By Sam JamesOver the last several years, some very gifted endurance
athletes have gone from famous to infamous after drug tests
indicated they took banned substances, and illegal sports
supplements, to enhance their performance. These men and women
have been stripped of their Olympic gold medals and other
prestigious accomplishments, been the subject of countless
headlines and have sullied their reputations forever. By seeking
an unfair advantage, these endurance athletes have gained the
dreaded asterisk next to their names in publications and
destroyed any possibility of lucrative endorsement deals for the
rest of their lives. Many have gone from the very pinnacle of
their sports to ignominy in a very short period, and it seems
that with each doping scandal, the list of sports organizations’
list of banned substances grows longer. Even some drug-free
sports supplements are causing problems.
The Sports Supplements Approval Process by the Food and Drug
Administration
For a sports supplement to gain approval for sale in the U.S.,
they must endure the same vetting process as products
categorized as “dietary supplements.” This includes drug-free
sports supplements. According to the Dietary Supplemental Health
and Education Act (DSHEA) signed into law in 1994, a dietary or
sports supplement is a product taken orally that contains a
“dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet. As you
might guess, DSHEA’s definition of what constitutes a sports
supplement and a dietary ingredient is quite a bit more
detailed. However, under DSHEA, the firm that manufactures a
sports supplement is wholly responsible for ensuring their
product is safe, and any claims made about their products must
be substantiated by adequate evidence showing they are not false
or misleading. Unless a sports supplement contains a new dietary
ingredient not previously vetted by the FDA, FDA approval is not
necessary before they are marketed or sold in the U.S.
Which Sports Organizations Test and Approve Sports Supplements
Professional and elite amateur sports organizations have a
vested interest in ensuring that their endurance athletes are
not taking banned substances. Billions of dollars in
advertising, merchandising and endorsements are at stake.
Outfits such as the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, International
Olympic Committee (IOC) and countless other professional and
amateur organizations require that athletes submit samples for
testing at regular intervals. The heavyweight in the banned
substances testing business, the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA), may not be well known to sports fans, but it is the
ultimate authority in drug testing in sports.
With offices in Montreal, Canada, and Lausanne, Switzerland the
home of the IOC, WADA was created in 1999 “to promote,
coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in sport in all
its forms.” The problem is that WADA and the drug-testing wings
of all major sports organizations are constantly playing
catch-up with the chemists who develop new performance-enhancing
substances undetected by the testing protocols of the day. This
is the primary reason why Tour de France champions, Olympic gold
medalists and other endurance athletes are often stripped of
their titles years after their victories.
What to Look for in a Sports Supplement
Whether you’re a world-class athlete looking to gain a
competitive edge or an amateur athlete seeking the same
advantage, an athlete must be certain that the sports
supplements included in a training regimen contain no banned
substances. This includes drug-free supplements. Endurance
athletes who are seeking sports supplements to improve their
performance and endurance legally should look for:
ISO/17025 Drug-Free Certification
ISO/17025 is an internationally recognized standard for
ensuring the competence and proper calibration of testing
laboratories. Laboratories wishing to gain accreditation through
their designated accreditation body must meet the rigorous
standards of this quality management system.
Sports Supplements made in NSF-certified facilities
The National Safety Foundation (NSF) is the world leader in
product certification, education, standards development and risk
management for public health and safety. Manufacturing
facilities that have earned NSF certification have passed this
organization’s stringent standards for cleanliness,
manufacturing protocols, regulatory compliance and other
standards for public health and safety.
WADA approval
Approval by the WADA ensures that all sports supplement,
including drug-free, comply with the World Anti-Doping Code,
international standards and meets the WADA’s stringent models of
best practices and guidelines.
Approval by major league sports
Major sports leagues such as the NHL, MLB, NBA, NFL, NCAA and
others have billions of dollars at stake in ensuring that their
endurance athletes compete on a level playing field. To gain
approval by major leagues, a sports supplement must first be
vetted by independent testing laboratories that they are
drug-free sports supplements.
Over the last three decades, the sports supplement industry has
gone from a niche business to an industry that generates over
$20 billion in sales annually. Endurance athletes looking for a
safe and legal way to build endurance and supplement their diet
nutritionally are well-advised to do their homework to ensure
that the sports supplement of their choice is not only
drug-free, but also in compliance with the sports organizations
guidelines. By doing so, they are making sure that their careers
do not fall into the black hole of ignominy too soon.
About the Author: P. L. Davis writes articles to help Endurance
Athletes protect their career. She is published at
http://www.xendurance.com and applauds their support of marathon
and Olympic athletes.
Source: http://www.isnare.com
