The hype surrounding the herb Ephedra has been raging for many years. Ever since the Sports supplement industry realised that the herbal industry held untold secrets for the health conscious, iron-pumping fanatic, the issue of Ephedra’s legal status and concerns over it’s safety and validity have been the topic on everyone’s lips.

The problem with Ephedra and ephedra containing products, obviously lies with it’s close connection with the drug Ephedrine. The time-honoured stack of Ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin (the E/C/A stack) has long been the savour of the bodybuilder interested in shedding those unwanted pounds of fat.

The question that interests me as a natural Bodybuilder is whether or not Ephedra (otherwise know as Ma Huang) should be allowed as part of the drug-free Body building revolution.

What is Ephedra?

Ephedra is a shrub-like plant found in deserts throughout the world. It is distributed from Northern China and Inner Mongolia, as well as in some parts of North America, though this version does not appear to have the active ingredients of it’s Asian counterparts (1)

Historical use of Ephedra.

The Chinese have used the herb Ephedra for over 5000 years, indeed it is one of the 365 herbs from the classical first century AD text on herbalism by Shen Nong (2)

The traditional use for Ephedra include the treatment of

- The common cold

- Fevers without sweat

- Asthma

- Obesity

- Congestion

The active ingredient (Ephedrine) was isolated in 1887 and became popular with Physicians in the USA until 1924, for it’s bronchodilating effects.

The active ingredient of the Ephedra herb is found in the stem, which contains between 1-3% total ephedrine alkaloids.

Modern day use.

Obviously in modern times, ephedra use has taken on different meaning, particularly to Bodybuilders, athletes and in general anyone looking to take advantage of Ephedra’s ability to open up the adrenergic receptor, thereby increasing metabolic rate and calorie consumption. The net result of this action is quicker release of fatty acids from stored fat cells and a quicker consumption of fat into energy. To put it simply, Ephedra is a great product to use when seeking fat-loss. It makes losing fat easier and also has a marked appetite suppressing action, thus making it far easier to tolerate any diet that necessitates the consumption of lower than usual calorific level.

Is it safe?

The question of safety is the main topic of discussion surrounding ephedra use. When you consider the excellent safety record of Ephedra, especially when you consider the large amounts of people using it (consider than 20,000 Americans are hospitalised each year from taking the OTC drug Aspirin). When taken in sensible amounts (between 12.5-30mg of active ingredient no more than 4 times daily) the herb is extremely safe. Unfortunately Ephedra has been linked to abuse (like any other drug) and due to it’s amphetamine-like side-effects when taken in high amounts (elevated blood pressure, rapid heart beat, nervousness, irratibilty, dry mouth, heart palpitations) it has been deemed unsafe and illegal to buy in many parts of the Western world.

Obesity is far from safe!

When you consider that many hundreds of thousands of people are considered medically obese and up to 300,000 deaths in the USA alone are the direct result of obesity, the effects of Ephedra are much-needed and any possible negative effects seem to pale in significance.

The dilemma for many natural Body builders is “Should I use ephedra? And “Is it a drug, therefore compromising my drug-free status?”

In truth it is a straight-forward dilemma. Certain drug-free organisations will allow it’s use, others will not. From a personal standpoint, I believe that all ephedra-containing supplements should be allowed throughout the spectrum of drug-free Bodybuilding. It’s historical record of use alone, coupled with it’s herbal origin separates it from all synthetic drugs, the type that natural Bodybuilding seek to eradicate from it’s competitions.

Catch me on my Discussion forum on uk-muscle.com/Jason Rickabys natural training team.