Do not confuse "Ephedra" with "Ephedrine", which most people did and do due to blindly trusting the media. To do the above would be tantamount to confusing "Coca" with "Cocaine." Cocaine is an alkaloid in the Coca leaf just as ephedrine is an alkaloid in ephedra.
 Ephedra (also known as Ma Huang) is not a dangerous herb! Careful use of the herb was necessary, but this is true of all herbal stimulants. In some cases an herbal stimulant might not be in your best interest due to a particular disease you may be suffering with.
Ephedra is a powerful stimulant herb that aided enhancement of energy. It is more of a nervine and heart stimulant. Because it stimulated the nervous system, Ephedra was known as herbal or natural "speed." It threatened the sales of the drug known as 'speed' (amphetamines).
The plant is a very effective broncho-dilator and helped to open up air passages and thus stimulating circulation and counteracting fatigue. It is a great herb for all respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and sinusitis.
It also has thermogenesis properties as well which means it stimulated calorie burning and allayed hunger, which is why it was used and so common in the alternative/natural weight loss arena until manufacturers got greedy and started isolating it's major alkaloid, "ephedrine" as well as making a synthetic "ephedrine" which caused major damage in people, resulting in a few deaths, but this is always what happens when man tries to outdo Nature or God. Western man is known for trying to outdo Nature and God and has enhanced destroying the planet.
Ephedra has been banned to prevent people from having a natural stimulant available that is safer and cheaper than drugs (illegal drugs, stimulants, i.e. 'amphetamines').
Banning Ephedra was 100% political! Ephedra the herb (plant) was not the culprit in weight loss formulas that was harming people in the late 1990s and early 2000's, but an isolated alkaloid (and in most cases, a synthetic chemical) called "ephedrine." The suffix "ine" means: "resembling in nature" and thus ephedrine (a drug, isolated alkaloid) resembled in nature, ephedra (a plant).
Ask yourself this, why would government (FDA) ban Ephedra but not aspirin that kill a reported 25,000 people per year? Ephedra the herb has never killed anyone, but yet, it is banned and erroneously banned because of "ephedrine" (and actually, the synthetic form which resulted in a few deaths).
In the past seven years, aspirin has killed 175,000 people. Seventy-five (75) people have not even died from the synthetic 'ephedrine' in the last seven years but 'ephedrine' is banned and aspirin is not (not that I am a supporter of the drug 'ephedrine', but just making a point). But that's politics for you! A reason why I don't deal in or with politics, and I never will!
Thank you for reading!
This article is compliments of www.Dherbs.Com.
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