Supplement Safety
Updated: Mar 24, 2022
By: William Sanders RD, LD, ACSM-CPT
Dietary supplements are a HUGE business in the US and are used by athletes at all levels of competition, yet supplements are not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prior to being marketed and sold to consumers (Burk & Read, 1993). That means what’s in your supplement might not be on the label. Nutritional supplements sold in the US may contain traces of steroids and other contaminative materials (Geyer, et al. 2008). Because of this, athletes have failed drug tests unknowingly due to their supplements use. You can make safer and more informed choices by choosing third party tested supplements and talking to a health professional prior to using them.
3 organizations ensuring supplement safety:
NSF International Certified for Sport
Consumerlab.com
US Pharmacopeia Verified
References
Burke, L. M., & Read, R. S. D. (1993). Dietary supplements in sport. Sports Medicine, 15(1), 43–65. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199315010-00005
Geyer, H., Parr, M. K., Koehler, K., Mareck, U., Schänzer, W., & Thevis, M. (2008). Nutritional supplements cross‐contaminated and faked with doping substances. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 43(7), 892–902. https://doi.org/10.1002/jms.1452