Weight loss supplements are big business. In 2001 alone, Americans spent a whopping $3.9 billion on pills, powders and other concoctions purported to boost weight loss[1]. As you are about to learn, much of this money was spent on products that are largely useless.

Don’t get taken in by bogus claims for ineffective diet pills, powders and creams. What follows is a discussion of the clinical evidence - or lack of it – behind the most popular weight loss supplements.

Ephedrine is derived from various plants belonging to the genus Ephedra (family Ephedraceae). Ephedrine was once widely prescribed as a decongestant and as a bronchodilator in the treatment of asthma. While it continues to be used for suchpurposes, its popularity has waned due to the availability of newer, more effective drugs. For medicinal use, ephedrine is most commonly taken in its hydrochloride and sulfate forms. In traditional Chinese medicines, the herb Ma Huang (Ephedra sinica) contains ephedrine as its principal active constituent.

During the nineties, ephedrine hydrochloride became a highly popular fat loss agent. Supplements containing Ma Huang or standardized Ephedra extracts were also widely available in health food stores and used for the same purpose. Ephedrine/ephedra use became popular among bodybuilders, fitness contestants, athletes and the general public.

Things started to turn sour when case reports of adverse reports allegedly related to ephedrine/ephedra use began surfacing. In 1997, the FDA began a campaign against ephedrine/ephedra which eventually resulted in a ban on ephedrine alkaloids marketed for reasons other than asthma, colds, allergies, other disease, or traditional Asian use. In April, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah ruled that the FDA did not have proper evidence that low dosages of ephedrine alkaloids are actually unsafe, but in August, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver upheld the FDA's final rule declaring all dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated, and therefore illegal for marketing in the United States[2]. Ephedrine is, however, still legal in many applications outside of dietary supplements, and as of May 2007, ephedrine can be purchased via the Internet.

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