What sorts of banned substances can be contained in supplements and sports foods?
There are a number of products, potentially found in supplements and sports foods, that are either directly banned by the IOC Medical Commission or that have been shown to cause a positive doping outcome in some people. These include: • Ephedrine • Pseudoephedrine • Strychnine • Caffeine (if consumed in sufficiently high quantities to produce a urinary caffeine concentration of >12 ug/ml) • Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) • Androstenedione, Androstenediol • 19-norandrostenedione, 19-norandrostenediol and related compounds Once a product is named on the IOC list of prohibited substances, an athlete who declares an intake of this substance will be deemed to have doped. An athlete who takes these products carries a risk of testing positive if they are required to give a urine sample as part of a drug test in sport. What are DHEA, androstendione and 19-norandrostenedione? Why are they banned? How can they cause an athlete to test positive? DHEA, androstendione and 19-norandrostenedione are e
