Dying to Lose Weight Baltimore Orioles pitcher, Steve Bechler, was a third round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 1998 and made his major league debut in September 2002. Throughout his career he constantly battled his weight. At six feet, two inches tall and 239 pounds, he was considered an overweight pitcher. This influenced Bechler to begin taking large quantities of Xenadrine, a popular supplement containing ephedrine. He hoped this would enable him to keep up with the pace of the game, increase his performance, and lose weight. On February 16th, Bechler was pushing himself through a spring training workout when he became extremely dizzy and pale. His condition drastically became worse and he spent the night in intensive care. The following day Bechler died of multi-organ failure due to a heatstroke. At the age of 23, he left behind his baseball future and his wife who was seven months pregnant (“Pitcher May Have Been”). What killed Steve Bechler? Ephedrine played a major role in his death. Dr. Joshua Pepper, a Broward County medical examiner, said that significant amounts of ephedrine were found in Bechler’s body. “It’s my professional opinion that the toxicity of ephedrine played a significant role in the death of Mr. Bechler,” stated Dr. Pepper (“Coroner: Ephedra Contributed”). Like Bechler, millions of people are turning to supplements containing ephedrine to fix their weight problems. Ephedrine is a cardiovascular and a central nervous system stimulant that increases the metabolism. While this causes your body to burn off fat, it may also cause many serious side effects (“Don’t Get Burned”). The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has been receiving reports of adverse side effects and deaths since 1994 (“Ephedrine Side Effects”). Despite these reports, many still choose to take ephedrine-based supplements.
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