Lately, I have been receiving a significant amount of e-mails from both fitness enthusiasts and athletes alike regarding my opinions on the subject of ephedrine. I felt that it would be prudent to expand on the subject as more and more people are seeking a quick and easy avenue towards weight loss, an avenue which miracle pills and fat burner pills are promising to deliver.

It have mentioned on many occasions that I try to refrain from giving a "yes" or "no" type of answer to the questions I receive from my readers. The reason is based on my belief that the only way to steer people away from fraudulent marketing and products that do not live up to their promises is through education. That being said, here is a brief educating discussion on the subject of fat burners and ephedrine.

First of all lets clear out what ephedrine is. It is a central nervous system stimulant derived from the plants Ma Huang or Ephedra. In case you did not know, Ephedrine is also the the raw material used in the production of the illegal drug amphetamine. The two substances ephedrine and amphetamine are closely related in that they both come from the same source and they both act as central nervous system stimulators.

Ephedrine was introduced in the USA in the thirties as prescription medication for arthritis eventually becoming a prescription medication for asthma during the 1940s. The substance apart from its central nervous stimulation properties is also a bronchodilator in other words it relaxes the bronchial muscle and dilates and expands the bronchial passages offering relief to asthma sufferers. However because its toxicity was found to be high enough, widespread administration was not prescribed by the physicians at that time.

Enter the 1970s when ephedrine was brought out as diet loss aid eventually ending up being sold on the shelves of drug stores and supplement shops as a diet pill. Today, it is included in many products such as Hydroxycut, Ripped Fuel, Metabolife, Xenadrine, Proburn, Clenbutrx and many others. In all cases it is either included by itself or in combination with caffeine, another of-the-shelf stimulant.

Keep in mind that ephedrine is a mildly addictive substance. Mildly addictive is actually a misnomer as its addiction properties are dependent on each individual user, therefore what can be lightly addictive for one person can be highly addictive for another. In addition to this, it is marketed in combination with caffeine which you probably know it is also a "mildly" addictive substance. Combine two mildly addictive substances together and you end up getting a highly addictive substance. Combine two mild stimulants together and you end up getting a strong stimulant effect.

Lets get back for a moment to the effects of ephedrine. As already mentioned it is a bronchodilator and expands the bronchial passages but in the process of doing this, it releases the neurotransmitter norepinephrine from the sympathetic nerve endings therefore promoting vasoconstriction of blood vessels and consequently increasing blood pressure. In addition, it stimulates the adrenergic system which in turn decreases potassium levels in the blood and can result to cardiac dysrythmia and in extreme cases complete infraction of the heart.

I am mentioning the above facts not to scare you away from buying these products but to educate you about what you are actually getting and what the risks of using these products are. If you are an individual suffering from high blood pressure or ever had symptoms or signs of the slightest heart problem you would be completely out of line using ephedrine products. If you are a healthy individual with absolutely no heart related issues and you do not mind risking the possibly dangerous side effects of ephedrine here is what you can expect as least as far as weight loss is concerned: Some mild weight loss and a possible but small decrease in appetite, as well as an increase in the feeling of your "energy" levels.

Lets examine these three things further. The small weight loss that you may experience is actually a result of two properties of ephedrine: First, Its diuretic effect which will promote urination and therefore excretion of water which will result in a small decrease in body weight, and secondly its nervous system affecting properties which actually affect the neurotransmitters serotonin and epinephrine therefore switching off the appetite center in your brain and making you less hungry. In essence, you are on your way to a calorie reduction based diet and I have already expanded in some of my other articles in this website about the disadvantages and ineffectiveness of calorie-reducing diets. As far an increase in energy levels is concerned, we need to realize the difference between energy and alertness. As I mentioned before, I have worked with a number of exercise enthusiasts as well as sedentary individuals who are using the fat burning pills mentioned above and in many cases the users report a feeling of increased energy. What they do not realize is that the feeling they experience is actually not energy but an increase in their alertness level similar to the one experienced when they drink a few cups of strong coffee. In other words, the alertness they experience is a drug effect produced by the combination of ephedrine and caffeine contained in the pill. It should be noted here that since the half life of ephedrine is between 6-10 hours, the increased state of alertness can possibly last up to this time and in some cases a bit more.

A quite important point that should be mentioned is the way fat burners affect the psychology of the user. I am referring primarily to the people who use the fat burners with the intention of loosing weight. Here is what usually happens: As already mentioned, almost all of the weight loss experienced with fat burners is primarily water weight. The pills because of the diuretic effect of ephedrine and caffeine promote water excretion and therefore weight loss. The problem is that as soon as the user stops consuming the fat burner, the water weight is gained back quite rapidly. The result of this is a tendency from the part of the user to put the blame on herself. The above paragraphs explain the science behind fat burners so by now, you should be able to understand that the user is not at fault for the return of the lost weight. Anytime the human body is forced to excrete weight through diuretic pills, it undergoes a TEMPORARY weight loss. As soon as the diuretic is discontinued, the weight will soon return. The user very often becomes frustrated and discouraged from further attempts to loose weight. It should be clear by now that this could be avoided by following the correct and proven way to fat loss which is no other than the combination of supportive nutrition, aerobic exercise and resistance training.

I am going to touch a couple more points on ephedrine. Some bodybuilders who are using anabolic steroids combine ephedrine use to their regime because they feel that it provides them with an increased "pump effect" and helps them train even harder therefore allowing them to get the full effect of the steroids. I have, in fact, witnessed this enough times to assure you that it is a widespread tactic and I fully understand the logic behind it. Do I recommend it? Of course NOT. I already mentioned above the possibility of cardiac dysfunction related to ephedrine use and it only makes sense to suggest that this possibility is amplified by the combination of anabolic steroids and ephedrine consumption. I will not expand more on this here as I have already developed the subject of anabolic steroids in another article which you can read under the 'Training" section of this website.

The last point I want to touch upon, is the promotion of some fat burners as being natural or derived from natural sources. The reasoning behind this promotion has strictly marketing purposes and is similar to the one used by the tobacco industry with regards to cigarettes. Natural sounds healthy. We all know that there is nothing healthy about cigarettes and I do not see anything healthy about ephedrine either, but the fact that the drug is being derived from a plant allows the manufacturers to use it for promoting ephedrine sale by making it sound healthy. Based on this logic both cocaine and opium, two very dangerous illegal substances, are also of natural origin since they are both derived from plants. That does NOT make them healthy or desirable. I hope that by now you are beginning to see the marketing plot behind "Natural".

As I mentioned above, the purpose of this article is strictly educational. I believe that consumers should get the full truth regarding the products they consume and they should be allowed to make educated decisions. Fraudulent claims of quick weight loss have never been substantiated. If you are looking to decrease your body weight and move on towards a healthier life and a new "You" there is only one recipe that has been proven over and over: The correct combination of nutrition, aerobic exercise and resistance training. See you at the gym!!