Nutritional Supplements in Sports: Myth Versus Reality

Despite strong educational messages from sports authorities insisting that a balanced diet is sufficient to cover all the nutritional requirements of elite level athletes, it is considered that between 50 and 80% of athletes regularly consume one or more nutritional supplements. Several studies conducted by anti-doping authorities over the years indicate that up to 20% of the nutritional supplements contain substances covered by the List of Prohibited Substances, which can generate an adverse result in anti-doping tests. Under the rule of strict liability as established by the World Anti-Doping Code, this is a significant risk for the athletes subject to anti-doping control in their sport practice. The nutritional supplement industry is largely unregulated and several examples of mislabeling or absence of labeling of active ingredients contained in commercial products led to sanctions of athletes and occasionally to serious consequences for some nutritional supplement manufacturers.

This presentation will explore the current regulation applied by anti-doping authorities and provide some concrete examples of risks associated to the consumption of nutritional supplements by athletes in the context of anti-doping testing.