Trusted Supplement

Informed-Choice Provides Supplement Testing for NFL Athletes

INFORMED-CHOICE PROVIDES FREE SUPPLEMENT TESTING

FOR NFL ATHLETES

Organization Highlights Need for Broader, More Rigorous Testing to Detect Trace Levels of Contamination

WESTMINSTER, COLO. (Nov. 17, 2008) – Informed-Choice, a supplement testing and certification organization, is offering free supplement testing kits to select NFL athletes, trainers and sports agents in an effort to promote the need for certified, in-depth testing options in order to identify trace levels of banned substances.

In light of the recent flood of positive drug tests stemming from the banned substance bumentanide potentially found in a weight-loss supplement that a number of NFL athletes across the league had used, Informed-Choice wanted to make its supplement testing and certification program readily available to athletes as well as those who counsel them. Informed-Choice is the only testing facility, with key quality accreditation in place, working extensively with supplement companies around the world.

“There is a lot at stake for a number of parties when an athlete fails a drug test, from the player all the way up to the League Office,” said Paul Klinger, executive director, Informed-Choice. “It benefits everyone to ensure that athletes who choose to take supplements are making an ‘informed choice’ based on appropriate and rigorous testing and education. It’s important to remember that many athletes need to take supplements from a health standpoint — not just as a means to enhance sports performance or promote recovery.”

Recipients of the Informed-Choice supplement testing kit will be able to submit a sample for one-time analysis. Upon receiving the sample in its WADA-experienced laboratory, Informed-Choice will provide results within two weeks. Recipients will also receive the booklet “Supplements and Banned Substance Contamination: Offering an Informed-Choice.” Results of these tests will not be released in the public forum; however, they will be discussed directly with the athlete and made available to the appropriate supplement manufacturers.

“Education and information are key for any athlete or team engaging in any type of supplement program,” said Klinger. “As an organization specifically focused and committed to supplement testing, we feel that Informed-Choice can serve as a valuable resource for those taking or recommending supplements.” 

About Informed-Choice

Informed-Choice is a supplement testing and certification organization that partners with  HFL Sport Science, a world-class, anti-doping laboratory, to provide appropriate and rigorous testing and education to help athletes, coaches, trainers, professional sports organizations and academic institutions make an informed choice about the supplements they are using or recommending. Utilizing a WADA-experienced lab with 45 years of doping-control expertise and that is ISO 17025 accredited to analyze for banned substances within top-level sports, Informed-Choice is the only program with key quality certification to test supplements for trace levels of contamination. Informed-Choice also serves as an extension of quality-assurance programs for supplement manufacturers. The organization engages an independent board of experts in medical nutrition, training and pharmacology that offers unparalleled, industry breadth and depth of knowledge. Athletes should look for the Informed-Choice logo on products or check the organization’s online list of tested products as part of their risk management in taking supplements. For more information, visit www.informed-choice.org

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Baseball’s Other Shoe Falls Amid Clouded Steroid Picture.

By now everyone knows about the bombshell report that was dropped on Thursday when 85 baseball players were accused by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell’s investigative committee of using steroids during their baseball careers. Surely, this is the biggest scandal to hit baseball since the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919.

As this blockbuster story unfolds, one question will be how many players admit knowingly taking steroids--and how many will hide behind the excuse that they didn’t know what was going on. That is essentially what Jacksonville Jaguars’ football player Marcus Stroud said in November when he was suspended from the NFL for violating the league’s steroid policy. Stroud blamed his positive drug test on inadvertent       contamination of a sports supplement he was taking

Certainly, testing and policing of supplements will help. If nothing else, it will give pro athletes one less foot (or shall we say black sock) to stand on when defending their actions.