1. What is a steroid?

2. What is an anabolic steroid?

3. What is a stimulant?

4. What is the Prohibited List, maintained by the World
Anti Doping Agency (WADA)?

5. Why do supplements need to be tested?

6. How can supplements be inadvertently contaminated?

7. What detection levels should supplements be tested at?

8. What is required to test at levels in the nanogram per gram range?

9. Why can supplement products not be subjected to testing against "everything" on the WADA prohibited list?

10. What list of substances should be looked for within a supplement testing program?

11. Why can products not be subjected to the standard WADA test?

12. What are the important things to look for within a testing program?

13. How can I learn more about testing supplements and the associated science?

14. What if I need general help to understand the issue of contamination?

11. Why can products not be subjected to the standard WADA test?

The WADA test is specifically for urine, and blood in some cases. The methods used for testing urine and blood cannot be directly applied to supplements. Many supplements are in solid form – and must therefore be converted to some form of liquid prior to analysis. Even liquid supplements have a very different composition to urine samples – see FAQ 9.