Ethnopharmacology and male bodybuilders' lived experience with consuming sports nutrition supplements in Canada

Abstract

In recent years, the availability of sports nutrition supplements has expanded from niche to mainstream and online environments in a largely unregulated marketplace in Canada. For bodybuilders, consuming these products is a normative practice. In spite of the proliferation of supplements and diversity in which masculine ideal types are constructed, the experiences of male bodybuilders who use supplements have drawn little academic attention. This article examines the impact that lived experience has for 32 male bodybuilders in interpreting physical cues and assessing risks associated with these ergogenic aids sold legally in Canada. Examined through a phenomenological lens, male bodybuilders in this study developed an ethnopharmacological understanding of supplement consumption. They privileged not only their first-hand experiences with supplement consumption, but also those of other trusted bodybuilders over other sources of information including warnings issued by government about the ‘dangers’ of consuming certain products.