If you have ever attempted to lose weight, or if you have ever had a single conversation with a body builder, you have most likely heard of an ephedra stack. Ephedra contains ephedrine, a very potent stimulant found in the Ma huang plant and in the heartleaf plant known as Sida cordifolia. The ?stack? in an ephedra stack most often consists of some caffeine and some aspirin.
Caffeine is known to most as an effective stimulant found in coffee, tea, chocolate and many soft drinks. If you see a weight loss product that says it boosts energy and increased fat loss, there is a very good possibility it?s got caffeine in it. When caffeine is taken with ephedra, it increases the effects of the ephedrine and causes a thermogenic effect thus speeding up the metabolism and helping you burn fat and lose weight.
Aspirin is another ingredient usually found in the ephedra stack, although it is optional. Aspirin is ordinarily used to balance the affects of the caffeine and ephedrine. Also, there is some indication that aspirin lessens the loss of ephedrine through urination allowing it to stay in the blood for a longer length of time and extending its effects. Once again, this is optional. Recently, several products are dropping the aspirin from their formulas.
The ECA Stack (ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin) has several effects on your body. By stimulating the nervous system through an increase in neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, a stress response is triggered. This response raises the heart rate and blood pressure, expands airways and boosts the resting metabolic rate. It may increase energy and alertness and decrease feelings of fatigue. Additionally, this ephedra stack will suppress your appetite. This has both positive and negative ramifications. On the pro side, eating less usually increases weight loss. However, if you are sticking to a workout schedule, it is very important to eat several small meals a day. If your body does not receive adequate nutrients, it cannot heal itself after a hard training session. Make sure that you are eating 5 or 6 small meals per day. Even if you don?t feel like it, adequate nutrition can make or break your weight loss success. Also, feeding your body several times a day helps keep your metabolism up. If you don?t eat your metabolism slows down. After a few weeks, you will cancel out the use of the ephedra stack by countering its effects on your metabolism.
There are risks to the ephedra stack that should be taken into account before adding it to your weight loss regimen.