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"Supplements are a minefield" - Alan Brogan and Cora Staunton outline the risks for players

The risks of using supplements is something athletes have to be aware of in regards to knowing wh...



"Supplements are a minefie...
Football

"Supplements are a minefield" - Alan Brogan and Cora Staunton outline the risks for players

The risks of using supplements is something athletes have to be aware of in regards to knowing whether they contain any banned substances or have been subject to contamination.

It's something both former Dublin footballer Alan Brogan and former Mayo star Cora Staunton have been mindful of and the Cleanmarine Tested Sports Safe ambassadors discussed that issue with Joe on our Facebook Live chat.

"It's a real area of concern for athletes. The women are tested now, the men are tested now and right throughout my career, if you were sick, you're not 100% sure what to take, even with supplements," said Brogan, before touching on the experience of Kerry footballer Brendan O'Sullivan, who was served a 21-week ban for testing positive for banned stimulant. 

"I take Clearmarine for me and I think it's a great initiative from Naturalife. I met Brendan O'Sullivan recently actually at a wedding and had a good chat with him about it and I wrote an article in the Sunday Independent about him and he was appreciative of the article. He was a young man and it was a life-changing experience for him. It was a simple mistake. He went in, he bought a caffeine tablet in a pharmacy and it has cost him at least two years if not all of his Kerry career maybe.

"So I think for that reason, SportsSafe.org, you can put the batch number in and it tells you what the story is, so I think it's a great initiative."

He added: "Supplements are a minefield. We don't know where they're made and we don't know who's producing them."

Staunton also touched on the issue and how important it is for younger and less experienced players. 

"Especially for younger people on a team because I know they worry about it," she explained.

"Obviously if there's a big match and one is drug tested, one would always be worried what you're taking. Obviously, coming up to big matches, people get ill, they've colds and flues, so it is important and I think it's great initiative the test that Sports Safe have done."   

Cora and Alan were here for the launch of the Tested Sports Safe campaign. Naturalife Health produce health food supplements like Cleanmarine for Men and Cleanmarine for Women which  feature the official Tested Sports Safe® logo on pack, meaning they contain no prohibited substances and reassuring athletes that they are taking Sports Safe supplements. Available in all health stores and pharmacies.

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