Many athletes in every sport tend to believe that they do not get adequate nutrients in their daily diet to maintain the high level of fitness that they need to carry out regular training, and then to perform at an elite level. These athletes then resort to ingesting supplements in order to access the additional nutrients that they require.
Supplements are available in various forms like, vitamins, minerals, protein supplements, creatine etc. The manufacture of many of these supplements are not regulated by the drug regulatory bodies of nations as they do not fall within the pharmaceutical category. Many of these are marketed as either herbal or natural supplements.
Risks involved with supplement consumption
The WADA does not support the use of supplements, nor do they endorse any sort of supplement brands for use by athletes. According to the World anti-doping rules, the athlete is eventually personally responsible for whatever goes into his or her body.
Since the nutritional supplement industry is not regulated by the pharmaceutical oversight bodies, and they are also not legally obligated to list out the ingredients, there is a risk of the supplements being contaminated either accidently or deliberately with banned substances that can result in a positive doping test if consumed. There have even been instances where some manufacturers have deliberately added steroids to their supplements to improve athletic performance in order to prove the superiority of their product.
There have been many athletes who have taken supplements and then tested positive for banned substances due to the supplements being contaminated. Some examples are Australian marathon runner Cassie Fien and boxer Ryan Garcia, who consumed only nutritional supplements but ended up testing positive for banned substances.
Recommendations
- The athlete should get his nutrition from a regular balanced diet as far as possible without having to resort to supplements use.
- If the athlete is suffering from a nutrient deficiency, and requires to use a supplement, then the athlete should ideally get it tested at a reputable and accredited lab. This is still not a guarantee that the athlete will not test positive.
- An athlete suffering from a deficiency of a particular nutrient might be safer taking a medically prescribed supplement, though this will not guarantee a positive doping test result.
