Supplement Regulations for Olympic Athletes
At all levels, nutrition can elevate an athlete’s performance. At the Olympic level, the stakes are higher. It can be the difference in seconds, between a gold and silver medal. Athletes at the highest level must do everything to be the best. This includes nutrition. Though many athletes know the importance of fueling, proper nutrition can be challenging for Olympic athletes.
Proper Supplementation Matters
Adequate nutritional strategies often require supplementation to help meet the unique nutrition needs of an Olympic athlete. But with hundreds of thousands of products on the market, navigating the supplement market can be challenging and overwhelming for an Olympic athlete, not to mention risky.
Choosing Safe Supplements
As a Sports Dietitian, one of my responsibilities with my Olympic athletes is recommending supplements that enhance performance but also have a minimal contamination risk.
Is It Legal?
Recognize WADA’s prohibited substance list, which is updated each year and includes more than 200 banned substances. Check NCAA.org or WADA-AMA.org.
Is it Third-Party Tested?
Third-party testing checks for banned substances. This is essential for supplements to be safe and have minimal risk. The two certifications I routinely recommend are Informed-Sport and NSF Certified for Sport.
Both certifications have the following safety components in their testing
- Manufacturing review to ensure GMP and quality systems are being utilized in the factory and during production
- Content certification and laboratory quality testing for label compliance
- Banned substance testing: Ensure the product is free of WADA-banned substances.
Both third-party certification programs require ongoing testing of product lots and will list the lots tested online at sport.wetestyoutrust.com and nsfsport.com. Additionally to the steps located above, Informed-Sport will test every production lot that has the Informed-Sport seal before the product can be sold and conducts random retail testing to ensure continual compliance with WADA requirements.
Is It Effective?
Not only do supplements need to be banned substance free, they need to be effective and supported through clinical research trials. Commonly recommend products include protein powder (whey, vegan), collagen, creatine and beta-alanine. I also recommend various vitamins/minerals based on bloodwork and a food recall. Sports nutrition products with minimal ingredients and processing are ideal.
Is It Necessary?
Given the many lifestyle challenges Olympic athletes can face, it is often recommended to supplement the diet to support adequate nutrition and help resolve nutrient deficiencies. It’s always encouraged that a healthcare provider or medical professional be consulted before starting any new supplements to ensure the products will support an athlete’s specific and individualized needs.
Why Trust NOW® Sports
NOW® Sports offers a broad portfolio of only the highest quality and natural sports nutrition products, formulated using the latest clinical research and scientifically-proven ingredients. All NOW products are quality and purity tested in-house in NOW’s world-class labs. NOW conducts more than 19,000 tests each month on raw ingredients to finished products, to ensure what’s on the label is in the bottle. NOW also heavily invests in the Informed-Sport certification, the world’s leading anti-doping organization, to assure athletes that the products are steroid tested and the vast majority are also free of all WADA banned substances.