iThyroid.com

EPHEDRA

Ephedra is a popular herbal  ingredient in weight loss formulas. This is the herb that has been associated with deaths in people who have taken too much. It is also the source of ephedrine which is a powerful pharmaceutical stimulant drug.

Before I had hyperthyroidism I had used some sports performance products that contain ephedra, so I have some experience using it. One time I took 5 capsules of a Twin Lab product containing ephedra. The label suggested taking 6 capsules. I took them about 11 am because I had a basketball game that night.

Within an hour I felt pulsating surges in my body which lasted until my 7 pm game time. I played one of the most incredible games in my life and scored 29 points in the second half. After the game I had an amazingly detailed photographic memory of every shot I had taken.

It was fun, but there was a price to pay. I experienced rapid heart rate for many hours and it took another day to feel recovered. I tried this same product on other occasions and became convinced that this is not a product that is good for your body.

I'm not at all surprised that people die from using it because it's a very powerful stimulant which could easily put your heart into arrhythmia with a fast and irregular heart rate.

My recommendation is that no one, especially those with thyroid or other endocrine disorders or with any heart problems at all, should take this herb. When I took it I was in excellent health and physical condition and it scared me.

Any person, even one in apparent good health, could die from using this stimulant. It's not something to mess with.

Be extremely careful about any "health" or weight loss product that you take. Inspect the label before you buy and do not use any product with ephedra.

I'm not sure exactly how ephedra causes adverse effects in persons with thyroid disease, but my suspicion is that it disturbs the potassium levels in the body. Potassium depletion can cause endocrine and thyroid disturbances and cause long-term weight gain. While it may provide immediate energy, I believe that the long-term effects are deleterious to thyroid health.