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Substances: Amino Acid Supplements

Amino acids are the building blocks for the body's protein.

Examples of amino acids include tryptophan, lysine, methionine, leucine, arginine, taurine, glutamamine and valine.

Amino acids supplements claim to promote muscle growth, provide energy, aid fat loss and speed up muscle repair.

However, there is no evidence to suggest that athletes can achieve more with expensive amino acid supplements than they can by eating a diet with complete proteins, such as meat.

Side effects

If excessive amounts of amino acids are consumed, side effects may include weight gain, dehydration, gout, excessive loss of calcium and damage to the kidney.

Status in Sport

In their pure form, amino acids are permitted under the World Anti-Doping Code 2007 Prohibited List (effective from 01/01/07).

ASADA cannot determine the status of supplement products in sport.  Due to their multi-ingredient nature, supplements are considered to present more risk to athletes than registered pharmaceutical products - therefore ASADA is unable to accurately determine the status of any supplement product.

There is a risk that supplements may contain impurities, such as ingredients that are not listed on the label, which could cause a positive test.  A 2001 International Olympic Committee study reported nearly 15 percent of supplement products tested (all non-Australian products) contained substances not labelled that would result in a positive drug test.

Some athletes choose to contact the supplement manufacturer to obtain a written guarantee regarding the status of the products’ ingredients.

Use of supplement products is at an athlete's own risk.

 

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