With several recent high profile cases of athletes being banned from competition after inadvertently taking banned substances found in dietary supplements, US company Nutravail has created a line of supplements which it claims are guaranteed free of substances banned by the International Olympic Committee.
The first product to be launched under the Drive XP brand is Sport Safe Drive XP Performance Drink, a natural energy and electrolyte powder drink mix which also provides athletes with the benefits of glucosamine for joint support.
Nutravail said its sports drink had undergone clinical trials, and was shown to be free of all substances banned by the IOC.
All Sport Safe supplements and drinks will be clinically tested on human subjects and quality controlled so that the use of the products does not lead to any positive tests for banned substances, the company said. The quality control processes of testing in human subjects are beyond what is performed for many pharmaceuticals, it claimed.
Drive XP will be made available to athletes, coaches and trainers throughout the international athletic community, as well as to high schools, colleges and professional teams in North America. Additional products will be added, leading to a full range of sports supplements, including protein powders, vitamin and minerals and innovative speciality supplements. Nutravail expects to launch up to six additional Sport Safe products within a year.
The IOC has banned athletes from using numerous substances such as stimulants, narcotics, anabolic agents, diuretics, peptide hormones and substances that alter the integrity of urine samples. It also forbids blood doping and restricts substances such as asthma drugs and caffeine.
Nutravail Technologies developed Sport Safe in conjunction with Dr Arnold Beckett, who was previously a member of the IOC Medical Commission and itsdoping sub-committee for 25 years. Dr Beckett was also a member of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) Medical Commission for 25 years, chairman of the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Medical Commission, and founder of the United Kingdom IOC accredited laboratory for dope testing.
The company said it would contribute one per cent of royalty revenues from Sport Safe to the establishment of an international Sport Safe Advisory Board, which will include competing athletes and representatives of international and national sporting bodies.