A warning today for gym buffs and athletes – there could be steroids hidden in your supplements.
Photo: Michael Taggart Photography / CC BY-NC 2.0
A new study by the University of Otago and researchers in Australia found one in 20 sports supplements they looked at contained anabolic steroids, and many didn't declare it on their labels.
It said these drugs, known as androgens, posed a potential health risk and could cause athletes to be banned from competitive sport without realising.
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Otago and the University of Technology Sydney.
Research leader Alison Heather, of Otago's School of Biomedical Sciences, said athletes used supplements hoping they would make them more competitive and healthy.
"We chose supplements that would improve endurance, vitality, testosterone levels.
"Out of the 116 that we bought, six of them were positive for an androgen, and this tells us that supplement has either been contaminated or adulterated."
Ms Heather would not name the supplements.
The sports supplements are available over the counter, and a recent report said 95 percent of elite kiwi athletes used those kinds of products.
Ms Heather would not name the supplements.
