Resources on Dietary Supplements for Sports Pharmacists
"Use at your own risk," is the answer athletes often hear about dietary supplements from credible sources, like government food and drug agencies, antidoping authorities and many in the sports medical community.
This approach, leaving it up to the athlete to find information for themselves on a product they desire to use, lead to less credible social media influencers filling the void, selling or profitting from the dietary supplements sales -- often based on pseudoscience and bro-science, as some might call it.
We are realistic about the use of dietary supplements and assess the indication (is there a medical need, and if not, what is the reason this cannot be from a food source instead) and risk for the individual athlete.
Why are dietary supplements a risk?
In most countries around the world, the quality of dietary supplements is lacking. They might be evaluated after the consumer purchases it, uses it, has a problem and then official reports a complaint to the regulatory agency. Then, the manufacturer or distributor gets a warning letter. Some dietary supplement companies pay little attention to the warnings and simply change their business name, relabel the products, and sell out their inventory. If the marketing campaign keeps people buying, but there's little known about the contents of the supplement purchased, and limited regulation about purity or safety of supplements, than this is a "buyer beware" market.
What does this mean for athletes?
Athletes are tested for competitive sports against a list of prohibited (or banned) substances. When an athlete's sample is positive, the athlete is strictly liable. Numerous reports of athletes blaming a contaminated dietary supplements continue to grab the headlines in sports. Mainly, they are found positive for SARMs, designer steroids, prescription anabolic agents removed from the market because they were too dangerous, animal medicines, diuretics (water pills), sexual enhancer prescription drugs, and designer stimulants. Any concerns that some of these chemicals were never tested in humans, but just created synthetically in a laboratory? It's a concern for the person's health and a concern for the person's athletic career.
Athletes must look for a independent, third-party testing company that varies:
1. the contents in the bottle match what is listed on the label
2. there are no other chemicals hiding in it, on it or around it that might cause a positive doping test
What are independent, third-party testing companies?
There are several trustworthy companies around the world that test for the purity of products. To be independent and a third-party, they are not associated with the dietary supplement manufacturer or sales at any part of the research, production, supply or sales process. They do not share employees or board members or other stakeholder positions in the dietary supplement company. To be independent means they remain objective. They test in a laboratory at a site seperate from the dietary supplement business and meet certification for laboratory testing. In fact, an athlete wants a laboratory capable of testing with the sensitivity and specificity of a WADA accredited laboratory. That's not just any testing laboratory!
A few of the more well trusted companies are:
Test every batch of the product
and if the elite athlete is willing to look up the batch number (also known as lot number), to ONLY use a batch that has been tested, then they may consider
Test select samples, not all batches are tested
and for those who want are using low risk products, like vitamins with a single ingredient and no proprietary blends, may consider these companies that test the purity
Label matches content (but not looking for any doping agents that are not listed)
USP
What does this mean for the public?
If the general public were tested, it is likely we would also be testing positive for contaminants that we would rather not have exposure. If you are a consumer, you can also look for the label that contains an independent third-party company listed above.