| Ephedra Unplugged |

By: Shane Ellison, M.Sc.
Copyright © 2005, All Rights Reserved

Seriously, are we so brainwashed by television that we believe law makers are protecting us when they work to ban natural plants such as ephedra? Of course we are! Millions of fat American's sit in front of their boob tube slurping their coffee in the morning as they watch CNN report how deadly ephedra can be. Never mind that In 1999 alone, the governments Drug Abuse Network reported 641 deaths linked to Benadryl, 477 deaths linked to Elavil, 450 deaths linked to Tylenol, and 305 deaths linked to Prozac.

Meanwhile, Joe Coffee scurries to work and, like a parrot, tells everyone how "deadly ephedra can be". After all, he is now an expert from the simple act of glazing at the "tube". Sad, after 35 years of being alive Joe Coffee still cannot take part in the American past time called "thinking".

It seems that the fears of ephedra have caused amnesia among American's, as they have forgotten that ephedra has been used successfully and safely for over 5000 years to treat a myriad of afflictions, most notably obesity. Additionally, when mixed with other herbs its' safety profile makes coffee appear poisonous.

To further substantiate ephedra's safety, over 50 clinical trials have proven this as fact! In 1999, the U.S General Accounting Office (GAO) made a report to congress stating that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Events Reports (AER's) surrounding Ephedra (commonly used as an argument against ephedra) were "poorly documented". It appeared that the amount of product used, how often it was used, and for how long it was used was not substantiated. The GAO continued to report that 10 to 73 percent of the so-called AER's were not even associated with Ephedra!

Believe it Joe Coffee. The pharmaceutical lap dog known as the FDA lied to you! Feeling depressed about this? Perhaps you should try some Prozac. The world needs fewer idiots!

Playing devils advocate, 100 so-called (often announced on the airwaves without any factual evidence) deaths attributed to the use of ephedra pales in comparison to the number of deaths caused by tobacco, FDA approved drugs and medical doctors. For instance, cigarettes kill about 400,000 per year, the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that medical doctors are the number three killer in the USA and synthetic drugs number four!

Let the facts speak for themselves, that Ephedra has been responsible for nearly a hundred deaths and 1,178 adverse reactions is a fallacy. Of course, ephedra, like sugar, must be used properly and most supplement companies have ignored this. Nonetheless, ephedra is in fact an inexpensive natural product that poses huge competition to pharmaceutical companies. Most notably, ephedra is poised to successfully treat obesity, manage the symptoms of ADHD, depression and asthma - when used correctly.

Considering that obesity kills 800 people per day and that the American Cancer Society has stated that obesity may soon be the leading cause of cancer it would appear that ephedra is exactly what America needs!

So its time that ALL of those people living in states that have banned the use of ephedra (California, Illinois and New York), except when prescribed by a doctor, get off their docile asses and distribute ephedra containing products to EVERY obese man and women they know. You just might save their life! As for the lawmakers, get your politically correct, pharmaceutically campaigned selves out of office - Or start going after the real killers like tobacco and FDA approved drugs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shane holds a Master's degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand industry experience with drug research, design and synthesis. He understands that Americans want and deserve education rather than prescriptions. He is the author of the controversial and shocking book Health Myths Exposed. To learn more visit www.healthmyths.net. You can get his free eBook What You MUST know about Cholesterol Lowering Drugs at www.health-fx.net.