The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- April 12, 1999

Sports Science Newsletter -- Do your homework in order to be informed on supplements

By Frank D. Uryasz
NCAA Director of Sports Sciences

Is it possible, after the media coverage last summer about Mark McGwire's use of androstenedione, that there are college student-athletes who do not know that the NCAA bans "andro?" I assure you, it is.

Even though athletes have a responsibility to be informed about the risks of supplement use, many are ignorant of the problems associated with supplements.

This is more than a drug testing/eligibility issue. The March 17, 1999, issue of the Journal of the Ameri-can Medical Association contains a report from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 55 documented cases of adverse health effects associated with ingestion of GBL (gamma-butyrolactone), which acts as a powerful depressant and can induce unconsiousness and slow respiratory rates to dangerous levels.

GBL is converted in the body to GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), which is classified as a dangerous drug and is legally available in the United States only as part of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved investigational study. Both are contained in supplement products marketed to athletes to enhance athletic performance.

This is a health issue. Collegiate athletes buy these products. I know, because they call or e-mail us asking if they are banned.

I concede that young people may have difficulty understanding the complex issues involved in drugs in sport. However, athletes who choose to participate in national and/or international events cannot shirk their responsibility to know the rules prohibiting the use of banned substances. Relying on the advice of a salesperson in a retail store (or even that of the manufacturer) is foolish. The labeling on these products can be misleading and inaccurate, and sales personnel are paid to sell.

Student-athletes need to understand that the NCAA, like other sports organizations, bans categories of drugs. For example, the NCAA ban on anabolic agents is a ban on testosterone and synthetic variations of testosterone. The NCAA list includes some common examples of these compounds, but we cannot and do not list all of them.

We need to do a better job helping athletes to understand what is at stake if they consider the use of supplement products. There are a number of ways to do this, including the following:

1. Print the NCAA list of banned drug classes in the institution's Student-Athlete Handbook. Use the list on the NCAA Web site at www.ncaa.org. Next, click on the sports sciences button, followed by the drug testing link. The banned drug classes list is available from there. Follow the list with this message: "The NCAA list of banned drug classes changes regularly. Access the NCAA Web site at www.ncaa.org/ sports_sciences/drugtesting/banned_ list.html for the most recent list."

2. Establish an athletics department procedure for student-athletes to inquire about the banned status of medications or supplement products. Include a warning in the school's Student-Athlete Handbook about supplement use. Here is an example: "Many supplement products marketed through the Internet or available in 'health food' stores or gyms contain substances banned by the NCAA. Contact (fill in appropriate name [athletic trainer, etc.]) before taking any medication or supplement."

3. Familiarize the entire athletics staff with NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook Guideline 2J on Nutritional Ergogenic Aides. On the NCAA Web site, the sports medicine handbook is located within the sports sciences link found on the main page. Many of these products do not work. Learn which ones are ineffective, and pass along the information to student-athletes.

4. Discuss supplement use with student-athletes as a part of their preparticipation physical exams or preseason meetings. Make sure mid-year transfers are also addressed when they arrive on campus.

5. Post the list of NCAA banned drug classes in locker rooms and athletic training rooms, and highlight these words:

ephedrine

androstenedione

norandrostenedione

DHEA

and related compounds (These words appear four times.)

6. Post this and other articles about supplements in places where athletes will read them.

The CDC has issued this notice regarding supplements: "Public education efforts should inform consumers that FDA review procedures for drugs are different than those used for dietary supplements. Consumers should be alert to the potential dangers of these products and understand that terms such as "natural" do not necessarily imply safety."

For their part, athletes need to understand that terms such as "natural" do not necessarily mean that a product is approved for use in sport.