Author:  Ralph V. Reiff, M.Ed, LAT, ATC, Director, St. Vincent Sports Performance and Sports Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Many athletes take dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and others to improve performance and general health.  Choosing the correct supplement and more importantly selecting a supplement that is safe from contamination, free of ingredients on a banned list and qualified to live up to claims associated with the supplement are critical.

Dietary supplements are not standardized, so there is no assurance of the product efficacy (strength) or purity.  A claim of a “natural” product does not guarantee that it is safe or that the ingredients are truly from a natural source.  Athletes may not realize that a product contains a banned ingredient because an unfamiliar name of an ingredient is used or the ingredient is not declared on the product label.

Choosing a supplement in a non-standardized market is risky, but respecting the following checkpoints can alleviate some of the risk:

• Does the product carry the USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) on the label?  USP means that the supplement has passed tests for potency and purity.
• Name Recognition.  Reputable manufacturers follow strict quality control procedures.
• Supported by Research?  Reputable companies should be able to provide research from peer-reviewed journals to support their claims.

Creatine monohydrate is a commonly used supplement in sports performance.  This overtly popular supplement is often mis-understood.

• Phosphocreatine is a critical fuel for sprinting and brief activities requiring high power outputs.
• Phosphocreatine is naturally produced in the body and supplementation can increase Creatine levels in muscles, but there are large individual differences in response.
• There appears to be no association between Creatine supplementation and adverse side-effects in apparently health individuals.

Be vigilant, be alert and be smart in your utilization of supplementation.

Thanks to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute for guidance on this important sports performance issue.  More detailed information can be found at www.gssiweb.com