The use of nutritional supplements to improve athletics performance has been with us since the earliest athletics competition. Athletes, always looking for an edge, have been willing to go to great lengths and even take health risks (that is, anabolic steroids) to "win the gold."

The advent of modern performance training methods, athletics health care refinements and equipment technology have made the differences between winning and losing at the elite level infinitely smaller.

In the past 10 years, there has been an explosive growth in the use of nutritional supplements by athletes at all levels in an effort to "be the best." Supplement manufacturers have increased the level of advertising, promotion and endorsement by professional athletes to sell their products.

However, a major concern with many nutritional supplements is the lack of control by any governmental regulatory agency. Thus, the purity and content of many of these supplements is suspect.

They many contain impurities or banned substances that may cause a student-athlete to test positive in NCAA drug testing. Research has yet to prove that nutritional supplementation is superior to a well-balanced diet, and the long-term safety of their use certainly is in question.

Last spring, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS), addressing this issue from a scientific basis, recommended legislative Proposal No. 99-72 that would prevent member institutions from distributing muscle-building supplements to student-athletes. This legislation was adopted and became effective August 1, 2000, as Bylaw 16.5.2.2.

On their own

One thing we do know is that student-athletes wishing to take muscle-building nutritionals are having to obtain them on their own. While student-athletes should be encouraged to take responsibility for their decisions about nutrition and learn to "eat to win," the whole area of nutrition and supplementation can be confusing. The hope is that their choices of such products are made with appropriate nutritional advice, good judgment and investigation. For the most part, this is probably not the case.

Due to the proliferation and promotion of such products and the ease with which they can be obtained (Internet, health-food stores, gyms, etc.) many student-athletes may be making decisions based more on cost, advertising claims and professional-athlete endorsement than on quality and safety. Another concern is that since some of those products contain substances banned by the NCAA, the incidence of positive drug tests will increase.

Those factors point directly to the need for further review of nutritional supplements. Institutions are encouraged to review the assistance and resources they are providing to their student-athletes in regard to the use of any supplements and overall nutritional guidance.

A good place to start is the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, Guideline 2j, "Nutritional Ergogenic Aids" (pages 41-42).

Another excellent source for this information is the National Center for Drug-Free Sport Inc., and its Resource Exchange Center (REC). The REC may be accessed at www.drugfreesport.com/rec/.

The CSMAS, in recognition of those concerns, has made the funding of the REC one of its budget priorities for the next two years.

Overall, athletics departments should consider the following recommendations:

NCAA institutions should provide access to qualified individuals who are able to provide sound, practical advice about supplements. Those individuals also can serve as a review resource for student-athletes taking these supplements in order to avoid an NCAA-banned substance or health risk.

Encourage student-athletes to take ownership of their bodies by investing in sound nutritional practices and to take advantage of the Center for Drug-Free Sport Web site and its Resource Exchange Center.

Coaches and staff members should be cautioned against playing any role in "peddling" nutritional supplements. This clouds the issues and sends mixed messages to the student-athlete.

Hopefully, the new rules will encourage everyone associated with the task of guarding the health and welfare of the student-athlete -- as well as improving athletics performance -- to work together for the good of all concerned.

Jerry Weber is head athletic trainer and associate director of athletic medicine at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.