Nutrition

What you need to know about Dietary Supplements

USA Swimming has taken a proactive role in making swimmers, parents, and coaches aware of the risks in the use of commercially available dietary supplements. Dietary supplements include sports drinks, energy bars, protein bars, gels and multivitamins. While dietary supplements promise increased strength and power, and improved athletic performance, the supplements can contain ingredients that are potentially harmful especially to young athletes. Some of the ingredients are herbs such as guarana and yohimbine, creatine, ephendrine, etc.

While dietary supplements are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the category of foods, there are gaps in the way supplements are regulated, thus giving the impression that supplements are not regulated at all. Along with the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), USA Swimming considers dietary supplements and herbal products as "Take at Your Own Risk". USA Swimming is putting full responsibility on the swimmer, and any swimmer testing positive for drugs, due to the use of dietary supplements, will be subject to sanctions.

USA Swimming base their opinions and recommendations on dietary supplements on the Health & Contamination Risk Chart for Dietary Supplements. It is noted in this risk chart that athletes who have not completed puberty should pay attention to supplements under Orange and Red risk group. For more detailed information on USA Swimming's stance on dietary supplements, please go to USA Swimming.

A multitude of information is available at USA Swimming on dietary supplements and other sources:

• Overview on dietary supplements
• Information for parents about dietary supplements
• Proofs of the risk of taking dietary supplements
• Information on energy drinks
• USA Swimming Supplements Database
• 2007-08 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook has information on dietary supplements (and nutrition) under Chapter 2, Medical Issues