ECA Stack Explained: How it works, Dosage Protocol, Sourcing

ECA stack is the OG fat-burning stack! ECA stands for Ephedrine, Caffeine & Aspirin, the 3 ingredients that make up this stack.

ECA stack was extremely popular and widely used between the 70s and early 2000s. It was seriously powerful and effective, but it was also extremely attractive because it could be acquired over the counter. Unfortunately, Ephedrine was banned in the mid-2000s, and it became much harder to source.

In my previous post, I explained everything you need to know about Ephedrine, but I did not cover Caffeine and Aspirin. You are definitely familiar with both, and you understand that Caffeine is a stimulant with some fat-burning properties, but you are probably wondering why they are part of this stack…

How does ECA stack work

Believe it or not, you can find scientific papers from the early 90s in which they studied the effectiveness of E+C or E+C+A vs the effectiveness of just taking E or C, and they found that the stacks could provide more weight loss with less side-effects.

I personally believe some of those studies were funded by companies that were selling ECA back in the day, but the amount of anecdotal information backing up these claims is overwhelming and proves that this stack is in fact very effective.

The reasoning behind adding Caffeine and Aspirin to the stack, is that they can enhance the results of Ephedrine use by extending its effectiveness through the modulation of norepinephrine levels (which Ephedrine increases).

Therefore, you can expect ECA to have the same benefits and side-effects as taking Ephedrine alone, but they are amplified and extended.

Is aspirin really necessary?

There is a lot of debate regarding whether Aspirin is necessary for ECA to work properly or not. Neither Aspirin nor Ephedrine are healthy medications, and Caffeine can already extend the effectiveness of Ephedrine on its own, so many people believe that adding Aspirin is just a source of additional side-effects.

I personally believe that using Aspirin is not necessary, and that the results one can get from just Ephedrine and Caffeine are already amazing.

If you still want to add it for that extra boost in the length of effectiveness, use baby Aspirin.

Dosing ECA stack

Traditional broscience says that you should be dosing the 3 ingredients up to 3 times a day, but that’s a recipe for disaster and insomnia. In my opinion, you should only take them in the morning in a fasted state, and then do exercise for best results:

Baby Aspirin at 81mg, in the morning together with E & C.

Ephedrine should be dosed as indicated in the Ephedrine post (12.5mg for 2 weeks, 20 to 25mg next two weeks, 30 to 37.5mg next two weeks). Take it in the morning.

Caffeine at 200mg, in the morning as well.

Sourcing ECA

If you are in America, you can find Ephedrine in the pharmacy and get it without a prescription by asking for Bronkaid. Unfortunately, they will ask for your ID to control how often you order it.

Ephedrine is available over the counter with no restrictions in Canada.

Ephedrine requires a prescription in most European countries, but I’ve had reports of people from all over Europe who managed to get it without a prescription by asking in multiple pharmacies and claiming that they are tourists with asthma (do your best foreign accent). I’ve done this myself, it just takes some trial and error. Surprisingly, sourcing Ephedrine online in Europe is harder than sourcing steroids.

A document I originally made for my clients. A neat map to the sphere of PEDs and supplements.

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