Ephedrine in the form of ephedra used to be one of the most popular fat burning ingredients in many fat loss supplements.

About Ephedrine:

Ephedrine is a stimulant coming from the Ephedra plant. Most supplement products before the U.S ban by the FDA, contained an ECA stack. An ECA stack is simply Ephedrine in its natural herbal plant form, caffeine, and aspirin.

Ephedrine and fat loss:

Ephedrine as a stimulant and as a result raises your metabolism making it a very potent fat burner. It also acts as a appetite suppresant making it easier to stick to a low calorie diet.

The caffeine added to an ECA stack increased Ephedrine’s fat burning qualities and potency. Asprin was believed to help thin the blood and help release hard to reach fat deposits. However, many bodybuilders now opt out of aspirin, especially since recent research shows aspirin decreases protein synthesis.

During cutting cycles you will feel fatigued from eating sub maintenance level calories and not want to excercise. The energy ephedrine gives helps you get through aerobic excercises and workouts on your cutting cycle.

Why was Ephedra banned by FDA?

Despite some of the media propoganda reporting ephedra as a deadly drug as a result of a few very negligent people, ephedrine is very safe in reasonable doses under normal conditions. The ban really comes down to money. As a supplement the pharmaceutical companies were losing money because people had a OTC alternative to prescription fat loss pills. FDA being bought off by big pharmaceuticals decided to ban ephedrine.

Later the ban was challenged in court by the supplement company neutriceutical and was overturned by a Utah judge. Unfortunately a federal appeals court then overturned it. The supreme court denied the ephedra appeal, so the ban of the supplement ephedra herb form stays.

How can I get Ephedra?

Luckily you can still get ephedrine in it’s more powerful pharmaceutical form in cold medicines. You must now register with the DEA because ephedrine is used for making methamphetamine and the DEA will only allow a certain amount of sales per month.

Ephedrine side effects:

Jitteriness is very common. Insomnia, increased blood pressure, dehydration, increased heart rate, prostate enlargement are common effects of ephedra. The half life of Ephedrine is 12 hours. It is best to not take ephedrine any later then the early afternoon if you want a good night sleep. You can build a tolerance to ephedrine, so start out at a low dose first.