The purchase and taking of a supplement should be done with some discernment. We have all certainly come across a supplement that promises the world, and it is in these situations that being informed about the risks and benefits is crucial. We will leave the benefits of some supplements for another time, and here we will focus on the risks.
And what are these risks?
The risks can be as varied as possible, such as: contamination with prohibited substances, ingredients that are harmful to health, low product quality, the opposite effect to what was supposed, the absence of some listed ingredients or even the absence of the main ingredient.
Which supplements are most susceptible to these risks?
As is logical, there are some types of supplements that are more susceptible to these risks than others. In a study carried out with 57 food supplements with performance-enhancing claims (Pre-Workouts, Thermogenics and Hypertrophy Stimulators), the results perfectly demonstrate the risk we mentioned above. In these 57 supplements, in 27 of them, the main ingredient was not even detected, in 13 of them, the dose was much higher than that listed, while in 12 of them, the dose was much lower and in 7 of them prohibited substances were detected. With this, I highlight the importance of being well informed about the supplement we buy, the place/store where we buy it, and taking into consideration whether it is really worth using the supplement or not.
How to choose a supplement in the safest way possible?
Care and concern when choosing supplements should be paramount, especially for elite athletes and athletes who are subject to anti-doping control, so as not to harm their career or their health. According to the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) principle of objective liability, each athlete is responsible for the presence of prohibited substances or their markers/metabolites in biological samples, regardless of whether there was intention or not in violating the Anti-Doping Rules.
In order to reduce this risk, we must choose supplements that have an anti-doping certification seal, which is the way to guarantee that there are no prohibited substances in the supplement.
However, for a recreational athlete who is not subject to anti-doping control and does not want to spend so much money, since a supplement with this type of certification, as is obvious, has a higher value, he can use other types of strategies, such as choosing a supplement from a brand with great influence and credibility in the market, since the probability of this supplement carrying these risks is much lower. Another strategy is to avoid supplements such as pre-workouts, which contain a mixture of several ingredients, and opt only for caffeine, which in most pre-workouts is the only ingredient that has an effect, and other types of supplements that do not have strong scientific evidence to justify their use.
Rui Lopes
BMS Nutritionists
Cohen PA, Avula B, Katragunta K, Travis JC, Khan I. Presence and Quantity of Botanical Ingredients With Purported Performance-Enhancing Properties in Sports Supplements. JAMA Network Open. 2023 Jul 17;6(7):e2323879.
Backhouse SH. A Behaviorally Informed Approach to Reducing the Risk of Inadvertent Anti-doping Rule Violations from Supplement Use. Sports Medicine. 2023 Oct 6;53(S1):67–84.