CHAPTER 70 • MEDICATIONS AND ERGOGENICS 425SAFETY
- The safety of long term administration of GH in non-
deficient individuals has not been established. High
GH levels causes acromegaly and gigantism.
LEGALITY
•Growth hormone is banned by the IOC and the NCAA
but there is currently no way to effectively test for the
recombinant form.
VITAMINS AND ANTIOXIDANTS
EFFICACY
•Vitamin and mineral supplementation has been used
by athletes for years despite there being no evidence
of its effectiveness.
•Vitamin supplementation for 3 months does not seem
to affect blood concentrations of the vitamins in ath-
letes who are not vitamin deficient and consumes a
well balanced diet (Weight et al, 1988). After 3 to
9 months of multivitamin and mineral supplementa-
tion there was no effect seen on exercise performance
(Weight, Myburgh, and Noakes, 1988; Singh, Moses,
and Deuster, 1992). Unless a nutritional deficiency
exists, routine supplementation of vitamins, and min-
erals is not recommended.
- Antioxidants including vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-
carotene (a Vitamin A precursor), and CoQ10 among
others. Although animal studies have suggested that
muscle injury places oxidative stress on muscles,
almost all studies on humans to date have not reported
a beneficial effect of antioxidant supplementation on
performance. The lone study that did show an effect
used N-acetyl-cysteine as the antioxidant and showed
an improvement on tibialis anterior contraction force
following stimulation to fatigue (Reid et al, 1994).
Until more studies show an ergogenic effect, routine
supplementation with antioxidants does not appear
warranted.
SAFETY
- Supplementation with a multivitamin or antioxidant
appears safe; however, in large doses they may
become toxic, especially the fat soluble vitamins D, E,
A, and K. At high doses, vitamin C and beta-carotene
may actually become pro-oxidant.
LEGAL•Vitamins and antioxidants are not banned by the
NCAA or IOC (American College of Sports Medicine,
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