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A law passed by Congress in 1994
after a major lobbying effort on behalf of
the nutritional supplement companies exempted ephedra and other supplements
from the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA ). The result
has been an industry in which there is very little government regulation or
oversight. This has allowed products such as exnadrine efx to come to market,
despite concerns about xeandrine efx safety
Reported adverse reactions to ephedra include ephedra heart damage, ephedra heart attack, ephedra stroke, TIA, siezures, tachycardia (in which the heart rate is accelerated to above 100 beats per
minute), paranoid psychosis, depression, coma, fever, vomiting,
palpitations, hypertension, respiratory failure and death. Some people who have had difficulty losing weight are considering alternatives, such as bariatric weight loss surgery. Others consider taking supplements such as xenadrine efx, despite the concerns expressed by health officials about Xenadrine efx safety.
Despite adverse reactions like ephedra heart damage, advertisements for ephedra often claim that the herbal supplement
is safe and effective. The manufacturers of these products have done a good
job of convincing the public that "natural" is the same as "safe."
Unfortunately, such is not the case. At least 100 known deaths and over 1,000
adverse reactions requiring emergency medical treatment have been connected
to the use of these natural herbal supplements.
In testimony before a Congressional committee investigating the health risks
of ephedra, Dr. Ron Davis of the American Medical Association said, "Dietary
supplements containing ephedra have significant risks, including ephedra heart damage, which may be serious
or fatal to people with pre-existing illnesses, as well as those who were
previously healthy. They should be removed from the market." In fact,
products containing ephedra have already been banned or have had other
restrictions placed on them in over 20 states.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) The FTC has filed four enforcement actions
against supplement companies, charging that these companies intentionally
misled the public into thinking that their products were safe to use, when in fact it has been shown that the supplements can cause ephedra heart damage and strokes. For example, the
company that makes Metabolife, a popular weight loss product that contains
ephedra, has been forced to pay $5 million in personal injury claims related
to the use of their product.
Do I have an ephedra heart damage case
from taking xenadrine efx or
other ephedra containing supplements?
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