Ephedra Back on the Market

April 14, 2005, federal judge Tena Campbell of the Utah federal
district court reversed the ban on ephedra.

Ephedra is a herb used over 5000 years ago to treat several
disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis. Because ephedra has
the ability to increase metabolism,and burn fat it became a
popular ingredient used in diet pills.

About 12 to 17 million people consumed ephedra in 1999, reports
the Americian Herbal Products Association. The Nutrition
Business Journal estimated that sales of ephedra in 2002 were
$1.25 billion

Ephedra is so powerful its safety was questioned the FDA removed
ephedra also known by its chinese name Ma-huang from the market
in April 2004 claiming that it was responsible for dozens of
deaths.

Judge Campbell states that drug agencies had failed to prove
that ephedra at low doses was dangerous, and that it lacked the
authority to ban the substance without such proof. She called
for the FDA to lift the ban on ephedra.

The US ban on ephedra was reversed on 14, April 2005, among
other things the court clarified that the FDA must follow the
1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act(DSHEA)and can
not treat dietary supplements like drugs or medical devices.

According to the court low doses of ephedra do not pose
significant or unreasonable risk by a preponderance of the
evidence. Companies that sell ephedra based products are allowed
to resume selling products with no more than 10mg of naturally
occurring ephedrine alkaloids.

1. Prev:Don’t Eat Fat! Don’t Eat Carbs! What CAN we eat?
2. Next:Does your weight loss plan include these 10 Essential Steps?