Rhys Williams’ Doping Allegation Raise Issues with Supplements

The recent announcement that Wales hurdler Rhys Williams failed a drug test and that one of the supplements he was taking, Mountain Fuel, is being looked into, is another demonstration that using these performance-enhancing supplements may not be worthwhile for people, a New York toxicologist said.

Particularly if a substance is listed as a food additive, there are not a lot of regulations that it is subject to, explains David Lee, medical director of medical toxicology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. So these supplements can become tainted with steroids, medications or other agents.

"None of [these supplements] have really been tested to show that they’re effective,” Dr. Lee says. “Sometimes, we step over the boundary and we take things that might be dangerous to our health.”

Anabolic steroids have long-term effects including:
• Increasing a person’s risk of heart disease
• Increasing a person’s risk of stroke

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