HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – In the quest to gain an edge in performance, Airmen may resort to using dietary supplements.
Dietary supplements are products intended to enhance the diet by increasing the total dietary intake.
Supplements come in the form of pills, capsules, gel-caps, powders, liquids, bars, sprays or even gum. The most commonly known reasons individuals use supplements are to build muscle, lose weight and increase energy.
According to the most recent Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors Survey, conducted in 2011, approximately 15 percent of Airmen reported using a “legal body-building supplement” daily.
Members also use supplements such as energy drinks to improve concentration or help them to stay awake. Energy drinks contain between 50-500 milligrams of caffeine per can, whereas a standard cup of coffee (8 ounces) contains about 100 mg of caffeine.
While some supplements are generally safe, such as multivitamins, others pose a risk to health or jeopardize careers from contaminants that cause a positive drug screen.
In a New England Journal of Medicine article from April 2014, OxyElite Pro was responsible for 97 cases, including 47 hospitalizations, three liver transplantations and one death due to liver failure.
In that article, it was determined that 500 additional supplements were mixed with pharmaceuticals, including new stimulants, anabolic steroids, unapproved antidepressants and banned weight loss medication.
Other side effects reported with the use of supplements include weight gain, increased anxiety, breathing difficulty, fatigue and kidney problems.
The word “natural” on labels will lead many to believe the product will do no harm. Even the labels, which are the most closely regulated part of a supplement, do not have to state the amount of active ingredients. Supplements do not require pre-market approval; therefore, there is no guarantee of quality, purity, composition, safety or effectiveness.
This is unlike prescription drugs, where the manufacturer must show that the drug works and is safe before it goes to market.
Since the enactment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, supplement makers did not have to inform the Food and Drug Administration if they received reports of serious adverse events, an obligation that is required for prescription drugs. A law that took effect in December 2007 closed that loophole, and in 2008 and 2009, the FDA reported 1,359 cases of serious adverse effects from manufacturers and 602 from consumers and health professionals.
The Human Performance Resource Center website hosts Operation Supplement Safety as an online Defense Department resource that contains videos, fact sheets, frequently asked questions and briefings to aid Airmen in making informed, responsible decisions on which supplements to use.
OPSS also has an “Ask the Expert” feature in which you can directly pose a question to a supplement expert. The focus of the OPSS website is to educate the warfighter and healthcare provider on responsible dietary supplement use. For further information, visit www.hprc-online.org/opss.
If personnel choose to use supplements, they are ultimately responsible for which supplement they take. Do your own research and look for any side effects with the supplement or the various ingredients that make up the supplement.
Use brands that have third party certification by independent companies such as United States Pharmacopeia, Informed Choice, National Sanitation Foundation International or ConsumberLab.com. A third party certification does not guarantee that the supplement is safer or more effective, but it does validate manufacturing practices, purity and quality, which increases confidence that the label is accurate.
Beware of common myths about supplements such as “if sold at the Exchange, it must be safe” or those that promise unrealistic weight loss in a short amount of time.
Lastly, avoid using similar-acting supplements to increase effects of ingredients.
For best performance, Airmen should eat healthy and exercise on a regular basis.
For further information, contact your primary care manager, Health Promotions staff or visit the OPSS website for further information.