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A metabolism drug like ephedrine, has shown many people how to burn fat fast. These drugs however, are associated with a certain degree of risk. What about their effectiveness compared to these risks? And what should you do to minimize the probability of side effects.

What Is an Ephedrine-based metabolism drug?

Ephedrine is derived from the plant ephedra. This is a perennial shrub with several different species growing in certain regions of Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

Many of these varities, especially the Asian and European ones, contain the active substance ephedrine alkaloids or EAs where Ephedrine is the major EA.

In China ephedrine has been used for more than 5,000 years to treat diseases like asthma, fever, colds, and even malaria.

Ephedrine products are sold in pill, liquid and even bar form.

Ephedrine products are often combined with caffeine, aspirin, and a variety of other herbs considered to aid a fat burning process.

Caffeine is added because it has been proven to enhance and prolong the effects of ephedrine. Especially for weight loss, up to 240 mg of caffeine a day in combination with ephedrine, make the last more effective.

Aspirin is added because it has been proven to reduce urinary excretion of ephedrine. This way it stays in the blood longer and even prolongs it's stimulating effects. On the other hand this combination also increases ephedra's potential risks.

Working mechanisms

Ephedrine stimulates the production of epinephrine and norepinephtine in your body. These are the natural chemicals that trigger the sympathetic nervous system to gear up to either go to battle or escape a situation immediately, also known as the 'fight or flight' reaction.

The symptoms of these reaction are:

increased heart rate

increased force of heart contraction

increased flow in blood, also to the brain

increased blood pressure

increased body heat production, calorie-burning and basal metabolic rate.

So all in all, what ephedrine really does in relation to weight loss, is

burns calories

speeds up the metabolism a bit

may also act as an appetite suppressant, by affecting the brain's ability to

regulate hunger and satiation.

Many people report that this drug really helps them in losing weight. One woman tells that after adding an ephedrine-based supplement to her diet-and-exercise regimen, it was easier to lose my abdominal fat.

Conclusively, I must admit that ephedrine can be effective in weight loss when used as part of a healthy, balanced diet and workout program with a low to moderate intake so that you don't experience any side effects.

It is mandatory to get your diet and exercise plan in order before you eventually start to incorporate ephedrine in your weight loss program. Take careful note of any side effects you experience with the drug.

Side effects

In general, the older you are and the more pre-existing medical conditions you have, the more likely you are to experience an adverse event. This is true especially for medical conditions involving the cardiovascular or central nervous system

Reported side effects:

increased blood pressure

heart rate irregularities - A woman tells that she gradually increased her intake of her fat-burner of choice from the recommended dosage to three pills three times a day. She was losing weight, but she also began to feel she couldn't work out as intensely as she had before because her heart rate was so elevated. She felt sick and would break into a cold sweat and felt jittery and clammy all the time,..

heart attacks

headaches

insomnia

nervousness, anxiety, depression

tremors

seizures

strokes

If you do take a product that combines ephedrine and caffeine, be especially aware of your total daily caffeine intake. You should limit your caffeine intake to 300 mg or 6 ounces of regular coffee a day and drink a lot of water.

Most people do not experience serious side effects. However, if you experience intolerance to ephedra it is not wise to continue using it.

How much?

The first thing you should do before you determine the dosage that fits you best, is to find out the exact amount of the active ephedra alkaloid. This varies greatly from product to product.

So what you do is

always purchase from reliable companies with extensive label information

rather than buying a no-name brand off the Internet.

check the label carefully.

When you know the exact milligram amount of the active alkaloid

Start up with 10 mg per day (24 hours)

Gradually and slowly increase the dosage up to 90 mg a day within this limit, keep to the highest dosage that doesn't have you experiencing negative side effects.