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The Efficacy and Safety of Ergogenic Aids in Athletes

Garrett Lee Jackson

Department of Dietetics and Nutrition

DIET 53342: Sports Nutrition

Dr. Lisa Jansen

April 28, 2024

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Introduction

For the past half-century, the medical field has increasingly recognized the pivotal role of

nutrition in health and disease prevention. This recognition has spurred the development and

dissemination of dietary supplements aimed at enhancing health outcomes. The most common

dietary supplements are daily multivitamins and mineral supplements controlled and regulated

by the FDA. In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed by

Congress, which established an official definition and regulations for these products (Jagim et

al., 2019). Still, there are a plethora of dietary supplements on the market that have misleading,

un-researched, and potentially harmful effects due to the lack of a pre-market approval process.

Among these, ergogenic aids have emerged as a key area of interest, particularly in sports

nutrition. Therefore, the primary goal of this research is to investigate the efficacy and safety of

ergogenic aids in athletes from various populations.

Literature Review

Ergogenic aids are “ any training method, mechanical device, nutritional or

pharmacological approach, or psychological technique that can improve exercise performance

capacity and/or improve training adaptations” (Vicente-Salar et al., para 4, 2020). The

competitive nature of sports has challenged athletes to maximize their performance by any

means necessary. This drive has led to a significant increase in the consumption of nutritional

ergogenic aids (NEA) in the past decade, driven by aggressive marketing campaigns targeting

recreational and elite athletes. Collegiate-level athletes are more likely to consume NEAs than

the general population, with approximately 64% - 89% regularly using at least one supplement

(Murphey et al., 2022). Commonly used NEAs are caffeine, creatine, nitrates, beta-alanine, and
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sodium bicarbonate. Each of these substances claim to have beneficial effects on health and

athletic performance.

Caffeine

Caffeine is one of the most acceptable forms of stimulant, with coffee being the second

most common beverage in the world (Cite). The sports realm is no exception to this trend.

caffeine is the most commonly used ergogenic aid among NCAA athletes, with 28.6% of these

athletes consuming energy drinks

Nitrates

Beta-Alanine

Sodium Bicarbonate