Supplement Regulations

Supplement Safety for Collegiate Athletes

two football players running down the field

Despite existing regulations, college athletes need to be especially vigilant when it comes to choosing dietary supplements in order to protect their health and reduce the risk of banned substance violations. Here is a run-down of the current rules and regulations for student athletes as well as tips on how to choose supplements safely.

by Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC

Potential Supplement Dangers of Dietary Supplements

Increased risk of:

  • Misunderstanding ingredients – some ingredients go by multiple names
  • Improper administration
  • Adulteration
  • Contamination
  • Side effects
  • Medication interactions
  • Allergic reactions
  • Accidental toxicity

 

Popular High-Risk Supplements

  • Energy drinks
  • Pre-Workouts
  • Energy Boosters
  • Prohormone/hormone boosters
  • Weight loss products
  • SARMS

 

Banned Supplements

There is no such thing as a complete list of banned substances. Here are the major categories as identified by the NCAA

  1. Stimulants (such as Caffeine, Guarana, Ephedrine/ephedra)
  2. Anabolic agents.
  3. Alcohol and beta blockers (banned for rifle only)
  4. Diuretics and masking agents
  5. Narcotics
  6. Peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics HGH, EPO, HCG
  7. Hormone and metabolic modulators
  8. Beta-2 agonists (unless proper Rx)
  9. Cannabinoids

 

Permissible vs. Impermissible

NCAA allows the use of permissible “nutritional supplements.” Permissible products can be provided to student-athletes by institutional staff. Impermissible products are NOT banned, but CAN NOT be provided to student-athletes.

 

Permissible

Impermissible
  • Carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks,
  • Energy bars
  • Carbohydrate boosters
  • protein supplements
  • Omega-3 fatty acids (Power 5 or Opt-In)
  • Vitamins and minerals
  • Amino Acids
  • Chondroitin
  • Chrysin
  • CLA
  • Creatine
  • Garcinia cambogia
  • Ginkgo
  • Ginseng
  • Glucosamine
  • Glycerol
  • Green Tea
  • HMB
  • Melatonin
  • MSM
  • Tribulus
  • Yohimbe

Choose with SAFETY in Mind

Step 1: Evaluuate diet. Step 2: Choose a safe supplement. Step 3: Take inventory of all supplements taken. Proper dosage + usage guidelines. Step 4: Re-Evaluate in appropriate time frame.

 

Athletes need a trusted source! Look for products with 3rd party verification to help ensure label accuracy. Additional Resources:

  1. NCAA
  2. Drug Free Sport AXIS
  3. SHPN
  4. CPSDA
  5. WADA
  6. USADA
  7. Informed Sport
  8. NSF Certified for Sport

 

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.

by Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC

 

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