A Little Bit about Ephedrine versus Ephedra

Ephedra was all the craze earlier this decade. When people think of the fat burning craze they often associate it to the word ephedra. Ephedra and ephedrine hcl contain the same fat burning properties. The difference lies in ephedra being marketed as a weight loss supplement and ephedrine hcl as an over the counter drug. Even though FDA has prohibited the sale of ephedrine based dietary supplements companies can still sell ephedrine hcl as an over the counter drug. A positive outcome of this is that products containing ephedrine now must have “Drug facts” on the box instead of “supplement facts” which will encourage people to take the drug seriously and not treat it as something to be careless about.

Back to the names “ephedra” and “ephedrine”. Ephedra refers to the extract from the raw organic product. It is also referred to as Ma Huang or Chinese Ephedra and has been linked to weight loss for many, many years. This raw extract contains the naturally occurring alkaloids ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, norephedrine, methylephedrine, and methylpseudoephedrine. Ephedra was marketed as a dietary weight loss supplement for some time and therefore unregulated by the FDA until it was deemed dangerous enough to be taken out of the wild, wild west of dietary supplements. Ephedra has been known to contain elements that could be toxic because of its unrefined nature and lack of regulation. This is why it is wise to stick to well known, reputable brands when purchasing ephedrine weight loss diet pills if you are in a country where ephedra has not been regulated.

Ephedrine hcl is a purified version of ephedra. Ephedrine hcl is generally considered safer for weight loss and is in fact marketed as a bronchiodilation medicine. Ephedrine products, depending on which alkaloids they contain and the purity, can be regulated by the DEA. If an ephedrine product is regulated by the DEA you will need identification to purchase and will be subject to limits on the quantity you can buy. Ephedrine hcl is often combined with guaifenesin for nasal decongestant purposes. Ephedrine hcl contains the same properties as naturally occurring ephedra extract (Ma Huang is the source of most of the ephedrine that is sold over the counter) but has never been marketed as a diet pill and is considered to be safe when sold under the guidelines provided by the FDA for over the counter drugs. As a result ephedrine hcl is available for purchase and is a suitable replacement for ephedra in the ECA stack if the user is responsible and knowledgeable about ephedrine and weight loss.

We recommend that you seek out pure ephedrine hcl if you plan to achieve weight loss with an ECA stack.

Putting Together the ECA Stack

Assuming you have done the proper research on ephedrine for weight loss and made sure you are in the proper physical condition to use an ECA stack it is time to put it together. Ephedrine HCL is the type of ephedrine you will be using in you ECA stack if you live in the United States or any other area that has regulated the use of ephedrine for weight loss. Ephedrine HCL can be found at drug stores like Walgreens as well as online. Since ephedrine diet pills have been banned in the United States many bodybuilders and supplement gurus have turned to creating their own ECA stack for weight loss. Popular brands of ephedrine HCL include Vasopro, Bolt, and Primatene. These brands of ephedrine can be purchased online through a quick Google search. You will find that these ephedrine products also contain guaifinesin. This is an added ingredient that helps with the nasal decongestant properties of this type of ephedrine. It will not hamper the weight loss effects. Typically ephedrine HCL comes in doses of 12.5mg, 25mg, or 30mg. For ephedrine weight loss 25mg is recommended.

Once you have gotten your ephedrine you will also want to purchase caffeine and aspirine to complete your ECA stack. The aspirin is an optional addition and does not contribute to the weight loss properties of the ECA stack. The ephedrine and caffeine are essential for the weight loss effects however. Caffeine for your ECA stack can be purchased from stores like Vitamin Shoppe, drug stores, or over the internet. Using pure caffeine pills is recommended but ephedrine free diet pills like Stacker can be used in conjunction with ephedrine hcl and make a very effective ECA stack.