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The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited

The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited -- Posted by Sweet Zombie Jesus! on 06-27-05 10:53

Since passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of
1994, the sale of herbal dietary supplements containing caffeine and
ephedrine for weight loss has become widespread in the United States.
Reports of adverse events associated with the use of these
non-prescription supplements have raised concerns in the United States
regulatory community.

Restricting the use of these products is now being considered. Such
restriction should be based upon controlled clinical trials. This
review of the literature in Medline relative to the use of caffeine and
ephedrine in the treatment of obesity concludes that caffeine and
ephedrine are effective in causing weight loss. Caffeine and ephedrine
give equivalent weight loss to Diethylpropion and superior weight loss
compared to dexfenfluramine.

Caffeine and ephedrine have a long history of safe, non-prescription
use. The adverse events accompanying acute dosing are mild and
transient. Adverse events with caffeine and ephedrine reach and remain
at placebo levels after 4-12 weeks of continuous treatment, but data
from randomized trials up to 6 months only are available. Obesity is
chronic, requires chronic treatment, its incidence is increasing and it
has few effective treatments. The benefits of caffeine and ephedrine in
treating obesity appear to outweigh the small associated risks.

Restriction of dietary herbal supplements containing caffeine and
ephedrine, often with other ingredients, should be based on controlled
clinical trials of these products.

Obes Rev. 2001 Aug;2(3):199-211. The safety and efficacy of
pharmaceutical and herbal caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss
agent.Greenway FL.Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins
Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808, USA. greenwfl@pbrc.edu

Re: The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited -- Posted by Alex on 06-28-05 01:26

If I remember well, it also involved taking aspirin along with the
cafeine and ephedrine.... Has anyone tried it? Is is *actually* safe ?
(cos if it is... down the hatch!)

Re: The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited -- Posted by None Given on 06-28-05 07:25

"Alex" wrote in message
news:1119947212.082804.147380@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> If I remember well, it also involved taking aspirin along with the
> cafeine and ephedrine.... Has anyone tried it? Is is *actually* safe ?
> (cos if it is... down the hatch!)
>

I think they call it 'stacking," it doesn't sound safe. It could
conceivably cause some major problems, like stroke, heart attack, high blood
pressure.

--
No Husband Has Ever Been Shot While Doing The Dishes

Re: The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited -- Posted by Ruby Vee on 06-28-05 10:42

"None Given" wrote in message
news:42c17f57_2@x-privat.org...
> "Alex" wrote in message
> news:1119947212.082804.147380@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> > If I remember well, it also involved taking aspirin along with the
> > cafeine and ephedrine.... Has anyone tried it? Is is *actually* safe ?
> > (cos if it is... down the hatch!)
> >
>
>
> I think they call it 'stacking," it doesn't sound safe. It could
> conceivably cause some major problems, like stroke, heart attack, high
blood
> pressure.

Whatever they call it, it sounds like a dangerous combination. It could
cause high blood pressure leading to a stroke, a heart attack, dangerous
heart rhythms . . .

Ruby

Re: The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited -- Posted by Matthew on 06-28-05 11:38

Ruby Vee wrote in message
news:A8SdnQVdr9huFlzfRVn-tg@comcast.com...
>
> "None Given" wrote in message
> news:42c17f57_2@x-privat.org...
> > "Alex" wrote in message
> > news:1119947212.082804.147380@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> > > If I remember well, it also involved taking aspirin along with
the
> > > cafeine and ephedrine.... Has anyone tried it? Is is *actually*
safe ?
> > > (cos if it is... down the hatch!)
> > >
> >
> >
> > I think they call it 'stacking," it doesn't sound safe. It could
> > conceivably cause some major problems, like stroke, heart attack,
high
> blood
> > pressure.
>
> Whatever they call it, it sounds like a dangerous combination. It
could
> cause high blood pressure leading to a stroke, a heart attack,
dangerous
> heart rhythms . . .
>
All drugs have side effects, are contraindicated in some individuals,
and should not be abused through overdose. EC has been tested
extensively and found to increase metabolic rate and decrease hunger.

Matthew

Re: The safety of caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent revisited -- Posted by Sweet Zombie Jesus! on 06-28-05 08:41

Alex wrote:
> If I remember well, it also involved taking aspirin along with the
> cafeine and ephedrine.... Has anyone tried it? Is is *actually* safe ?
> (cos if it is... down the hatch!)

Here is the abstract of the above study pulled off Medline. I believe
it was conducted at Harvard Med. The study title, doses, publication
details, journal and authors are listed at the bottom. Hope it answers
your question. ... you should email the primary author for an expert
opinion prior to starting any regimen.

Running title: Ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin -safety and efficacy

The safety and efficacy of a mixture of ephedrine (75-150mg), caffeine
(150mg) and aspirin (330mg), in divided premeal doses, were
investigated in 24 obese humans (mean BMI 37.0) in a randomized double
blind placebo-controlled trial. Energy intake was not restricted.

Overall weight loss over 8 weeks was 2.2kg for ECA vs. 0.7 kg for
placebo (p < 0.05). 8 of 13 placebo subjects returned 5 months later
and received ECA in an unblinded crossover. After 8 weeks, mean weight
loss with ECA was 3.2 kg vs 1.3 kg for placebo (p = 0.036). 6 subjects
continued on ECA for 7 to 26 months. After 5 months on ECA, average
weight loss in 5 of these was 5.2 kg compared to 0.03 kg gained during
5 months between studies with no intervention (p = 0.03). The sixth
subject lost 66 kg over 13 months by self-imposed caloric restriction.
In all studies, no significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure,
blood glucose, insulin, and cholesterol levels, and no differences in
the frequency of side effects were found.

ECA in these doses is thus well tolerated in otherwise healthy obese
subjects, and supports modest, sustained weight loss even without
prescribed caloric restriction, and may be more effective in
conjunction with restriction of energy intake.

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1993 Feb;17 Suppl 1:S73-8. Ephedrine,
caffeine and aspirin: safety and efficacy for treatment of human
obesity.
Daly PA, Krieger DR, Dulloo AG, Young JB, Landsberg L.Dept of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School, Boston.

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