Consuming Alcohol While Taking Ephedra

by guestcontributor on December 6, 2011

In 2004, the United States Food and Drug Administration or FDA banned the sale of ephedra and other ephedra-containing supplements due to alarming reports of serious side-effects caused by the drug. The effects include dizziness, dehydration, vomiting, nervousness, headache, irregular heartbeat, insomnia, hallucinations, heart attack, hyperthermia, strokes, tremors, seizures and even death. Since then numerous appeals and petitions were made by different corporations to lift the ban, however to this day various types of ephedra remains illegal in the United States.

ephedra outlet

What is Ephedra?

Ephedra refers to a shrub-like plant called Ephedra sinica or Ma Huang in Chinese. It has been used to treat asthma, hay fever and common cold for 5,000 years. The main active ingredients in ephedra are alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Each stem contains a total alkaloid content of 1-3%, 40-90% of which is ephedrine.

The most common use of ephedra today is for weight loss in the form of dietary pills such as Lipodrene, Ma Huang RP and Green Stinger available at Ephedra Outlet. The pills are sometimes taken in combination with caffeine and aspirin. Ephedra is also commonly used as performance enhancers and consequently prohibited for athletes participating in competitive sport events.

As with most drugs, ephedra should not be taken without your doctor’s consent. Consult your physician and report your full medical history to determine if it is safe for you to take the pill. Ephedra mixed with other substances such as alcohol is known to have undesirable side effects so if you are a frequent drinker this is not for you.

Ephedra and Alcohol

Ephedra and alcohol have opposite effects to the body. While alcohol depresses the nervous system, ephedra stimulates it which could put you in potential danger. Together it messes your judgment so that you might not think or feel intoxicated even after consuming a huge amount of alcohol. This could result to alcohol poisoning and cause death.

Imagine the danger of drunk driving while taking ephedra. You may feel that you are good to drive but your driving skill is now actually lower due to the influence of alcohol. This could put you at risk of getting into an accident and hurting someone else.

Because of the opposite effects of ephedra and alcohol, the brain receives mixed signals resulting in unpredictable reactions. In severe cases, heart failures have been reported as an effect of combining ephedra and alcohol. In 2001, a man was convicted and was found to be temporarily psychotic on two separate occasions. The man was mixing alcohol with ephedra.

Ephedra can also worsen hangover or the morning-after headache after drinking too much alcohol the night before. One reason for that is because you tend to drink large quantities of alcohol while feeling more sober than you really are. Another reason is both the alcohol and ephedra contribute to the dehydration effect causing you to urinate more frequently. Dehydration causes the headache, nausea and sick feeling of a hangover.

So when taking ephedra, do not consume large quantities of alcohol to avoid these undesirable side effects.

{ 0 comments }

Remedies to Alleviate Stuffy Nose for Wine Lovers

by guestcontributor on July 3, 2011

Stuffy nose is one of the most annoying conditions that anyone could have even for wine lovers. The desire to alleviate the condition is one of the hardest to control and this can hamper your performance in activities that you’ll be doing. In wine tasting, stuffy nose can affect your ability to smell and even affect your taste buds. If you don’t want to be bothered anymore, here are some effective remedies to help alleviate your stuff nose.

Cleaning your environment – one of the main reasons why most people have stuffy nose is because they are exposed to many allergens in their environment. Dust, pollen, animal hair and many others are most of the common allergens that can be found at home. So you won’t contact stuffy nose, always clean your house, vacuum the carpet, and bathe your pet animals. Cleaning your environment will get rid of all potential allergens and you’ll get rid of a stuffy nose as well. You can taste and smell wine better.

Drinking lots of water – if you have stuffy nose and you are about to taste the wine but you are not able to because of stuffy nose, a quick remedy would be to drink lots of water until relief is felt. Drinking lots of water will hydrate the inflamed nasal membrane, ease up the inflammation, thinning the nasal membrane and alleviating your stuffy nose in the process. You can now then enjoy and taste the wine that is served to you.

Foods that are rich in zinc – Zinc is a mineral found in nature and also in the human body. When found in the human body, zinc can greatly improve the sense of smelling of return it to normal. Taking a lot of zinc would greatly ease nasal wall membrane and remove the symptoms of stuffy nose. Experts recommended taking five hundred milligrams of zinc in food supplements that you need to take on daily basis.

Spicy foods – another bizarre way to treat stuffy nose among wine lovers is to consume spicy, hot and pepper based foods. Spicy foods are natural decongestants and will relieve your nose of the stuffy nose that you long wanted to get rid of. Decongestants are substance that will clear nasal congestion. You can now appreciate wine after you consume spicy food because you no longer have stuffy nose.

Stuffy nose after all can no longer be a hindrance for anyone to enjoy wine and appreciated its distinct taste and smell. Here are some practical remedies that anyone can use to get rid of stuffy nose. These activities are very simple can even be done in formal gatherings. Through this you get to enjoy any activity that you are doing including wine tasting.

{ 0 comments }

How to Bond With Other Wine Enthusiasts

June 23, 2011

Wine is not only good for the heart because of its antioxidants. It is also something which people can bond with. People not only dig wine because of its health benefits but also to interact with other wine lovers. There are many team building activities for wine lovers that you can join. These will not [...]

Read the full article →

How to Match Wine With Food

April 12, 2011

Wines can complete a perfect meal or may disadvantage it. It is therefore essential to know what wine to match each recipe and each type of food. This is why you should ask your host about the food she or he is about to serve. This way, you will be able to choose the perfect wine gifts [...]

Read the full article →

Global Wine Trends

February 3, 2011

Wine and culture go together hand in hand. It is fast becoming an important part of society all over the world. Wine consumption is on the rise. And like wise the wine industry is also developing and growing. Wine consumption has increased ever so slightly in comparison to the beer market. When talking about the [...]

Read the full article →

How to Build a Wine Library

January 27, 2011

Nowadays people are getting awareness about wines and are getting very interested in taking up wine collection as a hobby. It is a great hobby to take up. Wines are being consumed almost with every meal on a day to day basis, so having a wine library would prove to be quite a fruitful investment. [...]

Read the full article →

How to Evaluate a Wine Club

January 19, 2011

Getting to know wines and understanding their taste is an art. Wine clubs help people in discovering the wines they love and new one as well. A number of wine clubs have come into existence in the past couple of years and have gained a good reputation due to the skills that they forward to [...]

Read the full article →

How to Pair Wine with Food

January 13, 2011

Whenever you plan a dinner for your family, friends or a loved one, choosing the right wine plays a strong part. The wine depends on the menu and also the guests. At some point in life every individual goes through this process. Some are afraid to pick the wrong one, while some think it’s just [...]

Read the full article →

Wine 101

January 3, 2011

Wines are a delicacy that people of different parts of the world enjoy in their own ways. Wine 101 is a way to educate people all over the world how to choose a wine amongst many bottles. Some feel intimidated by the idea of wine tasting. But that should not be the case. One can [...]

Read the full article →