As the strength coach for BYU's track and field teams, Jillian Camarena spends a lot of time in the weight room. On any given day, she'll see a number of nutritional and athletic supplements pass through the door.

"Sometimes someone will come in with something new, and I'll ask them what it is," Camarena said. "I see a lot of protein shakes, I've seen creatine used. I feel that if it's going to be something that's iffy, an athlete's probably not going to bring it in."

While the majority of athletes limit their supplement use to protein shakes and multivitamins, some branch out into other areas of performance enhancing supplements. As the use of supplements in athletics increases, the distinction has become increasingly blurred between acceptable uses and unfair advantages derived from performance enhancing supplements.

In a January 2006 report released by the NCAA, amphetamine drug use among student athletes has continually increased since 1997, with the majority of users claiming a desire to improve their athletic performance as their primary motivation. Amphetamines make up one of the classes of supplements on the NCAA's banned substances list, which includes more than 100 different drugs. While the use of these drugs is monitored closely, there are many substances, such as creatine or protein powder, that athletes can use without any legal implications.

"It's a blurry area. Things that they used twenty years ago are now banned," Camarena said. "Who knows what the spectrum will be as it progresses? It's a tough question. I'm glad I don't have to be the person to answer it."

A top-notch thrower in the shot put and discus events, Camarena has enjoyed her share of success. She was the 2005 USA Indoor champion in the shot put, third at the 2004 Olympic Trials, and an eight-time All-American in the event. Unfortunately, her success has also brought scrutiny.

"Nobody thinks anybody is clean," Camarena said. "They're always pointing fingers. People ask me, and I'm like 'I take a multi-vitamin,'"

The growing suspicions of supplement use stems from the high demand for the substances. Jared Cannon, a nutritional sales associate at Gold's Gym in Orem, said athletes feel a need to use supplements in order to compete at high levels.

"They want faster results, to keep up with the other guys that genetically may be bigger," Cannon said. "That's what the sports are requiring; that they be bigger. So, they are trying to keep up with demand."

Among the most common sellers at Gold's are protein and creatine supplements. Because the side effects of creatine are still under study, the NCAA discourages its distribution, but the substance itself is not banned.

"They [the NCAA] won't let us give out creatine; not because we know it's bad, but just because we don't know yet if it's safe if taken over the long term," said Josh Morzelewski, assistant strength and conditioning coach for BYU athletics. "Something will be banned if they know that it's not good for the athlete."

In Morzelewski's opinion, there is a guideline to be followed when deciding what substances are ethically allowable. Anything that can be taken to improve athletic performance that is not a whole food product is an enhancer and should be avoided, Morzelewski said.

"Protein, amino acids and that kind of stuff all comes from food," Morzelewski said. "But then you get things loaded with caffeine, or some of these fancy testosterone precursors and stuff like that, that's kind of where you start to get in to some rough waters."

While the NCAA generally allows protein shakes and amino acid combinations, there are still restrictions on what substances a school can provide for its athletes. According to NCAA.org, the list of permissible substances includes vitamins and minerals, energy bars, and calorie or electrolyte replacement drinks such as Gatorade. The non-permissible list is more extensive, reaching such supplements as amino acids, condroitin, ginseng, creatine and melatonin. Some supplements containing protein are allowed, as long as it does not contain more than 30 percent of calories from protein, and "does not contain additional ingredients that are designed to assist in the muscle-building process."

"Some of the things we can't give out are all right for an athlete to take," Morzelewski said. "But because we don't know what happens when taken over the long term, we can't give it out."

Until further studies are done and long-term results are available, the decision of which supplements to use will remain largely a personal decision for many athletes. But as the area of distinction fades to shades of gray, some athletes are taking a hard stand.

"Whatever rule they have set, if you break it, you break it. There's no gray area," said sophomore Fui Vakapuna, a running back for the Cougar football team. "If you're going to take it, and there are rules involved, follow the rules. If you shoot yourself up, that's cheating yourself. That's not believing in yourself if you can't do it naturally."

As the future promises to be tainted by doping allegations and accusations, Camarena said she believes it may be impossible to completely eliminate supplement use.

"There's going to be more complex ways to cheat," Camarena said. "There's going to be more drugs coming out. They're going to know what they're testing for, and how to go around it."

As well as maintaining a strict observance of NCAA policy, Camarena believes that positive reinforcement is a key to changing the future of supplement use in sports.

"As much as you take down the athletes that are going to do them, you've got to uplift the athletes that don't," Camarena said. "People don't know of the great athletes that are doing well without it. You've got to get those athletes that are going to come in and do it clean."

-Daily Universe reporter Ryan Curtis contributed to this story.

Copyright Brigham Young University 23 Jun 2006