Excerpted from National Council Against Health Fraud.

GNC Removes Ephedrine Products

General Nutrition Centers has removed products containing ephedrine from its 2,700 stores due to the bad publicity the substance has been receiving in the press, which had led to a 20% drop in the value of GNC stock. Ephedra products make up about 6% of GNC's business. GNC is asking its manufacturers to reformulate products. Although a company spokesman declared that GNC was "erring on the side of safety by removing ephedrine," NCAHF suspects that the fact that several states have banned ephedrine products following many deaths that have been linked to the substance is a major factor in GNC's decision. As a national chain it is important to have standard products that can be marketed in all states. (FDA Hotline, October, 1996)

Comment

In some products ephedrine is being replaced with phenylalanine. According to Graedon's Best Medicine, (Bantam, 1991) "There may be a risk of hypertension with l-phenylalanine, so this amino acid should not be taken unless under a physician's supervision." Graedon says that l-phenylalanine also carries a possible risk of malignant melanoma, which is no small matter to sun-loving health enthusiasts who make up an important segment of consumers of such products. Many products continue to contain caffeine in substantially higher doses than a cup of coffee.

Excerpted from National Council Against Health Fraud.