Ephedra, from the plant Ephedra sinica, has been used as an herbal remedy in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold.
Ephedra has been used for weight loss, sometimes in combination with aspirin and caffeine. Some studies have shown that Ephedra, when taken in a regulated and supervised environment, is effective for marginal short-term weight loss, although it is unclear whether such weight loss is maintained.
Revealed to be the cause of over 155 deaths in the US by 2004, studies of Ephedra pills have all come to the same conclusion: it is a pill to be taken with extreme caution. Yet despite these figures and its ban by leading health officials in 2004 (for two years), Ephedra is still widely used amongst the weight loss community.
|  | Xenical is a weight-loss aid used to help people who fit certain weight requirements, lose weight and then maintain their weight. It comes in dark-blue, hard-gelatin capsules, with light-blue imprinting. Xenical is the first of a new class of anti-obesity drugs known as lipase inhibitors.
Xenical decreases the absorption of some fat-soluble vitamins and beta-carotene. To compensate, you should take beta-carotene and a multivitamin with vitamins A, E, D, and K once a day, at least 2 hours before or 2 hours after taking Xenical. Use it with a reduced-calorie diet.
Xenical is available only with a doctor's prescription. Before your doctor can prescribe xenical, he or she will need to determine if this weight-loss approach is right for you. It is very important to talk to your doctor if you're considering using xenical as part of a weight-loss program.
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First place: Xenical. 63% users voted for Xenical.
Second place: Ephedra. 37% users voted for Ephedra.
