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Ephedra
The teenagers' population consumption of this
dangerous product is compounded with the typical teenager’s willingness
to swallow a higher than recommended dose, thinking that if one pill is
good, two or three must be better. And they’re more apt to combine the
herb with other sports supplement, such as creatine, a practice called,
"Stacking."
No one has studied how ephedra interacts with those
other compounds. Compounding the problem, some products combine ephedra
with dozens of other ingredients that may not mesh well in a young
athlete’s body. Often times, products contain ingredients not listed on
the label or the percentages of those ingredients are inaccurate.
The Belcher’s high profile death has prompted the FDA
to seek public comment from those that feel they’ve been harmed by
ephedra and is considering an outright ban of the herb. This is not the
first time that the regulatory agency has reviewed the dangerous side
effects of ephedra.
As far back as 1994, the FDA warned the public that it
was receiving an increasing number of reports of adverse reactions to
the herb. Thus in 1997, the FDA proposed strict dosage controls on
ephedra. But the supplement industry lobbied ferociously against any
such restriction, fearing it would lead to wider regulation on other
supplements. Their lobbying efforts bear fruits. In 1999, the U.S.
General Accounting Office, the investigative agency for Congress
criticized the FDA’s attempts to regulate ephedra and the agency backed
down.
In any case, even with an outright ban on this lethal
herbal supplement, this widely distributed and available drug makes it
impossible to police every store shelves, vendors and websites. That’s
why the best regulatory agency will always be the informed consumer in a
free wheeling market place.
For more info:
US Food & Drug Bulletin
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-ephe2.html
1. Ephedra: A Natural Disaster? Larry Keller.
Better Homes and Gardens. June 2003. p304-306.
2. Pioneer Press
02/25/03
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