Ma Huang, Ephedrine, and Nutritional
Supplements
Q & A: I have been taking
Metabolife to try and lose a few lbs. before I finally get pregnant. I
have been trying to conceive for the past 7 months, and I will be starting
on Clomid next month. Could there be any adverse reactions to taking Metabolife
with Clomid?
Definitions:
Clomid is clomiphene, an estrogen receptor
site filler that jump-starts the whole ovulation process by making the
hypothalamus think you've had your estrogen surge so that you'll produce
LH (Luteinizing Hormone) that will cause the ovary to ovulate.
Metabolife is a nutritional supplement
that contains Ma Huang, an herbal Ephedrine--an adrenaline-like substance.
I don't think there's
any direct interference between these two drugs, but I must warn you about
the ephedrine in such products as Metabolife, Biolean, and the other weight-loss-causing
and energy-producing food additives. Because they're labeled
as nutritional supplements,they're not under the scrutiny
of the FDA like other drugs are before released to the general public.
This will probably change soon, because the ephedrine in such products
is a powerful drug. You may notice that many decongestants have pseudo-ephedrine
as an active ingredient. This is because the real ephedrine
is so powerful. No wonder these drugs are popular--they're stimulants.
They're the speed of the nineties. They give you energy by
increasing your metabolism. You're 117 V being plugged into a 220 V socket.
What we're beginning to see are anecdotal reports of healthy young men
and women dropping dead of cardiac arrhythmia--usually young people with
no cardiac history at all! At the most recent meeting of the Cardiologists
in my home town of New Orleans, a paper was presented that brought up this
very concern. In this study, the average age of death was 42! Pretty scary.
I not only don't want to recommend your baby be
exposed to it, I'm not to wild about YOU being exposed to it. Conception
time isn't the time to pollute yourself with nutritional supplements
sold according to pyramid schemes by people whose only guarantees of safety
come from the very company they represent.
