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SUPPLEMENTS

What are supplements?

‘Supplements’ is a wide-ranging term that is used in the anti-doping context to refer to a variety of products that sports people use as part of their diet, as well as products formulated for use before and after taking part in sport.

They come in various forms like tablets, capsules, soft gels, powders, liquids, and bars. They are usually intended to provide the body with nutrients it may not be getting enough of from food alone, and so can contain vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, enzymes, and other substances. 

They are not medications. This fact is very important for the reasons explained in this section.

Supplements and Doping Risks

Medications are generally manufactured according to rigorous standards enforced by national medicines regulators. These standards ensure that medications contain precise levels of specified ingredients, which in turn gives the user assurance that the medication will provide the intended benefit. Medications are also subject to detailed regulations concerning where they can be sold and supplied.

Many supplement manufacturers and suppliers take great care to ensure that their products are made to a high standard and are clearly labelled so that the user knows exactly what the product contains and what benefits it is intended to have. But supplements are not medications and so are not subject to the same standards.

There are plenty of supplements on the market that are not made to a high standard and often have labelling that is not clear or transparent. This means that some supplements can have ingredients that the manufacturer did not intend to be part of the product (contaminants) or are mislabelled (hidden ingredients). These ingredients can sometimes be banned substances, such as stimulants. And of course, some supplements are quite clear in their labelling that they contain banned substances.

This means that any use of supplements is a doping risk. Many Athletes from a variety of sports have tested positive after using a supplement and have ended up serving length bans as a result – even though they did not know that the supplement they used had a banned substance in it.

Managing this Risk

FIPFA does not believe that it is realistic or necessary for players to avoid using supplements completely. There is no rule that says that players cannot use supplements, and the careful and considered used of supplements is common in sport.

Instead FIPFA advises any player who is considering using a supplement to take the following steps:

  1. Always ask yourself – ‘Do I NEED to use this supplement? Have I taken advice from someone whose opinion is relevant?’

  2. Do I understand the RISK of using this supplement? Have I done the checks available to work out if the supplement is ‘doping safe’?

  3. Do I understand the CONSEQUENCES if this goes wrong – this relates to STRICT LIABILITY.

Need

Supplements are not a replacement for food or even superior to food. They are not a shortcut to good nutrition. Athletes who eat well are getting the balance of nutrients and energy needed, and it’s likely that using supplements is unnecessary.

After analysing diet and making any necessary changes, and before deciding about using a supplement, talk to a medical professional or qualified sports nutrition professional.

But, before advising you, they need to know that you are an athlete and that you must abide by the anti-doping rules.

Checking

If a supplement is deemed essential and all the other questions have been asked, then it is recommended that a batch-tested supplement is used.

A batch-tested supplement cannot remove all risks associated with supplements and is not for all countries. However, it can significantly reduce them.

Check your supplements here

Advice and Resources

A number of NADOs and other anti-doping organisations provide detailed advice regarding supplements. A selection of these resources is listed here.

Next Page: Anti-doping Rules