Basketball

Basketball combines many of the best aspects of team cooperation and individual effort, with two guards, two forwards, and one center, all of whom play both defense and offense during the 32 (high school) or 48 (professional) minutes of the game. Basketball is played around the world by both men's and women's teams and has been a highly visible part of the Olympic Games since the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Among the most impressive winning streaks in basketball was the 10 national champion ships (7 won consecutively) by the John Wooden'coached UCLA men's teams. In a conversation many years later, one of John Wooden's players shared that Wooden was brilliant at making sure his team was the best conditioned on the floor, and part of that conditioning regimen was making certain the players worked harder during practice than would be needed during any game against any opponent. But he also made certain all the players ate and rested well enough to be ready to give a 100 percent effort.

Studies of intermittent high-intensity sports imply that there are clear ergogenic benefits for basketball players who consume the right foods and fluids before, during, and after the game. A study surveying the nutrition knowledge of college basketball coaches and coaches in other sports found that only 33 percent of the coaches were confident that they responded correctly to questions related to nutrition.¹¹ In addition, this survey found that coaches believed college athletes had problems with the consumption of junk food, had generally poor eating habits, and generally consumed unbalanced diets. This poor-quality diet affects vitamin and mineral intake. There is a high prevalence of iron depletion, anemia, and iron-deficiency anemia among both male and female basketball players.¹² Poor iron status will clearly have a negative impact on aerobic work capacity and, therefore, basketball performance. A survey of male and female basketball players revealed that the diet of the female players was lacking in a number of nutrients, and there was an excessive reliance on nutrient supplements.¹³ Neither of these findings give confidence that basketball players are taking appropriate steps to compete at their conditioned capacity.

Intense physical activity is associated with the increase of free radicals, such as peroxide, which are created from the oxidation of intercellular lipids. Studies continue to evaluate whether the consumption of antioxidant supplements, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A), and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) might be useful in reducing the typical lipid peroxide production seen in basket ball players during the season.^14,15 Although there appears to be some benefit, taking high doses of anti oxidant supplements also raises some concerns. Of very real concern is the potential for supplement contamination that may place athletes at risk of unknowingly consuming banned substances.¹⁶The best alternative for reducing the production of free radicals is likely the regular consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, which have high concentrations of both carbohydrates and antioxidants.

Keeping this in mind, basketball players must consider the following nutritionally relevant factors for their sport.

Basketball games have a halftime that can be used to replenish fluids and carbohydrates. Basketball players have the advantage of a 10- to 20-minute halftime break. This is an excellent opportunity for players to sip on a sports beverage to replace lost fluids and carbohydrates. Some players may also find they do well by eating some plain crackers and drinking water. However, players should be cautioned against consuming candy bars and other foods that, although they contain some carbohydrate sugar, are high in fat. Players really need carbohydrate and water, and consuming anything else detracts from their ability to take in what they need most.

Time spent on the bench should be used to maintain hydration state. Natural breaks in the game from official time-outs or substitutions should be taken advantage of by sipping on sports beverages, whether the players think they need it or not. Sipping on a carbohydrate-containing beverage should become part of the game plan, just as important as making the right team defensive or offensive plays.

Frequent practices and games can wear a player out. Basketball players typically practice 6 days each week and often have two practices in a single day. Add to that a match schedule that has them playing at least one game during the week, and it's easy to see why a typical basketball season can wear a player out. In general, players should eat enough carbohydrate to ensure an adequate total energy intake and to support optimal glycogen storage. Optimizing glycogen storage is critical for basketball performance, and meeting total energy needs helps maintain muscle mass. A common complaint of coaches is that they find it difficult to keep the weight of many players as high as they would like to, and this is a sure sign that the players are not eating enough to support the intense activity of practices and games. Teams that can make it through the season with muscle mass maintained are stronger and have better endurance than those who don't.

Playing as well in the second half as in the first half wins games. Teams that can manage to sustain strength and endurance during the second half of the game tend to do better on the scoreboard than teams that don't. To do this, players should establish a pattern of frequent sipping on carbohydrate-containing beverages, whether they think they need to or not. Studies show that this frequent sipping pattern helps players keep their strength and endurance longer than if they drink water alone or fail to drink at all.