re:
L-Tryptophan was taken off the market supposedly due to bad shipment from overseas. Coincidentally, a drug manufacturer had a substitute product they had just released.
It is back on the market BTW
Ephedrine was only dangerous if you ignored the dosage. In fact, I used to put it in my babies juice bottle to clear up asthma attacks. The occasional person thought if a limit of 6 per day worked great, 18 per day would produce unbelievable results and had a heart attack. That was the supposed reason for removing it from the market. Mysteriously, if you look at the law, it banned ephedra and severely limited psuedo-ephedrine. Interesting that both were being used in home drug labs.
PLEASE READ: Will suitably vituperate above comments. (On a side note
Wide spread public information and insight:
In the fall of 1989, the FDA recalled L-Tryptophan, an amino acid nutritional supplement, stating that it caused a rare and deadly flu-like condition (Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome — EMS)
On March 22, 1990, the FDA banned the public sale dietary of L-Tryptophan completely. On March 26, 1990, Newsweek featured a lead article praising the virtues of the anti-depressant drug Prozac. Its multi-color cover displayed a floating, gigantic green and white capsule of Prozac with the caption: “Prozac: A Breakthrough Drug for Depression.”
The fact that the FDA ban of L-Tryptophan and the Newsweek Prozac cover story occurred within four days of each other went unnoticed by both the media and the public. Yet, to those who understand the effective properties of L-Tryptophan and Prozac, the concurrence seems “unbelievably coincidental.” The link here is the brain neurotransmitter serotonin — a biochemical nerve signal conductor. The action of Prozac and L-Tryptophan are both involved with serotonin, but in totally different ways.
Elevated levels of serotonin in the body often result in the relief of depression, as well as substantial reduction in pain sensitivity, anxiety and stress. Prozac, as well as other new anti-depressant drugs such as Paxil and Zoloft, attempt to enhance levels of serotonin by working on whatever amounts of it already exist in the body (these drugs are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). None of these drugs, however, produce serotonin. In contrast, ingested L-Tryptophan acts to produce serotonin, even in individuals who generate little serotonin of their own. The most effective way to elevate levels of serotonin would be to use a serotonin producer rather than a serotonin enhancer.
Present FDA public policy maintains that L-Tryptophan is an untested, unapproved and hazardous drug. The analytical work done a few years ago by the Centers for Disease Control and the Mayo Clinic, research which traced the fall 1989 outbreak of the serious flu-like condition to contaminants found in batches of L-Tryptophan made by the Japanese company Showa Denko, has not convinced the FDA to allow L-Tryptophan back on the market. This decision is based primarily on the research of FDA and NIMH scientists who state that L-Tryptophan itself, irrespective of contaminants, is a dangerous substance. Other university-based research scientists disagree with these findings.
The public availability of L-Tryptophan is too important an issue only to be argued and shrouded within a scientific debate that remains, ultimately, mystifying to the vast majority of Americans. There are many obvious facts worthy of public attention, and public concern. For example, consider the following:
On February 9, 1993, a United States government patent (#5185157) was issued to use L-Tryptophan to treat, and cure EMS, the very same deadly flu-like condition which prompted the FDA to take L-Tryptophan off the market in 1989.
Notwithstanding its public ban and import alert on L-Tryptophan, the FDA today allows Ajinomoto U.S.A. the right to import from Japan human-use L-Tryptophan. Distributed from the Ajinomoto plant in Raleigh, North Carolina, the L-Tryptophan is then sold to, and through, a network of compounding pharmacies across the United States. Purchased by individuals only under a physician's order, L-Tryptophan emerges as a new prescription drug in the serotonin marketplace; one hundred 500 mg capsules cost about $75 — approximately five times more than if they were sold as a dietary supplement.
Since the FDA holds the political mandate and power of a public regulatory agency established, ostensibly, to protect people from raw corporate interests in drug production and distribution, the actions of the FDA in concert with Ajinomoto U.S.A. are illuminating. By publicly banning L-Tryptophan from its dietary supplement status and price, while allowing L-Tryptophan to be sold as a high-priced prescription drug, the naked duplicity of FDA L-Tryptophan policy is revealed.
During and after the 1989 EMS outbreak, the FDA did not totally ban the use of L-Tryptophan in humans — then, as today, the FDA has granted the pharmaceutical industry the protected right to use L-Tryptophan in hospital settings. Manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, the amino acid injectable solutions Aminosyn and Aminosyn II contain as much as 200 mg of L-Tryptophan. (Moreover, L-Tryptophan has never been removed from baby food produced and sold within the United States.)
While the FDA has banned the public sale and use of safe, non-contaminated, dietary supplement L-Tryptophan for people, the United States Department of Agriculture still sanctions the legal sale and use of non-contaminated L-Tryptophan for animals. Today, as in the past, feed grade L-Tryptophan continues to be used as a nutritional and bulk feed additive by the commercial hog and chicken farming industry. Additionally, L-Tryptophan is now available for use by veterinarians in caring for horses and pets. Outside of the United States, in countries such as Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, England, and others, L-Tryptophan is widely used. Nowhere, have any serious or widespread health problems occurred.
At bottom, the FDA public ban of safe, non-contaminated L-Tryptophan is uneven, expensive, and biased in favor of the pharmaceutical industry. The FDA proscription effectively awards billions of dollars in profits to pharmaceutical companies and their suppliers in the same proportion as it adds billions of unnecessary dollars to the nation's already bloated health care expenditures.
EPHEDRINE/EPHEDRA--
References
MayoClinic.com: Ephedra (Ephedra sinica) / Ma Huang
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Ephedra
Side Effects:
There are many different side effects associated with taking supplements or products that contain ephedrine, the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine explains. Consuming ephedrine can cause anxiety, dry mouth, stomach irritation, kidney stones or headache. Ephedrine can also result in nausea, restlessness and sleep problems, and it can trigger psychosis in some patients. Products containing ephedrine should not be taken by pregnant or lactating women, due to the potential for ephedrine to cross the placenta or get into breast milk.
Ephedrine can cause a wide variety of other unwanted side effects. According to Drug Information Online, ephedrine may affect affect blood sugar and interact with certain diabetes medications. Common side effects include vertigo, sweating, insomnia and nervousness.
Because diabetes increases the risk for heart disease, diabetic patients who take ephedrine should be aware of the drug's cardiovascular risks, such as arrhythmia and tachycardia, according to Rx List.
LONG TERM EFFECTS ALSO INCLUDE:
Nerve Damage
Gastrointestinal Problems
Potassium Imbalance
Emotional Disturbance
Increased Blood Pressure...
USER COMMENTS--
Sean Hoey · Angel at Works for God
Iv been taking eph.eca and pure ephedrine for 3half years.i train 6days a wk I don't go to the doctor much but I have most of the systems iv read about.i would say id be addicted to the stuff..im34 and hsve 4 kids can the damaged be reversed the memory loss is the worst.
Ephedra Ban
In 2004, dietary supplements containing ephedra were banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration following studies that showed an unreasonable risk of serious side effects, including fatal cardiovascular problems. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, this ban does not extend to traditional Chinese remedies or teas that contain ephedrine if they are regulated like conventional foods. Chemically synthesized ephedrine may still be used to treat asthma and other conditions that cause nasal congestion or wheezing, according to Drugs.com.
Supplement Risks
The poor regulation of dietary supplements is a cause of concern for any that are purported to contain ephedrine, as they are likely to be from a less-than-reputable source. A compound, such as ephedrine, being listed on a label does not necessarily mean that the compound is actually present in the supplement. Often, the chemical composition of dietary supplements does not match the ingredients on the label. Consuming supplements that claim to have ephedrine could result in your inadvertent consumption of contaminants that put your health at risk.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/392153-ephedrine-dangers/#ixzz2btGBjR7b
