Ephedra ban weighs heavily on diet pills

With obesity rapidly gaining on smoking as the most preventable cause of death in the United States, it's no surprise many people are searching for a magic weight-loss pill.

While diet and exercise are the experts' choice for slimming down, manufacturers are flooding the diet supplement market with products meant to fill the ephedrine gap.

Earlier this month, the government banned ephedrine -- also known as ephedra or ma huang -- after more than 150 deaths from heart attack and stroke were attributed to the supplement.

Shawn Talbott, director of the Division of Foods & Nutrition at the University of Utah's College of Health, says ephedra got a bad rap.

"Some people abused it and took more than the recommended dose," Talbott said. "In the context of how many people used it and the deaths attributed to it, I think taking it off the market was too bad."

In the months leading up to the ban, some people hoarded supplies and companies quickly reacted by developing a
new crop of ephedra-free pills.

The most popular products all contain caffeine. But manufacturers insist they work differently and are more healthy than popping a multivitamin with your morning coffee.

Lou Rinaldi, the head of research at Basic Research in Salt Lake City, said the oils and herbs in Zantrex-3, the company's top selling weight-loss supplement, lead to sustained energy.

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