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NCAA Supplement Rules To Live By

By: Oliver Catlin

If you’re a college athlete or are targeting your supplements to this market, then there are a few things you can do to assist their athletic ambitions when it comes to dietary supplements. These simpe things can be the difference between testing positive and a ruined sports career or testing clean and being able to focus on winning.

Check With Your Support Network

You’re not an expert in every supplement or ingredient, and you have resources available at your school. Even if you’re studying pharmacy and the supplement label looks to have completely safe ingredients, there can be hidden contaminants that could be a red flag. You must take your supplement to your coach or trainer, put it on their desk, and ask if it’s okay for you to take it before using it. This is a key step if you have problems on a drug test down the road.

Questionable Products Everywhere

Just because mom and dad swear by a specific brand of vitamin pill doesn’t mean that pill is suitable for you. They’re not getting drug tested, and many health supplements can put you at risk without you being aware of it due to hidden drugs or contaminants. In fact a recent survey covering more than 8,000 products showed that 28% of dietary supplements had something in them that can make you test positive. Please don’t take samples of a proudct at a gym. You never know what might be in it. Drug Free Sport Axis (drugfreesport.com/education/axis/) offers free supplement reviews and information to support your decisions.

Risky Categories Put You At Risk

There are a few notorious categories of dietary supplements that carry special risks as they have a history of containing substances that can make you fail a drug test. Anabolic muscle builders have been powered by prohormones and SARMs. And pre-workout and weight loss products often contain stimulants. Be wary of new categories like nootropics, or brain pills, as these often include stimulants as well, or products marketed as myostatin inhibitors or AMPK activators, as these are categories of banned substances. If it sounds like it may give you superpowers, a product is more likely to put you at risk.

Banned Substances Can Pop Up At Anytime

Banned substance contamination can happen at any time in any product due to raw material impurities or contamination during manufacturing. Using a product one day without any issues does NOT guarantee everything will be OK the next time you use it. Even tiny parts per million amounts of a drug in a product can show up in your urine sample at parts per trillion levels that sport drug testing can now detect. Third-party certification programs like BSCG Certified Drug Free test finished product lots for banned substances to provide maximum protection. Ensure the lot for banned substances to provide maximum protection. Ensure the lot you have in your hand has been tested, as not all third-party certification providers test every lot like BSCG does!

These simple rules can be the difference between success and failure as an NCAA college athlete. You have a huge support network to lean on, so use it as much as possible. Don’t take risks that could put your future in danger. Even if other athletes around you are being careless with dietary supplement decisions, don’t fall into the same trap. Maybe if you share this simple guide with them, you can help keep your friends safe too.

This is an excerpt from BSCG’s book Winner Takes All — Everything a NCAA collegiate athlete needs to be smart and safe about supplements as they look to bring home the money in the NIL era. Download for free here.

https://www.bscg.org/bscg-resources-and-materials