Supplement Users Beware!

All college athletes, and some non-athlete students, have the drive to become bigger, better, and stronger. Many people will do anything to have bulging muscles and leaner bodies. Supplements are a broad category, with many types and forms. They are taken to build stronger and bigger muscles, as well as to burn fat to lose weight. Supplements have one definite thing in common – all are drugs. The supplement industry seemingly provides a simple solution to the common stress of becoming better: take a pill or add a scoop of powder to your drink. However, this “easy” answer is not so safe.

Many supplements across the board are not approved by the NCAA due to their ingredients and potential safety.  Athletes nationwide can lose scholarships and the ability to play because of unknowingly consuming a substance that happened to be in a supplement. Not only are some supplements detrimental to one’s athletic career, but also to overall health. Medications are sent to the liver when consumed in the human body. Taking supplements puts more stress on the liver, and can cause serious liver damage. Other side effects are possible, which can be as serious as death. Consider who formulates and markets these products. Some of the people who create supplements have had multiple criminal lawsuits and charges against them because of unsafe products and results/side effects from taking these medications. One designer of popular supplements (discussed in this video) had to lie about his profession (he said he was a construction worker) in order to purchase compounds he wanted to use for his product. If this isn’t a red flag, nothing is.

Sometimes, supplements may be recommended for certain situations. However, it is important to ensure that they are safe, effective, and NCAA approved. If you are an athlete or even a typical student, consult your sports dietitian, athletic trainer, or local RD to figure out what is safe and best for you.

USA Today Supplement Video

Blog post submitted by Penn State Dietetic Senior: Lauren Marucci

Failing NCAA Drug Tests: Who's To Blame

Being in the business of evaluating an evergrowing volume of nutritional supplements, it is important to understand many of the implications that surround the use of these performance enhancing drugs. The NCAA has a general list of the types of supplements and classes of drugs that are considered banned substances, but the problem is that the market is just flooded with thousands of banned supplement ingredients that can hide behind chemical names. Recent examples of this are the use of products like Jacked3D and Pure Power that make claims of increased endurance and improved recovery without the disclosure of it's NCAA banned substance DMAA. This makes it hard for even the qualified individual to know what athletes might be taking. In this article found in The Sports Digest, you will read about collegiate athletes that have fallen victim to the ever confusing world of nutritional supplementation and how the NCAA governs its use.
Click here to read more...

Busted in the NFL: Stimulant Medications

A recent article in Yahoo Sports uncovered the personal and financial cost of NFL Cinncinati Bengal's cornerback Joe Haden's apparent inappropriate use of Adderall. Stimulant medications are considered performance enhancing drugs and therefore fall under the guidelines of the NFL's Performance Enhancing Drug Policy. These same rules apply to collegiate student-athletes that play under the guidelines of the NCAA. To read more about the financial toll of this decision on Hayden's paycheck click here.

Synthetic Marijuana: Serious Consequences

Use of synthetic marijuana has been discussed within the LSU Athletic Department for some time now. Early warnings regarding the legality and dangers of smoking synthetic marijuana have been clearly outlined within LSU's ADAP Substance Abuse Policy. It is clear that this man-made product is very dangerous, having very negative consequences on one's ability to perform in the classroom and perform at high levels athletically. While we have heard cases of random deaths from the use of synthetic marijuana, it hit fairly close to home with the death of a Division I Men's Basketball player from Anderson University in South Carolina. Click the link below to read the details of this tradegy.

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/15706199/coroner-synthetic-pot-killed-anderson-university-basketball-player

Energy Drinks: More Than Just a Drug Testing Issue

For years, the Athletic Training Department and it's Team Physicians have been warning about the use of energy drinks. During drug education meetings, supplements and energy drinks are thoroughly discussed because they are often the source of NCAA banned performance enhancing drugs: guarana, caffeine, and citrus aurantium to name a few. The use of these energy drinks becomes even more troublesome when combined with stimulant medications that are commonly used for the treatment of ADD/ADHD.

Consuming even one of these energy drinks could result in some negative side effects such as: increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, irregular heart beats, and sleep distrubances. With the hazards of heat illness and dehydration in the southern region of the United States, consumption of energy drinks could spell disaster.

The New York Times and MSNBC have interesting articles regarding the dangers of consuming energy drinks. To read these articles in their entirety, just click below:

New York Times: Scientists See Dangers in Energy Drinks...

MSNBC: Energy drinks can be dangerous for teens, report says...

"Legal Weed" is Now Banned

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - An herbal mixture called "synthetic marijuana" because it gives a marijuana-like high when smoked is being banned in Louisiana.

For more information on this story, please click on the link below.

http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=12713138

"Roofies" Becoming a Bigger Concern in Baton Rouge

The LSU community has recently seen an unusually high number of students reporting that they may have received a ‘roofie’ at local Baton Rouge establishments. Be aware of what you can do to protect yourself...

What do Roofies do?

Roofies (hypnotic sedative type drugs) cause sedation, a feeling of extreme intoxication, and amnesia. The liquid (usually GHB) or powdered pills (Rohypnol, Lortab, Vicodin) are dropped into your drink usually by someone who wants to take sexual advantage of you. About 10 minutes after ingestion, you'll start to feel very drunk-like and have difficulty speaking or moving as well as the inability to remember anything; eventually, you may pass out.

The drug's amnesiac effect lasts anywhere from six to eight hours; even if you are not passed out, you'll have no memory of anything that occurred while you were under the drug's influence, nor will you be able to defend yourself. Besides making you vulnerable to sexual assault, roofies can also cause nausea, seizures, coma, liver failure, and even death from respiratory depression.

How Can I Protect Myself?

• Roofies may cause an unusual salty/bitter taste when dissolved in any beverage; be alert to a strange taste in your drink. Small amounts may be undetectable in an alcoholic beverage.


• When placed in a light-colored drink, Rohypnol will turn the beverage bright blue. If your water origin and tonic turns blue, bring it to the LSU Police Department for testing and become especially alert; someone has tried to drug you. GHB, lortab and vicodin, as well as other sedative hypnotics won't change the color of your drink.


• If you suddenly feel unusually drunk after just a small amount of alcohol, quickly ask for help - you might have just a few minutes of alert behavior left to you.


• Don't drink anything you did not open yourself or that you didn't see being opened or poured.


• Don't accept a drink from someone you don't know unless you see it being opened or poured by a bartender. A note of caution – bartenders may be one of the people involved in dispensing the drug.


• Always watch your drink at parties and bars. If you leave your drink unattended, get a fresh one to be on the safe side. Taking a beverage from open containers, (i.e. a bowl) is extremely high risk.


• Have a friend drive to and from a party or bar with you to lessen your chances of being taken advantage of.


• Take care of your friends. If they seem disproportionately drunk, suddenly amorous, and "out of it," they may have been slipped a drug. Don't leave them alone.

(Some of these tips are reprinted with permission from Iona College.)

What Should I Do if I Suspect I've Been Sexually Assaulted?

• If you suspect that you have been sexually assaulted, do not shower, douche or otherwise destroy potential evidence.
• Seek medical attention at the Student Health Center (during regular hours of operation) or the hospital as soon as possible; evidence can be collected should you decide to so that you will have evidence of the assault.
• Seek assistance to help you through this traumatic event:

1. Contact a Sexual Assault Victims Advocate (SAVA) (www.lsu.edu/shc/225-578-5718 <http://www.lsu.edu/shc/225-578-5718> ),


2. Contact the LSU Mental Health Service, 578-8774, during regular hours of operation.


3. You can also contact the Rape Crisis Center, 225-383-7273 (24 hour),


4. or The PHONE, a 24 hour crisis line at 225-924-(LSU1)5781.


5. You should inform friends you trust, and you should consider getting professional counseling.

If you choose to file a police report, contact LSUPD at 225-578-3231.

Information in this blog provided by:

Katie McGee Barras
Assistant Dean of Students & Associate Director of Student Advocacy and Accountability
Louisiana State University
115 Johnston Hall

Am I Allowed To Take My Medication?

Beginning in the Fall of 2009, the NCAA has set forth stricter rules and regulations that pertain to the proper documentation and proper use of stimulant medications. According to the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Aspects of Sport, these new rules are designed to, "protect student-athlete's health and safety and ensure a level playing field."

Exceptions are made for those athletes with a documented medical history that demonostrates the need for the use of such drugs. The NCAA states that medical exemptions may be granted if the student-athlete has:

• declared the use of the substance to the athletic administrator responsible for keeping such medical records,
• presented appropriate documention of the diagnosed condition, and
• provided documentation from the prescribing physician explaining the course of treatment and the current prescription.

Louisiana State University has a protocol to address these specific issues as they relate to the need for medication, the testing required and the documentation process. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Aspects of Sports has developed an informative video to help answer some of the questions the student-athlete, their parent or guardian and the prescribing physician may have regarding use of these NCAA banned medications. Click on the URL provided below to watch the video:

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/health_and_safety/medexceptions.html

2008-2009 Banned Substance List

All student-athletes who participate in Division I collegiate athletics are governed by the rules and regulations that were set forth by the NCAA. The rules that govern drug testing and the use of banned substances were put in place to protect the health and welfare of the student-athlete.

Click on the following URL to obtain the most recent list of substances that are banned by the NCAA:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/resources/file/ebb83308f4d9141/banned%20drugs%202008-09%2006-20-08.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&attachment=true

What To Do About Drugs?

This "letter to the editor" appeared recently on the editorial pages of many national newspapers and has been seen on the internet in the form of a blog.

If you are a parent, a concerned citizen or a young adult just trying to do the right thing but are surrounded by peer pressure, consider your following options...

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, "Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?" I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me. I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood, and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in every­thing I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin: and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place. God bless the parents who drugged us.