You may know that the FDA controls pharmaceuticals, but did you know that they have no say in supplements.
Recently, products containing ephedra have been banned in some States due to government agency opinion about their misuse; and now companies are making '' ephedra-free'' products at a mad pace. Why? Many believe that it's pressure from the pharmaceutical giants who fear public opinion: that the ephedra/caffeine stack is, to date, the safest and most effective fat loss supplement out there when directions of use are followed and label warnings are adhered to.
People die from aspirin every day; people's throats close up if they eat a peanut when they never knew they were allergic to them. So why is the FDA getting involved? After the last fiasco with PHen-Fen, the FDA approved weight loss system that had people dropping from heart attacks, they say they're just thinking of our safety. Or are they?
If the gigantic pharmaceuticals can sell ephedra-based products via prescription-only products, they'll get a bigger chunk of the $38 billion weight loss industry. To date, there are relatively few prescription-only products that truly work, unless, of course, you're willing to take Orlistat and put up with " oily discharge." For some people, paying for ephedra-based prescription products is no cause for concern because with their health insurance co-pay, the prescription would be less than retail products like Ripped Fuel. But for many people with no insurance, those same prescription products would be out of reach.
According to statistics, there have been three people who suffered heart problems when they took the recommended dosage of an ephedra-based product. Can the same be said about aspirin?
Of the 117 documented cases of people who became ill or died from ephedra, they were all people who shouldn't have taken it to begin with, or they took more than the recommended dosage while simultaneously exercising vigorously in the hot sun. Is this the fault of the ephedra product or the person who is negligent in following the directions of use included with the product?
Yes, it is the government's job to help establish laws to protect, but how far should its power reach? We establish speed limits as a safety guideline and establish laws restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol, but we don't ban the public sale of cars because some irresponsible people kill and/or die in car accidents related to drunk driving. There are now tighter requirements to help prevent minors from purchasing cigarettes, yet we know that the sale of tobacco will never be banned regardless of the fact that more people die each year from tobacco-related products than will ever die from ephedra-based products, yet which one do our lawmakers want banned as an over-the-counter product?
The job of the government should be to ensure that the makers of products supply us with reliable information so we can make informed decisions. Ephedra-based products can be used safely without negative health affects or causing death. The same can't be said about other over-the-counter products such as cigarettes. If adults can choose to consciously use a product proven dangerous, why should anyone have to pay the high cost of a doctor and exorbitant prescription cost to buy a product that, when used correctly, can help improve one's health.
Whose body, whose mind and whose spirit? It's my body that uses ephedra (as the Chinese have for 5000 years) as a result of an educated decision made by my mind to keep my body and spirit healthy.