jan. 9.

Evidence shows that products that contain ephedrine combined
with other stimulants pose a risk to those who use them, said Ryan
Baker, a spokesman for Health Canada.

“They can put those peoples lives in danger, and the
purpose of this recall is to protect people from these
products,” he added.

While ephedrine products are being yanked off shelves in Canada,
they are flying off the shelves in the United States.

Quoc Ngo, a third-year psychology student, said ephedrine is one
of the top-selling products at the Westwood GNC where he works,
estimating that they sell 30 ephedrine-based products per day.

Ngo doesn’t just sell the products; he uses them in his
own workouts.

“The No. 1 selling product at the store is Xenadrine. When
I do use ephedrine, I use that because it has mau haung, guarana
(an herbal form of caffeine) and bitter orange to suppress your
appetite,” Ngo said.

Ephedrine, or its Chinese incarnation of mau haung, has been
around for centuries. Ephedrine is an extract of the plant Ephedra
equisetina. It has been used as a stimulant and as a way to
increase respiratory flow. A synthetic form of the drug, called
pseudoephedrine, is a common ingredient in cold and allergy
products approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The side effects of ephedrine are currently sold as benefits,
and it is now a main ingredient in many popular over-the-counter
nutritional supplements.

According to the FDA, ephedrine causes stimulant effects that
create a higher level of oxygen and energy supply to the muscles by
increasing heart rate, blood pressure and metabolic rate. Ephedrine
has been used to enhance weight loss because of the increase it
causes in metabolic rate.

When ephedrine is taken in combination with a dose of caffeine,
the metabolic increase is doubled, said Arthur Ashe dietician Sheri
Barke. This doubling effect spawned a rash of nutritional
supplements called “ECA Stacks” which combine
ephedrine, high doses of caffeine and aspirin together to form
potent energy stimulants.

The Ashe Center strongly discourages ephedrine use, but if one
insists on consuming the legal drug, it recommends a product
containing no more than 20 mg per serving and no more than 90 mg
per day for under 12 weeks.

These stacks and other ephedrine-based products with names like
Xenadrine, Speed Stack, Therma Pro, Ripped Force, Stacker 2 and
Yellow Jackets, which range anywhere from $2.29 to $39.99, are
starting to dominate shelf space in most nutrition stores.

Numerous ephedra-producing companies did not return repeated
phone calls and could not be reached for comment.

With so many products on the market, it’s hard for
consumers to choose between products, and advertising has been an
effective means of helping ephedrine users choose.

“It’s interesting to see how they are marketing the
product,” said Dr. Gary Green, an associate professor of
sports medicine at UCLA. “In men’s magazines they are
promoting it as to increase muscle mass. In women’s
magazines, it is being marketed to lose weight.”

Jon Kim has used four different products. He has switched
products often because a friend will recommend something or he will
read an article about a new product, but at the same time, Kim
cannot discount the effect of advertising on his choice.

“Advertisements play a big role,” he said.
“You hear that a certain product has a new technology, so
it’s better. Then I read an article saying that a product I
had heard about was better than the one I had. I was doing fine
with the one I was using, but I wanted to try something new, so I
switched.”

Nutrition stores are not the only place where one can find such
products. Ephedrine-based products can also be found in convenience
stores and fitness clubs, where they are sold in vending
machines.

Since he started his diet 10 months ago, Kim has lost 80 pounds.
He uses ephedrine to supplement his seven-day-a-week workout
regimen, but has been questioning whether the ephedrine is causing
him to lose the weight.

“The products won’t be effective if you don’t
work out,” Kim said. “You have to work out, and you
have to diet while you’re on it, or it’s going to be a
waste of money. I can’t say if the products were effective or
not because I took on the whole regimen of working out and dieting,
so that might have been it too.”

Barke holds the same doubts about ephedra’s effectiveness
as a weight loss drug.

“Keep in mind that the research that showed weight loss
from ephedrine products was done on obese people, who were on a
low-calorie diet already,” Barke said. “There is no
research that shows this has any effect on people of healthy weight
who are looking to shed a couple of pounds.”

Though the information pertaining to the negative side effects
of ephedrine has been available for years, many young athletes fail
to take the warnings seriously.

In a 1996 statement on the substance, the FDA cited increased
blood pressure, nervousness, tremors, headaches, seizures, heart
attacks and strokes on the long list of potential side effects.
When combined with caffeine ““ as most energy stacks are
““ the likelihood for complications increases.

Taking an ephedrine-based product is more than drinking a lot of
caffeine, and UCLA students have reported side effects ranging from
insomnia to acne and vomiting.

Despite all the homework Ngo did in choosing the right substance
for his workout routine and body type, he still experienced side
effects.

“When I first started taking it, I would sweat a lot. I
would work out, go to class and I’d be sweating like an hour
and a half later, and my hands would be really shaky,” Ngo
said.

Nutritional supplement companies do publish warning labels on
their products. They list the contents of the supplement and warn
consumers about potential side effects. The products normally
advise consumers to seek medical advice before consuming the
product, especially if the consumer suffers from any other
maladies.

Product warning labels caution against taking the supplement
late at night, because the product makes it hard to sleep. Many
UCLA students have said they capitalized on this effect to aid them
in late-night studying.

In the case of NVE Pharmaceuticals’ Yellow Jackets, the
warning label is hidden in a mass of text and lists the amount of
ephedra alkaloids and caffeine in the product, which amounts to the
upper limits of the recommended 20mg per serving.

Upon closer inspection, Yellow Jackets cram more ephedrine into
the caplet under the pseudonym of Sida Cordifolia, another
ephedrine extract. This extra ephedrine pushes the caplet over the
recommended dosage, increasing the chance for harmful side effects.
NVE could not be reached for comment after repeated attempts.

Sometimes even the recommended dosage on the warning label is
too much to handle. The recommended dosages do not take weight,
height or sex into account when suggesting how much product to
take.

“I always take a quarter or half of the recommended dosage
because, honestly, I am afraid to take the whole dosage,” Kim
said.

Lauren Supance, a third-year English student, can only take half
a Speed Stack or it will keep her up at night, but her boyfriend
can take the recommended dosage without a problem.

The FDA has received more than 140 “adverse events”
linked to ephedrine over the last three years but has not taken
formal action against it.

The FDA recently withdrew its proposed ephedrine restrictions
after concluding that additional evidence was needed before
restrictions could be set. The administration’s recent
inaction will keep ephedrine legal in the United States.

Every person has a different experience with ephedrine-based
products, whether they help Kim lose 80 pounds in 10 months, cause
Ngo’s roommate to break out or extend the study hours of a
UCLA student during finals week.

For all the benefits and performance enhancements
ephedrine-based products may provide, a number of adverse side
effects are waiting inside every bottle ““ and Green said
it’s not worth the risk.

“It is definitely not a nutritional supplement,” he
said. “I am a physician, and I’ve never seen anyone
come into my office with an ephedrine deficiency. There is no
reason for anybody to be taking this.”