PINES Global Network: Aegis Shield Report

By Nuwanee Kirihennedige RD

It is no secret that consumption of dietary supplements is prevalent among athletes around the globe. Dietary supplements may contain substances prohibited by sports organizations, posing an eligibility threat to athletes who are drug tested. As a result, more sports dietitians use third-party tested products to minimize the threat of testing false positive via dietary supplement use. While supplement evaluation can be lengthy and sometimes frustrating, there are resources to alleviate the process, such as the Aegis Shield.

Aegis Shield helps keep athletes clean and in the game by providing a website and mobile app (for iOS and Android) designed to identify the presence of banned substances in dietary supplements. Aegis Shield immediately decodes the ingredients listed on a product’s label and identifies ingredients that might appear on a sports organization’s Banned Substance List. Learn more at www.AegisShield.com.
Upon the company’s invitation, PINES Global Network team conducted the product review and generated a report of our findings.

The PINES Network team felt that Aegis Shield is user-friendly, affordable, and a convenient resource and includes a color coded user friendly rating system: green-OKAY, yellow-CAUTION, and red-BANNED. This resource tool also allows an informational search via sports organizations to include: WADA, MLB, NFL, NASCAR, INDYCAR, WWE and Collegiate athletics. The database contains both US and international products and an option to request information on a product not listed in the directory. Product data includes variations within the ingredients or formulation of the same products which is helpful when the country of origin impacts overall certification status. A mobile app that includes a barcode scan is a nice feature of the tool however it is unclear if this app will function outside of the US. It is important to note that product ratings are based on the products’ label and may not fully represent any hidden substances or contaminants. Overall, Aegis Shield is a good quick reference for US based products, however, if used outside the US there are some limitations. As the tool evolves it will likely prove itself a useful resource for sports dietitians and athletes. The summary of regional reports is listed below (Table 1).

Table 1: Regional Report Feedback on Aegis Shield