Some sayHealth Food Store Managers And Nutritionists Say Proper Use And Regulation Is the Answer.
　　To Willa Lefever, Tuesday's ban on the herbal supplement ephedra was just another sign of how drug-dependent Americans have become.

"We are a society that is really drug-oriented," said Lefever, who with her husband co-manages and owns Sonnewald Natural Foods in North Codorus Township. "Between recreational and pharmaceutical, most people are taking some sort of drug."

Lefever and another health food store manager were both upset when they heard the news that the Bush administration banned ephedra. It is the first herb to be banned by the Food and Drug Administration.

Ephedra, which is used to lose weight or to increase metabolism, has been linked to about 150 deaths nationally.

Many of the companies who make products that contain ephedra began pulling their products off the shelves months ago following the February death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, who had taken a dietary supplement containing ephedra.

Karen Brown, manager of Allen's Natural Foods in West York, said she will wait to see what manufacturers tell stores to do with the products containing ephedra.

Brown, Lefever and two nutritionists in York County said Tuesday that the herb isn't the problem.

"It's been used for thousands of years, faithfully and beneficially, by thousands of people," Brown said. "Suddenly, it has been misused by a few people and it's being pulled."

Brown said she was angry that thousands of people die each year from government-regulated prescription drugs, yet those don't get banned.

According to the Center for Drug Safety's Web site, an estimated 100,000 people die each year from side effects of prescription drugs.

"There are lots and lots ... of drugs on the market that cause all of these kinds of side effects," Lefever said. "And you don't see nobody going after any of those."

Julie Stefanski, a registered dietitian for Memorial Hospital, said she has known clients who have used ephedra supplement and complained that they felt jittery and couldn't sleep while taking it. Some also complained that they felt dependent upon it. None, she said, reported having any serious reactions.

Stefanski said supplements can be beneficial for people - especially advanced athletes who have tried everything they can to reach a certain fitness level. And, like all drugs, they should be taken wisely.

The average person trying to lose weight should eat better and exercise more effectively, she said.

Stefanski is now worried about supplements being introduced to replace ephedra. "Other things will be introduced that could be just as harmful," she said.

Lefever said her store already carries a weight-loss supplement that advertises that it is "ephedra free."

Taking the herb off the market won't cure the problem, Lefever said. "People who abuse ephedra will just use and abuse something else," she said.

Ephedra - like most herbal supplements - can be beneficial when taken appropriately, said Rhone Levin, a registered dietitian with WellSpan who works in the York Cancer Center.

Levin, who said many of her oncology patients use herbal supplements, believes supplements should be regulated by the government.

Ephedra is one of the scary natural products that, if people don't use it correctly, can cause serious illnesses, she said.

"It needs to be controlled," she said, adding that the herb manufacturers of supplements should print directions and warnings on their labels.

Levin said the positive side to the ephedra ban is proof, finally, that herbal supplements do function. For years, she said, people believed they didn't work.

"They can be very functional, but they do need to be looked at," she said.

From Healthy.net