An Assessment of the Safety, Efficacy and Prevalence of Use of Dietary Supplements Purported to Have Ergogenic Benefits

Abstract

The Health Science field is multi-faceted and research is an integral part, essential to medical knowledge, advancement and patient care. In the summer of 2000, I was involved in a mentor program at the Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies (MSU/KCMS) where I worked as a research assistant alongside a doctor and a resident. The main focus of my Senior Individualized Project, dietary supplements, developed from a project that I worked on with my mentor, Dr. Dilip Patel at MSU/KCMS. He and his colleagues investigated nutritional supplement use among American high school students and I participated in data entry for their study. They surveyed students at two local high in order to determine the prevalence, reasons, sources of obtaining, sources of encouragement and influence of sports participation on the use of nutritional supplements among high school students. My SIP will include an assessment of current medical literature on the efficacy and safety of popular dietary supplements that are being used as ergogenic aids. Specific supplements that will be investigated include creatine, andro, HMB, DHEA, vanadyl sulfate and tribulus terrestris. General information on the prevalence of supplement use will be included as well as an overview of data collected from the MSU/KCMS research project. My goal is to increase awareness and knowledge of dietary supplements that are currently available to consumers.