To Supplement Or To Not Supplement? A Practical Guide To Supplement Use For Athletes
This post in by no means an extensive review about supplementation strategies for athletes. However, it is intended as a quick, but simple and practical guide for supplement use for elite-athletes.
As an elite-athlete, unless you have been living a life of solitude, bound to your intensive training programme (thoughts of a gruelling Soviet Union Training camp spring to my mind) it would be extremely difficult to avoid being exposed to any supplement companies claims and their marketing presence for optimising athlete health, function and/or enhancing performance. An Industry that is said to be worth circa £300million in 2013 in the UK alone!! And one that is still growing. Maximising profit margins is primarily the goal of many of these companies, with the health and performance results for their consumers of their products such as yourself a very distant second.
With elite-sport becoming increasingly more competitive, and as the financial rewards are constantly growing, many individuals and sports organisations are looking for that competitive edge over their opposition..….But at what price are these elite athletes and sports teams willing to go to, in order to reap these lucrative financial rewards?
During my extensive career (15+ years) in elite professional football, not just in the UK, but also around the world. I have witnessed, first hand, many players consuming supplements that I knew were questionable. As a result of either a lack of knowledge or any understanding of the potential risks that they were creating to their sporting careers. Now, I’m not even talking about players intentionally consuming illicit substances to maximise their athletic performance and cheat the system. What i’m talking about is the consumption of supplement brands and products that they believed to be ‘OK’ and ‘safe’ to take.
In the UK, athletes have to comply with both UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) rules and the World Anti-Doping Agencies (WADA) Code, both of these organisations work with a ‘Strict Liability’ -
“all athletes are solely responsible for any banned substance they use, attempt to use, or that is found in their system, regardless of how it got there and whether or not they had an intention to cheat.”
This ‘strict liability’ is especially relevant to nutritional supplements, as the risk of inadvertently consuming prohibited substances is higher than consuming food. Currently, the reported contamination rates of nutritional supplements is around 10-25% (Russell et al., 2013). A recent statistic in 2012 via UKAD, noted 44% of the failed drugs tests in the UK, were believed to be attributed to tainted supplements which were consumed unintentionally by the athletes.
So, what would my advice be if an athlete, such as yourself, approaches me looking for that competitive edge, and how could they avoid being part of the statistic? Here are some simple, but practical, strategies/recommendations I advise all athletes and/or part of their team that I work with:
Asses the Need:
As a Performance Nutritionist, I, like many others, advocate a ‘food-first’ approach, to avoid the use of any unnecessary supplements, which could inadvertently increase the risk of any Anti-doping rule violations (ADRV). If an athlete is wanting to use supplements, they should first ‘asses the need’ for each supplements use. Ask questions such as; Is the gap in performance related to nutrition? Could the gap possibly be obtained via a ‘food-first’ approach, thus reducing the need supplement in the first place? I know that this approach isn’t ‘sexy’ but given that if the basics are implemented correctly first and foremost, then this can reduce the need for any supplementation.
Asses the Risk:
As an athlete, you need to be careful about what & where you purchase your products from. As a general recommendation, seek out products that display the informed-sport logo on them, and ones that are 3rd party batch tested!! THIS IS A MUST!!!, However, one that I see commonly disregarded by many athletes.
I must note that, even informed-sport products are not 100% guaranteed. However, they do offer you, as an elite-athlete, a leg to stand on, and as an insurance policy’ by taking these products as it reduces the risk of any anti-doping violations (ADRV) - i.e. pissing ‘hot’ an a test.
One strategy that you can employ, and one that I would recommend to all to record all of the batch numbers of the products that you buy (if you’re a team-sport athlete, this should be performed by a member of the Sport Science backroom staff). Also, saving a small sample at the end of each of the containers / jars (I know, you’re throwing away your gains here). Although, by saving a small amount in each original container presents a way for the sample can be tested again, and can provide as evidence to support your case if the unfortunate does occur.
A strategy that I would highly recommend is seeking the advice of qualified and registered practitioners. Practitioners like myself who is registered with SENr and also a certified UKAD Anti-Doping Advisor. Therefore, I keep up-to-date with UKAD and WADA rules. A registered nutritionist should be able to guide you in making an informed decision for your supplement use. Fundamentally, all these measures will significantly reduce the risk of any inadvertent ADRV from occurring.
A useful app / website that I would recommend to any athletes and coaches who are are bound who are bound to to drug testing, would be GLOBAL DRO. Global Dro is essentially a platform to any check medication alined with your sport of choice and geographical location to asses if the medication consists of any prohibited substances.
Asses the Consequences:
In the UK, you as the athlete, are responsible, it doesn’t matter if the ‘𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘺𝘮’ told you to take something, or you read some fitness article online, or if your coach told you about these products. Fundamentally, you’re accountable for your actions, whatever you put into your body you are strictly liable for, so this highlights the signifiant importance of consulting with a registered sports nutritionist such as a SENr registrant.
So happens if you do indeed ‘piss hot’?….Well you could be looking at the following:
Up to a 4 year ban from your sport,.
A stain on your reputation and your image.
Financial loss, as a result of being unable to compete and the retracted sponsorships.
Impact on your friends and family.
Most notably, years taken off your sporting career.
One question that you should always have on the back of your mind is….Is the risk really worth it, are you dong everything you can to reduce to risk of an ADRV?Or are you rolling the dice on your career?
Now, I’m not trying to fear monger you from taking any supplements, far from it, I support supplement use, when they’re used safely, correctly and effectively they can contribute towards your health and athletic performance. However, as aways, in the right ‘context’. What I am trying to do is to generate a greater awareness to you as an athlete and/or to your support team, so the unfortunate doesn’t happen to you, when the Anti-doping testers come knocking.
I will leave you with a very practical flow-chart provided by SENr. This a great resource, one that I utilise myself when I work with clients who are looking to use supplements.
SENr Position Statement 2016. Supplement Flow-chart.
Hopefully this post has been able to offer you some advice when you’re next looking to experiment with that new supplement.
References:
Russell C, Hall D, Brown P. HFL Sport Supplement 2013 European Supplement Contamination Survey. LGC Health Science Teddington, UK. July 2013
SENr Position Statement http://www.senr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/160803SupplementStatement.pdf?LMCL=goHaM0