Consumer Health Interactive Highlights Dangers of Ephedra in Special Investigative Report

Business Wire, July 20, 2000

Health/Medical Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--July 20, 2000

Award-Winning E-Health Portal Reveals New FDA Investigation

On Risks of Common Sports Supplement Ingredient

The dangers of the controversial but highly popular supplement ephedra are highlighted in a two-part investigative report by Benj Vardigan, a member of the award-winning editorial team at Consumer Health Interactive (CHI).

CHI develops personalized healthcare Web sites for health plans, called e-health portals, which integrate relevant and meaningful healthcare content with plan-specific programs and e-commerce opportunities.

The series, "A Bad Business," can be read on July 20 at the Web sites of CHI clients Blue Shield of California (www.mylifepath.com); Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.ahealthyme.com); Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (www.blueprint.bluecrossmn.com); Vhi Healthcare (www.vhihealthe.com) and Advance Paradigm (www.buildingbetterhealth.com ), the nation's leading provider of health improvement services. The ephedra feature is the newest addition to CHI's library of original content that is syndicated to these sites on a daily basis.

CHI Associate Editor Vardigan, working with Executive Editor Diana Hembree and the edit team, uncovers serious ramifications associated with the use of popular sports supplements containing the stimulant ephedra.

"I heard some of my friends talking about the energy boost they got before a workout or a night out on the town from taking ephedra supplements, so I decided to do some research," noted Vardigan. What he found was jarring: "Significant numbers of people are ingesting a substance that has the potential to seriously harm them."

Sports drinks and diet supplements, marketed primarily to young adults at health clubs, health food stores, and over the Internet, promise an increase in energy and a decreased appetite. However, not all users realize the ingredients they contain can prove dangerous or even deadly -- particularly if "stacked," or taken in combination with caffeine and other stimulants. Ephedra, the primary ingredient in the products (also known by its Chinese name, "ma huang") has as its active ingredient ephedrine, a chemical cousin of amphetamine.

Ephedrine is found in over-the-counter and prescription medicines such as decongestants and allergy medications, and when taken in dosages recommended by a pharmacist or doctor, or in traditional Chinese medicines, the drug is generally safe. But coupled with caffeine or certain prescription medicines, or combined with exercise and other activities that raise the blood pressure, ephedra can sometimes cause heart attack, seizures or stroke.

To fully investigate the subject, Vardigan talked to supplement users, doctors, researchers, attorneys, pharmacologists, and supplement manufacturers. He also obtained a copy of a recent FDA-commissioned investigation on ephedra, which says the supplements pose a serious danger to consumers, and interviewed the scientists who contributed to the report.

Vardigan also interviewed users who reported feeling a "high" after taking the supplement. Over time, he found, they often need to take greater quantities of supplements to achieve the same results and experience withdrawal symptoms when attempting to quit, fueling the argument of some researchers that ephedra is addictive.

Not surprisingly, manufacturers of supplements disagree that the use of ephedra poses a serious health hazard. The Ephedra Education Council, a trade group representing ephedra manufacturers, contends that the addiction studies are not well documented, and problems are not common enough to represent a widespread health risk. The industry staunchly asserts that the products are safe, if used according to directions.

But testimony from doctors, pharmacologists, and other researchers backs up the FDA conclusions that ephedra supplements have the potential to cause serious dangers to users' health, particularly in large quantities over time. This is particularly problematic because manufacturers are allowed to put ephedra supplements and other herbal products on the market without safety testing or FDA approval.

Consumer Health Interactive is committed to making this kind of investigative report available to consumers on the Web. "This series contains important information that the public should have before taking ephedra, including new data uncovered by Consumer Health Interactive's editorial staff," said Dr. Patrick Irvine, M.D., the medical director of Consumer Health Interactive. "CHI's original reporting is an example of how an online news resource can help educate health care consumers and improve their health status."

Members of the CHI editorial team have received numerous awards in previous positions, including the Pulitzer Prize with the Los Angeles Times for spot news team reporting during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Investigative Editors and Reporters Award, the Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award, an EMMY, and the National Press Club's First Place Award for Consumer Journalism.