This article states the importance of athletes AWARENESS of what supplements they are consuming! Many products that are out on the shelves for athletes to buy that are being showcased to give athletes that competitive edge, are products that may or may not contain substances that are banned by the NCAA. These supplement can and will force the athlete to be PULLED FROM THEIR SPORT for failing a drug test! Do not get me wrong, athletes are aware of illegal products, they are being constantly told by coaches, athletic trainers, athletic directors and other individuals in administration which products not to consume, but what happens is that not EVERYTHING IS LISTED ON THE NUTRITION LABEL and this label can be misleading. Trace amounts of illegal substances could be in the product which your athlete is consuming and can lead to them testing positive on drug tests. It is important that the athletes know and realize that these companies are more interested in making money, then making sure that their product is free of any trace elements of an ergogenic substance. Another important fact is that pretty much anything and everything that you can digest as an athlete to give you that competitive edge you are looking for is most likely banned by the NCAA. They are really cracking down on the use of ergogenic substance use. This is why it is important that an athlete should start to focus their energy on having a well planned out work out schedule on top of a great nutrition plan. These two factors are what an athlete needs in order to become bigger, stronger and faster then their counterpart. Yes, it may take longer, but it is that determination and hard work that got you to where you are now as a collegiate athlete and if you continue on with that mantra it will make you into the athlete you strive to be.
Cara - very interesting read. It is also very frustrating as to why further legislation is not mandated for companies to list all ingredients. We had an issue at one of my former places of work in which an athlete tested positive for a substance that they swore they were not taking. They brought in the container of the supplement they were using and our physician was familiar with problems in the past with this particular substance. The athlete was able to make an attempt to grieve the positive test result.
ReplyDeleteI too have also run across this issue with athletes and the use of a banned substance. Someone had looked up substances in this one product and found out that some of them were banned by the NCAA. I just don't understand why athletes would want to take something that could get them kicked off the team if they tested positive for drugs. It seems that nowadays people don't want to take that extra time to make themselves better without the use of illegal substances. They always want the quick and easy fix and will disregard all of the consequences that come along with it.
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