National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Evaluation of Dietary Supplements for Athlete Safety and Performance

NATA's 2026 statement replaces its 2013 guidance on dietary supplements. Its goals are to help athletic trainers guide athletes and other active people through supplement use with health, safety, legality and performance in mind, and to give them reliable resources for educating athletes and evaluating products.

It notes that supplements remain poorly regulated worldwide while many active people take several at once, and that the athletic trainer is often the first health professional asked whether a product is safe, effective and legal for competition. It recommends looking at a person's overall diet first, with a food-first but not always food-only approach, using reliable resources to weigh risks and benefits, and knowing when to refer to a sports dietitian (a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics).

Among its recommendations: advise against megadosing vitamins or minerals without a sports dietitian or a prescription; when someone's intake will be low for a while, a third-party-tested multivitamin at about 100% of the daily value may help; recommend micronutrients or omega-3s only with a dietitian or physician when a deficiency or inadequate diet is identified; and know which resources flag high-risk products. Athletic trainers should teach athletes that under World Anti-Doping Agency and NCAA rules they are strictly liable for anything in their system, that untested products can be contaminated or mislabeled and cause a positive test, and which supplements their sport's governing body allows.