ABSTRACT
Ergogenic aids may be grouped into several categories: mechanical, psychological, physiological, pharmacological, and nutritional. Pharmacological aids deserve special mention because of their widespread use and close relation to nutritional aids. Most pharmacological aids are prescription drugs, including synthetic compounds and nature-identical substances. Use of nonprescription drugs offers a real threat of suspension from athletic activities if the athlete consumes certain compounds inadvertently. Sometimes, pharmaceutical products contain both nutrients and drugs. Also, drugs may have significant effects on performance due to alterations of nutritional status. This chapter briefly reviews the relationship between certain pharmaceutical agents and nutrition. Anabolic steroid users continue to consume high dietary levels of protein, sometimes with concomitant high-fat intake, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, as anabolic steroids increase low density lipoprotein levels and dramatically reduce high density lipoprotein levels.
