Mamadou Sakho may have put health at risk if he used fat-burner

Liverpool centre-back Mamadou Sakho may have put his health at risk if he used a fat-burning substance, according to Sporting Integrity's founding director Michelle Verroken.

Verroken, whose Sporting Integrity group is dedicated to assisting sports organisations and athletes with effective anti-doping policies, says such supplements can put a large strain on the heart.

Sakho is being investigated by UEFA after an alleged anti-doping violation following a Europa League tie against Manchester United. The probe is believed to relate to the use of a fat-burning substance.

The 26-year-old is expected to request his B sample be tested ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

When asked by Sky Sports News HQ if there were any health risks involved in taking fat-burning supplements, Verroken said: "Huge risks.

"If you are increasing the heart rate the important thing to know is what you are also going to be doing - if you are exercising at the same time - because you are overloading the heart and that really would not be a good thing if your heart has some congenital problem or you are demanding more of your body without proper hydration, proper food.

"Some of these fat burners even contain a diuretic to take water out of the body and literally make your body appear smaller. And again, if you are trying to dry out the body when you are involved in intense exercise, there are really big risks in terms of cardiovascular problems."

Verroken is not convinced fat-burners improve performance though, and she believes there are alternative means available which are less dangerous.

She said: "It's a difficult question really, because if your intention is to improve your performance, I think there are far better ways of trying to do this.

"But certainly some people might encourage the use of these type of supplements as a way of giving you perhaps a little bit more energy, offsetting fatigue so that perhaps you could hang on in there that little bit longer.

"We do know that some people use them as a way of training for longer, and if they are consuming those really they have got to look at the point of which they get to exhaustion and the body is very, very under-pressure and certainly the heart has been beating faster to try to speed up the metabolism. Really that's not the safest way to enhance your performance but any high is going to be followed by a low.

"Fat burners appear in sports supplements and certainly what they are intended to do is really speed up the body's metabolism. They make the heart beat faster and certainly that is their action in the body, to stimulate the body and really increase your energy levels, make you feel you have a little bit more energy and burn off the fat in the body cells."

And Verroken insists the Premier League should not be criticised because UEFA discovered the alleged violation, as she believes that is down to the timing of an individual's test.

Verroken said: "We have a range of programmes going on across sport, some by international bodies, some by national bodies, so really it's all a matter of timing that testing according to the kind of performance schedule, the training schedules of athletes across different sports.

"I don't think it's fair to perhaps compare one testing program with another. In some respects it's a bit of a lucky dip almost, because if you are using a supplement, it may not be a contaminated version of that supplement, it may not contain a prohibited substance.

"But the next batch that you use may very well contain that prohibited substance, so if that's the timing of when the testing programme goes on then certainly in some respects it's more bad luck than anything else.