A Guide to Empowering and Educating Your Athletes About Supplement Use

Let’s face it, supplements are here to stay. The lure of Bigger, Stronger, and Faster is irresistible, and all the glossy ads and quick fixes draw athletes like magnets. A Blue Cross and Blue Shield survey of teens using performance enhancers estimates that at least 1 million adolescents have tried these products. A survey conducted by the NCAA estimates that approximately 60% of college athletes have or are currently using nutritional supplements. Certainly, you want to encourage and appropriately enable your athletes to perform to the best of their ability, in as safe a way as possible. Oftentimes the types of supplements, methods of use, or amount consumed may be more performance-impairing than performance-enhancing. This article will focus on the following points: • What you need to know about supplements • What to tell your athletes about supplements • How to educate