The problem is that many people believe the magic bullet or rather, supplement that's going to solve all of their overweight problems. Many people want a quick fix or an easy solution. One of these quick fixes or easy solutions is the diet pill.
Diet pills come in many forms ranging from pills marketed as appetite suppressants to others marketed as carb blockers, fat blockers and metabolism boosters. Many of them include Ephedrine and use the name "thermo", "lean" or "fat burner." Brand names include, Metabolife, MeTrim, Herbalife, Adiphen, Thermalean, Lipodrene, Zymax, Genicil, Patent Lean, Thermoslim, Ultra Lipo Lean, Trim Life, Hydroxy Cut, Xenadrine, Herbal Phen-Fen, Shapefast, Thermoburn, Thyro-slim, Trim Spa, Natural Trim, Thermo-Lift and many others.
So what is Ephedrine? *Ephedrine (e-fed'rin) a-methylamino-l phenyl-l propanol, is an alkaloid from the leaves of Ephededra equisetina, E. Sinica, and other species (family Gnetaceae). It is also called Ephedra & Ma Huang, the plant source for the Alkaloid ephedrine. Indigenous to China, India and parts of Southeast Asia . According to the FDA, products containing ephedrine extracts have caused hundreds of illnesses, including seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even death. They are amphetamine-like compounds with powerful and potentially lethal stimulant effects on the central nervous system and the heart. These compounds act as stimulants that can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats (heart arrhythmias). It dilates the bronchial muscles, contacts the nasal mucosa, raises the blood pressure and is a cardiac stimulant. Further these compounds often cause psychological side effects such as depression, nervousness, insomnia, and rapid heart rate. When taken in combination with caffeine, ephedrine can over-stimulate the central nervous system, leading to potentially life-threatening results.
