Topics: bundaberg, multisport, peptides, sport

SPORTS Medicine Australia, the peak organisation for professionals in sports medicine and science, has urged those considering taking unknown supplements to think again.

The recent news that Canberra Raiders player Sandor Earl could be facing a lengthy ban for using and trafficking banned substances, including the peptide CJC-1295, and the list of alleged supplements Essendon players may have been given, highlights the need for caution to be exercised when professional and amateur athletes are dealing with supplements.

Sports Medicine Australia spokesperson Geoff Sussman said that for any athlete, but especially amateur ones, purchasing supplements and peptides online was fraught with danger.

"The risks are that many of the peptides produced have little by the way of scientific studies to investigate their action or side effects," Mr Sussman said.

"The risk of purchasing these and many supplements on the web is that you do not know what you are buying. They may be promoted as safe and legal however an IOC study of 634 supplements found that 15 per cent contained ingredients that would lead to a positive test result."

"Peptides have known impacts on many actions of the body, however, they will also have an effect on other systems in the body, and as yet we have no idea what many of those effects may be," he said.

"SMA's advice is to think carefully before embarking on this method of supplementation as there are both known and unknown risks and dangers."

Whenever you are using any form of supplement it's important to first get advice from a trained professional, Sports Dietitians Australia, SMA, Exercise and Sports Science Australia or a sports physician can provide this advice.

For more on the dangers of performance enhancing drugs Sports Medicine Australia has developed the CleanEdge website which provides information on all aspects of enhancing sporting performance.

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Sports Medicine Australia warns of the dangers of peptides