Contents

Page 1
1.0 Introduction.
2.0 Calculating the ephedrine/caffeine content.
2.1 Where does the 20/200 amount come from?
Page 2
3.0 What about willow bark/aspirin?
3.1 What about synephrine, St. John's wort, carnitine, etc?
Page 3
3.2 What about cycling and adrenal exhaustion?
Page 4
3.3 The beta-3 scandal: the discovery
Page 5
3.4  The beta 3 scandal: the truth withheld
Page 6
4.0 Do not start with the full dose.
Page 7
4.1 Is ECA safe?
Page 8
4.2 Massive obesity.
Page 9
5.0 Selecting a good thermogenic formula.
5.1 Price Comparison.

4.1 Is ECA Safe?

Contrary to the sensationalized media stories about people that took 20 times the proper dose (and people with preexisting conditions who should not have taken ECA), all the research and extensive clinical data from Denmark shows that -- for healthy obese people -- ECA is quite safe. Indeed, there is so much data documenting the safety of ECA that it is amazing that the mainstream media has managed to avoid it. For example, how come they never tell the American people about the large, "double-blind multi-centre trial in general practice" in Denmark (14). That's right, when the media (and the FDA) portray thermogenic supplements as untested and dangerous, it is an outright lie. In fact, in Denmark, ephedrine and caffeine (EC) is "licensed as a prescription drug" (1) and doctors prescribed 9.6 million daily doses over a two year period (14). Ironically, its safety record is one of the reasons why it is such a popular obesity medication.

As we have discussed, if you start the stack at the full dose, some people experience transitory stimulation-related side effects (hand tremor, insomnia, etc.) And even this can be largely avoided if you start with a very low dose. The safety data from Denmark -- after 9.6 million doses -- shows nothing worse than these minor side effects!

Of course, nothing on the planet earth is totally safe for everyone, but if you compare the Denmark safety data with all the major problems caused by acetaminophen, countless OTC medications, or virtually anything in the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference), it is indisputably clear that thermogenic supplements do not deserve the scorn that is being heaped upon them.

Breum et al. wrote about the large "double-blind multi-centre trial in general practice" (14) in the "International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders." Here is what they had to say about ephedrine and caffeine (EC):

"During the last two years defined doses daily more than 9.6 million of the EC combination have been used in Denmark, but only 86 adverse drug reactions have been reported to the health authorities, of which none were cases of gastrointestinal bleeding or other kinds of haemorrhagic episodes . . . Both diastolic and systolic BP declined during treatment with both drugs" (14).

Good grief, did you catch that last sentence? Their blood pressure declined!!! How did that happen? It's simple, ECA causes weight loss and the reduction in weight lowers your blood pressure! That means that people who take ECA and lose weight are far less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. In the U.S. there are an estimated 300,000 obesity-related deaths each year. How many lives could be saved if obese people took thermogenic supplements and lost weight and lowered their blood pressure?

When obese people worry about the safety of ECA, it's like a guy in a pool of quicksand worrying about getting a rope burn while he's being rescued. The only thing more dangerous than untreated obesity is listening to the mainstream media and the FDA.

For more safety info, including ECA and stress tests, the 12 week time limit, and quotes from the FDA's anti-ephedrine medical articles, see Health Canada Bans Thermogenic Supplements.

Written
Mar 2000
Last Update
Mar 2000

Another thing that the 'altruists' in government and the media conveniently neglect to mention is the fact that a recent meta-analysis of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients found that prescription drugs are "between the fourth and sixth leading cause of death" in the United States (15). We are talking about an estimated 2.2 million serious adverse drug reactions and 106,000 deaths each year from prescription drugs! By the way, they define "serious adverse drug reactions" as "those that required hospitalization, were permanently disabling, or resulted in death" (15). How dare they portray supplements as dangerous?

On the surface, all this hysteria about supplements seems crazy, but there is a method to their madness: the pharmaceutical companies want the government to implement insanely expensive regulations to crush the relatively small supplement companies that couldn't possibly afford the onerous regulatory burden. Then, when the dust settles, the pharmaceutical industry enjoys monopoly profits as they pick the most profitable pieces out of the rubble. Of course, the consumers also end up paying for all the absurd regulations. (This has already happened in many countries -- see my post on "use patents" for more info.) Sadly, you will even see this agenda promoted in medical journals: one anonymous editorial went so far as to say regulations for supplements should be "at least as stringent as those for conventional therapy" (16-NA).

Of course, this is sold to the public as altruistic consumer protection. But anyone who looks at the safety data can easily see that this is total bull. Thus, might I suggest that before they even think about messing with the supplement industry, they should concentrate their efforts on figuring out why all their regulations do not stop prescription drugs from killing hundreds of thousands of Americans.

This deceitful, hypocritical, power-grabbing propaganda needs to be publically challenged. Nobel Prize-winning economist, Milton Friedman, said it best: "Any increase in the FDA's authority over anything is a clear and present danger to the nations health." Truer words have never been spoken. The facts about ECA inescapably lead one to the same conclusion: any increase in the FDA's authority over thermogenic supplements is a clear and present danger to the health of obese people.

    
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TOC

1.) Astrup A and Toubro S "Thermogenic, metabolic, and cardiovascular responses to ephedrine and caffeine in man" Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993, Vol 17 Suppl 1 Pg S41-3, PMID: 0008384179.

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