Saturday, March 29, 2008
Compliance
What Nutritional Supplements May be Provided to a Student-Athlete?
It is not permissible for an institution to provide any nutritional supplement/ingredients to its student-athletes, unless the supplement/ingredient is a nonmuscle-building supplement and is included in one of the four classes identified specifically in Bylaw 16.5.2-(g) (i.e., carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks, energy bars, carbohydrate boosters, and vitamins and minerals). The following is a list of examples of permissible and nonpermissible nutritional supplements/ingredients as developed by the NCAA Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee (CSMAS).
The following list is not exhaustive but should assist institutions in determining the types of nutritional supplements/ingredients that may be provided to student-athletes.
Permissible: Vitamins and Minerals Energy bars Calorie replacement drinks (e.g., Ensure, Boost) Electrolyte replacement drinks (e.g., Gatorade, Powerade).
Nonpermissible: Amino Acids, Chrysin, Condroitin, Creatine/creatine-containing compounds, Ginseng, Glucosamine Glycerol, HMB I-carnitin, Melatonin Pos-2, Protein powders, Tribulus.
A supplement that contains protein may be classified as a nonmuscle-building supplement provided it is included in one of the four permissible categories, does not contain more than 30 percent of its calories from protein (based solely on the package label) and does not contain additional ingredients that are designed to assist in the muscle-building process (see examples of nonpermissible supplements/ingredients). Nutritional supplements containing more than 30 percent of its calories from protein are classified as muscle-building supplements and may not be provided to student-athletes. One gram of protein equals four calories. Therefore, the percentage of calories from protein contained in a nutritional supplement may be calculated by multiplying the number of grams of protein per serving by four and dividing the product by the total number of calories per serving. For example, a nutritional supplement that contains 120 total calories per serving and nine grams of protein per serving would contain 36 calories from protein (i.e., 9 grams x 4). Therefore, the percentage of calories from protein would be 0.3 or 30 percent (i.e., 36 calories from protein/120 total calories).
Nutritional supplements are not strictly regulated and may contain substances banned by the NCAA. For questions regarding nutritional supplements, please visit the National Center for Drug Free Sport Resource Exchange Center (REC) Web site (www.drugfreesport.com/rec).