Ephedrine as a weight loss supplement was BANNED in the US on April 12th 2004.
The death of Steve Bechler put the nail in the coffin for ephedrine.
However, a forensic investigation by New York City Medical Examiner Dr. Michael M. Baden concluded that Mr Bechler,
“…died of a heat stroke precipitated by his morbid obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, adverse weather conditions, physical exertion, and inadequate screening, monitoring and medical supervision.”
However, if the media gets involved and puts the blame on a certain supplement, you can almost certainly predict that a ban is coming.
Before I go on, if you have not yet downloaded my free workouts for fast muscle gains, click here to do that now. And if you want to see some testimonials, go here.
Does the Ephedrine/Caffeine Stack Work?
I’ll come back to the safety issue in a minute.
Ephedrine/Caffeine is not needed when on gain cycles. However, in Total Six Pack Abs, it is one of my recommended supplements.
Is it necessary? No. Does it help? Yes, a little.
In the book I say the following…
Before it was banned, ephedrine was about the only supplement that did indeed work to accelerate fat-loss. Ephedrine was to be taken with caffeine and sometimes aspirin in what was called the E.C.A. stack.
The dosage is 25 milligrams of ephedrine and 200 milligrams of caffeine to be taken together…. The caffeine has no real effect on its own but works to enhance the effectiveness of the ephedrine.
Clinical research has consistently verified the effectiveness of EC(A) on fat loss over placebos.
There is no doubt that this combo works. Also, there is another benefit that is rarely mentioned – its effect on hunger levels.
The only time you should even be thinking of using and E/C stack is near the tail end of a cut. This is when your body is really starting to tighten up…but your hunger levels are also increasing.
Ephedrine/Caffeine really does help in blunting that hunger signal as well as giving you the physical and mental energy you need to get through the day (and your workouts).
Again, it is NOT necessary for success, but it’ll help if you want it.
I haven’t taken any ephedrine since my last long cut in the summer of 2009, which only lasted 4 weeks. 🙂  That’s long for me. Fact is, I don’t let myself get fat the rest of the year with dumb and unnecessary “bulking” cycles, so I don’t need long cutting periods anymore. I explained how I stay lean all year-round in this article.
Is It Safe?
In the following study researchers analyzed data on 257,236 Danish patients prescribed a combo of ephedrine and caffeine from 1995-2002 [1] That’s 7 years of E/C supplementation. The conclusion was that these patients did not have increased rates of heart attacks or strokes.
Considering you’re probably going to supplement with it for a couple of weeks once a year, I reckon you’ll be ok.
It’s your choice, but don’t expect miracles. All it will do is raise your metabolism a little and help you burn a little more fat; the vast majority of your fat-burning will still come from diet and exercise. Like I stated previously, the main benefit for me was actually its effect on hunger.
Where To Buy Ephedrine
You can still purchase ephedrine lawfully, just not as a weight-loss supplement. Ephedrine is also available as a decongestant for asthmatics and can be purchased online. So if you want it, you can find it.
Century Supplements sell it here. Although they say they don’t ship to US customers, I’m sure someone can enlighten us in the comments section below where they get their ephedrine in the US. Bear in mind that these are 8mg pills. 3 need to be taken at a time for the recommended dose.
NOTE: Over-the-counter chest/asthma remedies like Bronkaid and Primatene in the US, and ChestEze in the UK contain real Ephedrine HCL, as well.
You can easily get the 200mg caps of caffeine, and it’s very cheap. Right now at MyProtein you can get 100 caps for just £4.29, and at Amazon you can bag 100 caps for $8.20.
I want to reiterate that this article is not a recommendation for ephedrine usage. It’s your choice. If you’re a kid under 18, you’ve no business even looking at the stuff. I haven’t taken any in 6 years now and there’s just no need for me to take it ever again.
You can and WILL succeed without it by using an effective fat loss diet and workout program like TSPA.
Stay Motivated!
Mark
Reference: [1] Use of a prescribed ephedrine/caffeine combination and the risk of serious cardiovascular events: a registry-based case-crossover study
Although it works very well, ephedra is a banned substance in most natural bodybuilding organizations. So if you plan on competing anytime soon I’d stay away from it.
Hi Mark,
I’ve been using the PAGG stack from 4hourbody for the past week. Working decently in my opinion.
Policosonal
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Green Tea Extract with Egcg
and Garlicin.
In US you can order it from http://www.fitshop.ca, which is in Canada and is sold for asthma and allergy sufferers. The postage is way more than the actual supplements so order a bunch.
The PAGG stack costs $60 a month. Also, this link says Protein will nullify the ECGC in the Green Tea Extract. PAGG is NOTHING like the ECA stack. Friggin’ will turn you into a crack head if you aren’t careful. But it does burn fat, cut down on hunger, and makes you super friendly and motivated.
Oops, here’s the link about ECGC and protein. Great website.
https://www.ergo-log.com/egcgprotein.html
Boy am I glad I don’t subscribe to the newsletters anymore.
This is the second article in recent weeks that blatantly and negligently ignores side effects of a regulated substance and encourages it’s use to the general public.
I’m not saying that it can’t be used safely, only that you should only use it under a Doctor’s supervision. If you have even the slightest issues surrounding mental disorders, cardio vascular disorders, or are overweight, or taking other stimulants, this stuff can be extremely dangerous.
The side effects include,
Nervousness, anxiety, dizziness, headache, nausea, loss of appetite, or trouble sleeping; and more seriously, chest pain, unusually fast or irregular heartbeat, vomiting, tremor/shakiness, sweating, severe weight loss, difficult or painful urination, stomach pain.
There is not magic pill for getting in shape people. If you value your long term health, do it through a balanced diet and exercise.
I’m amazed at how blind MuscleHack is choosing to be towards the serious side effects of controlled substances. Just because you can find one report by a ‘pro-drug’ website doesn’t make it good for you.
It’s like MuscleHack is stuck in the ’70’s with it’s medical advice….
@John. Thanks for the site recommendation for US readers 🙂
@Steve P. You should prob read an article before commenting on it. “I want to reiterate that this article is not a recommendation for ephedrine usage.” Did you see that part? Did you also see where I say twice that you WILL succeed without it? The other article you’re probably talking about was the steroid article on MuscleHacker. The article with the disclaimer at the top and my comment below it saying that I am against steroid abuse. You must be of the opinion that some things just can’t be discussed out in the open without it being a recommendation. No-one is in a position to tell anyone else what they can and can’t discuss. As for you unsubscribing, that was a good move. I don’t mind losing readers who don’t actually read the articles.
Wow Steve P. U missed the whole point… If you dont like this site dont read it.. I have danced with this stuff.. and its very dangerous.. Its a drug infact. Stay away from it.
where in new york can i buy depo testoterone shots without a prescription?
Mark,
My doctor prescribes me EAC capsules they consist of 30mg ephedrine, 100mg each of asprin & caffeine. I have taken occasionally a couple at a time and do not feel any ill effects at all. People with heart issues or anyone that is seriously obese may have issues as it can give heart pulpatations if used excessively.
I only occasionally take them and do not make it a regular habit, my intent is to give me a pick me up if i plan on a huge day at the gym
@Davy. Those questions aren’t for my site. If anyone answers, it will be deleted.
@Sean. Is he giving you this for respiratory problems? I agree that only people with existing issues or taking excessive amounts will get into trouble; but that applies to almost everything.
In the US, you can get ephedrine in the form of BroncAid, which is a temporary treatment for asthma. You can buy it at any Walgreens. You will have to show your driver’s license at the pharmacy counter, but that’s because ephedrine and pseudoephedrine can be used to cook meth, so the id is used to identify people who buy in bulk.
I think the biggest problem was that ephedrine was abused. I worked with some guys that ate Stackers, when they had ephedrine, like candy. Not Good!!! Like Mark has stated, you Do Not Need it. @Davy… You don’t need that crap, just following one of Mark’s workout programs and a diet plan for a month. You will be very surprised and become Hooked on MuscleHacking!!! All Natural Of Course!!
I used hydroxycut when they first came out with epedrine and it worked great… Until I went into a deep depression. I wasn’t sure if the ep so u did an ec stack recently, bronaid and caffeine,I started to feel sad so I stopped. If it didn’t do this to me, I would still use it. It does work
And where can we get Ephedrine in EU?
@Benjamin. Best place is century supplements. Better to get it shipped from Canada. That’s where I used to get mine.
Great, thx Mark! 😉 Btw I love your workouts!
Nearly all, if not all, supplements have a list of potential or pretty much guaranteed side effects. Some are more commonly occurring than others, and it depends on the nature of the drug, the amount used and the individual using it. Heck, even peanuts can kill.
It’s interesting to note but a quick search will reveal the horrible sounding potential side effects of vitamin C.
I’m grateful there are websites like musclehack which discusses things openly and objectively and I’m also grateful for the large following of thinking and intelligent readers here.
Is Yohimbine HCL as effective as ECA stack?
@John. Nothing is as effective as E/C stack. Yohimbine may have some effect on helping reduce fat mass when coupled with resistance training https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17214405
It recomends no more than 4 tabs in one day spread over the day. You say take 3 at once, would that be just once a day?
@Shaun. I don’t know what site you are quoting from or what brand. The idea is to get 25mg eph per dose. You can take this up to 3 times daily (75mg total). But you should start with only 1 dose per day and only take 3 doses after some weeks and if you really need to.