Because when you expose the myths behind this debate, it becomes almost no debate at all.
MYTH: More than 100 deaths have been attributed to ephedra usage.
FACT: The statistics on ephedra-related deaths don’t hold up.
The FDA received more than 800 adverse event reports concerning ephedra between 1993 and 1997. Included in the reports: a man who was taking ephedra died of a gunshot wound; a woman who had been taking ephedra died in a car accident; a man who had been taking ephedra died of environmental hyperthermia; and so on. To say the least, it’s quite a stretch to blame these untimely deaths on the completely incidental fact that the victims were using ephedra. I imagine all of those people were wearing shoes too, but I doubt anyone blamed shoes for their deaths.
In the current issue of HSI, Panelist Jon Barron’s Baseline of Health Newsletter, writes, “The case against ephedra is based on statistical nonsense.” Jon points out that in the studies examining groups of subjects who used ephedra products against groups of subjects who did not, there was no statistical difference in the rate of strokes or heart attacks.
FACT: Several different factors led to Bechler’s death. Ephedra was not one of them.
A bottle of Xenadrine RFA-1, a weight-loss supplement containing ephedrine (NOT ephedra, but a boosted component of the herb ephedra) was found in Bechler’s locker. A teammate reported that Bechler had taken three capsules of Xenadrine on the morning of his death (not yet confirmed by the medical examiner’s toxicology report which has yet to be completed). According to instructions on the Xenadrine label, three capsules are to be taken throughout the day, not all at once.
One week after his death, three doctors at the Baylor University Center for Exercise, Nutrition and Preventive Health Research released a special report listing the dangerous factors that contributed to Steve Bechler’s death:
- A prior history of heart illness
- A family history of death due to heatstroke
- A history of liver problems and high blood pressure
- Bechler had reported to spring training camp several pounds overweight (and was highly motivated to lose the weight in order to win a spot in the Orioles pitching rotation)
- Bechler was wearing several layers of clothing during workouts in an apparent attempt to help his weight-loss regimen
- Bechler may have not yet been acclimatized to the heat and humidity of South Florida (spring training had just begun the week he died)
- Bechler had eaten no solid food for as much as two days before his death
- When Bechler collapsed on the field, his core temperature was 106 degrees
If for some reason I choose to drink gasoline and I were to die from it, would the FDA ban the sale of gasoline? And should my family sue Exxon? No. Because I was using the product in a way it was not intended to be used. And that’s exactly what happened here – and in the majority of other cases where ephedrine is seen as the “killer.” Ephedrine is not intended to be used in these doses by people with certain health conditions.
FACT: The arbitrary nature of FDA bans defies logic.
Aspartame is perhaps the most notoriously harmful food additive. Better known by its brand names – Equal and Nutra-sweet – aspartame has been shown to either mimic or worsen diseases such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, and depression. In short – it’s FDA approved poison.
The FDA maintains an Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) to track complaints about the unpleasant side effects of drugs, supplements and food additives. Reports of health problems resulting from an intake of aspartame make up approximately 75 percent of the total complaints received. In 1994 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a list of 61 reported adverse reactions to aspartame, including: chest pains, asthma, arthritis, migraine headaches, insomnia, seizures, tremors, vertigo, and weight gain.
So has either the FDA or HHS called for a ban of aspartame? No. Has either of the agencies even called for a warning label? No. In fact, the FDA has resisted efforts to establish a warning label for aspartame, stating (completely contrary to all the evidence) that the complaints against the sweetener aren’t sufficient enough to warrant such a label!
And have you heard the media calling for us to immediately remove every (heavily advertised) diet soft drink from our grocery store shelves to protect the public from the awful risk? After all, we’re supposed to drink that “just for the taste of it.” So to quote HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, “Why would anybody take the risk?”
When herbal formulations or dietary supplements begin to be perceived as dangerous, the medical mainstream moves quickly to demonize them – and by association, they demonize the supplement industry. This time, the demonizing process is gaining momentum daily. Congressmen and other government representatives see what appears to be a no-brainer issue and rush to publicly condemn the killer ephedra, many of them apparently unaware that ephedra is a far cry from ephedrine. Even the liberal lobby organization Public Citizen has threatened to sue the FDA to force a ban on ephedra.
It’s quite amazing to see Public Citizen demanding that the government intervene to block everyone’s access to an effective and useful herb (that has probably saved many more lives than it is accused of ending) in order to protect a few people who choose not to use it properly.
Meanwhile, no one seems to notice that this process is steadily legislating ourselves away from the freedom to make our own healthcare choices. Let your representatives in Congress know how you feel about this issue by sending them an e-mail. You can easily find e-mail addresses for congressmen and other government officials at a web site called Congress.org. If you prefer to write the old-fashioned way, you can find the appropriate mailing addresses at the same site.
And I hope you’ll share this information with your friends and family too. Let them know that the information they’ve been hearing about ephedra in the mainstream press is not only short on reality, it’s also a threat to our right to choose.
Share the HSI e-Alert with a friend
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
Sources:
“FDA Rolling Out Ephedra Warning Labels” Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press, 3/2/03
“Interesting Times” Jon Barron & Kristen Barron, Baseline of Health Newsletter, 3/3/03, jonbarron.com
“The History of the FDA’s Opposition to Ephedra” Ephedra Education Council, ephedrafacts.com
“The Alleged Role of Ephedra in the Death of a Professional Baseball Player” Kreider, Greenwood & Greenwood, Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab, Center for Exercise, Nutrition and Preventive Health Research, Baylor University, 2/21/03
“Reported Aspartame Toxicity Effects” Holistic Healing Web Page, holisticmed.com
“AspartameThe BAD News!” Mark Gold, doorway.com
