Supplement Use – Reminder
Published Wed 07 Aug 2019
Supplements boost the nutritional content of your diet but using such products may pose a risk to your health and your career.
Supplements cover a broad range of products including vitamins, minerals, herbs, meal supplements, sport nutrition products, natural food supplements and other related products.
Ski and Snowboard Australia (SSA) wishes to remind athletes to seek the advice of their sports dietitian and/or sports medicine professional before taking products of this kind.
As well as considering the risks associated with its use, professional advice will help you assess if there is a need to take a supplement.
Should you choose to take a supplement, it is recommended you take a batch tested product through a third-party company, such as Informed Sport or HASTA.
The 'ASADA Clean Sport' App is also a good way to check whether the batch of supplement you have has been tested by these companies. While this process does not completely remove the risk, it minimises any risk significantly.
SSA encourages athletes to take a 'food first' philosophy, whereby nutrition goals are reached through eating real foods, rather than relying on supplements to provide these nutrients.
Athletes are also reminded they are bound by the WADA code, which enforces the Strict Liability rule. This means that athletes are always responsible for any substance that is found in their system.