How to check a supplement against the banned list
Answer
Read every ingredient and check anything unfamiliar through governing body resources. That catches declared prohibited substances. It cannot catch contamination, which is what batch certification is for.
Key takeaways
- What can this check catch?
- Prohibited substances that are declared on the label, and medications containing controlled substances.
- What can it not catch?
- Contamination introduced in manufacture, which is undeclared by definition and needs a batch screen.
- Where should a player check?
- UK Anti-Doping resources for both supplements and medications, rather than a supplier or a teammate.
- What about proprietary blends?
- A blend that hides individual ingredients cannot be checked at all, which is reason enough to avoid it.
Two different checks, and this is the ingredient one
Checking a batch is about contamination and needs a laboratory. Checking a list is about what a manufacturer has declared, and a player can do it themselves.
Both are worth doing and neither substitutes for the other. A product with clean ingredients can still be contaminated, and a certified batch of something containing a declared prohibited substance would still be prohibited.
Reading the ingredients properly
Every ingredient, not just the actives. Read the nutrition panel and the ingredients list together, because excipients, flavourings and capsule materials all live in the second.
Anything you do not recognise gets checked. That includes botanical names, compounds with chemical sounding names and anything appearing only as an abbreviation. Most will be innocuous. The point of the exercise is that you looked rather than assumed.
The categories worth extra attention
Risk is not evenly spread across the shelf and it is worth knowing where it concentrates. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate at 22p a day and Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil at 17p sit in the first row of the table below, which is the least interesting place to be and the right one.
| Category | Concern | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Single ingredient minerals and oils | Very low | Read the label and move on |
| Protein powders | Low for the protein, higher for added blends | Check any added ingredients |
| Pre workouts | Stimulants, some of them controlled | Read every ingredient carefully |
| Fat burners | Stimulants and undeclared pharmaceuticals | Avoid entirely |
| Physique and hormonal products | The category with adulteration history | Avoid entirely |
| Herbal and traditional preparations | Variable composition, sometimes undeclared additions | Check carefully |
Proprietary blends cannot be checked
A proprietary blend lists several ingredients under one combined weight, so individual doses are hidden. Ingredients within it are still listed in descending order by weight, which tells you the ordering and nothing about quantities.
For an anti doping check that is disqualifying on its own. You cannot verify what you cannot see, and a manufacturer choosing that format has decided you do not need to. For a player who could be tested, a proprietary blend is a reason not to buy rather than a question to investigate.
Medications catch more people than supplements
This is the part most players never think about. Some asthma treatments, some decongestants and a range of ordinary prescribed and over the counter medicines contain substances controlled in sport.
A player collecting a prescription is not thinking about a prohibited list, and a pharmacist may not know the sporting context unless asked directly. Therapeutic use exemptions exist for exactly this situation and they have to be arranged rather than assumed after the fact.
Where to actually check
UK Anti-Doping publishes guidance on supplements and resources for checking medications, and that is the source rather than a clubhouse conversation.
Your club and your governing body are the next route, particularly for anything already taken. A supplier is the worst place to ask, because they have an obvious interest in the answer. And a teammate who says it is fine is not a source at all under strict liability.
What this cannot do
It cannot detect contamination, because contamination is undeclared by definition. A product with a clean ingredients list produced on shared equipment alongside something prohibited will read as clean and may not be.
That is the gap batch certification fills, and it is why the two checks belong together. Futuro Labs products are single ingredient with declared excipients, which makes this check straightforward, and none is batch certified for sport, which means the other check cannot be completed on them.
Botanicals, which are the hardest category to check
Herbal and traditional preparations are where an ingredient check gets genuinely difficult, and they turn up in more sports products than players expect.
Botanical names vary between suppliers, the same plant appears under several names, and the part of the plant used changes what is in the extract. Some botanicals contain compounds that are prohibited in sport, and some preparations have a history of undeclared additions. A player looking at a name they cannot resolve should treat that as a reason to stop rather than a reason to search harder.
This is another place where single ingredient products are simply easier to live with. Futuro Labs Marine Collagen and Futuro Labs Lion's Mane both name exactly what is in them with nothing hidden, which makes the check take seconds rather than an evening.
Where to go next
- How to check whether a supplement is batch testedThe other half of the check, and why a logo is not enough.
- How to spot a proprietary blendThe label format that makes an ingredient check impossible.
- Is my supplement banned in rugby?Who to ask and what to do if something has already been taken.
The product
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate declares one active and its excipients, with nothing hidden in a blend, at 22p a day. That makes the ingredient check take about thirty seconds, and it is not batch certified, so the contamination check cannot be completed on it.
- 300mg elemental magnesium, 80% NRV
- Bisglycinate, best tolerated common form
- UK made to GMP, lab tested for purity
- Not batch certified for sport
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs. If you buy through this link Futuro Labs earns from the sale. Prices are set by Amazon.
Questions players ask
How do I check a supplement against the banned list?
Read every ingredient and check anything unfamiliar through UK Anti-Doping resources.
Does that make a product safe?
No. It catches declared substances. Contamination is undeclared and needs a batch screen.
What about proprietary blends?
They cannot be checked, because individual ingredients are hidden under one combined weight.
Do medications need checking too?
Yes, and they catch more people out. Some asthma and decongestant treatments contain controlled substances.
Who should I ask?
UK Anti-Doping, your club or your governing body. Not a supplier and not a teammate.
Which categories are riskiest?
Fat burners, physique products and pre workouts, in that order.