Practicing proper nutritional habits are a step in the right direction 

By Jackie Ansley 

The preseason is an important time to focus on basketball fundamentals. It's a time to pay close attention to the little things and practice them over and over until they become second nature. But one of the basketball fundamentals that often get too little attention during the preseason, and the basketball season itself, is exercise nutrition.

When they think of nutrition during exercise, most basketball players think of hydration. They know that if they consume water and electrolytes during games and practices, they can minimize dehydration and its effects. But fluid replacement is not the only essential component of nutrition during exercise. Working muscles have hydration, energy and nutrition needs. 

When a player’s body loses water and electrolyte minerals through sweat, blood volume decreases, body temperature rises and the heart has to work harder. As a result, performance decreases. By drinking a sports drink containing water and electrolytes during practices and games, players can keep their blood volume up and temperature down.

Saving Muscle Fuel

But this is just the first component of optimal sports nutrition. The second is carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrate is the primary fuel that powers the muscle during the kind of high-intensity, start-and-stop exercise that occurs in basketball games.

Players become exhausted when they run out of a type of carbohydrate fuel called glycogen that is stored in their muscles. But by consuming carbohydrate during exercise, they can get more of their energy straight from the bloodstream, in the form of glucose, and hold onto their precious glycogen supplies longer.

We also must remember that the central nervous system and the brain are largely dependent upon blood glucose for their energy needs. And players depend on a well-fueled brain for quick reflexes and decision-making. By consuming a carbohydrate sports drink during practices and games, players get more energy to their brain and are therefore less likely to make mistakes or get injured due to poor reaction time.

In a study performed at the University of South Carolina, two groups of basketball players were put through a strenuous workout that included shuttle runs, a 20-meter sprint and a whole-body motor skills test. One group of players was given a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink during rest periods throughout the test, while the other group was given flavored water that looked and tasted the same. The members of the sports drink group were able to run 37 percent longer, on average, run faster in the 20m sprint, and perform better on the motor skills test.

Reducing Muscle Stress and Damage

Most sports drinks contain no other useful ingredients besides water, electrolytes and carbohydrate. But two other ingredients should be considered essential: protein and antioxidant vitamins (C and E). This is because both of these ingredients help reduce damage to muscle tissues during exercise and accelerate the recovery process afterwards.

Proteins are the main structural ingredients of muscle cells. During hard play, many muscle proteins get damaged or broken down for energy, leaving the muscles sore and weakened.  But when a little protein is consumed during exercise, fewer muscle proteins get broken down and afterward the muscles are able to rebuild proteins more quickly. Oxygen also damages a lot of muscle cells during exercise, and by consuming the antioxidant vitamins C and E during and after play, this kind of damage can be reduced, too.

A Fuel Injector for Muscles

There’s another benefit of consuming protein during exercise, which relates to the hormone insulin. The job of insulin is to transport glucose through the bloodstream and into the muscle cells, where it can be burned for energy. The pancreas releases insulin automatically when glucose and/or protein levels rise in the bloodstream.

Research has found that when a small amount of protein is consumed with carbohydrate, there is a stronger insulin response and glucose is delivered to the working muscles more quickly than when carbohydrate is taken alone. The result is greater muscle glycogen conservation and prolonged endurance.

In other words, adding protein to a sports drink is like adding a fuel injector to an automobile engine. A University of Texas study showed a sports drink containing carbohydrate and protein increased endurance by 24 percent as compared to a conventional, carbohydrate-only sports drink and by 57 percent as compared to water.

But be aware that too much protein will slow stomach emptying, delaying the deliver of nutrients to the muscles. The ideal ratio is 4 grams of carbohydrate to 1 gram of protein. This ratio provides the benefits of protein with no negative effect on stomach emptying.

The Pros’ Choice

A growing number of sports drinks are now including antioxidants and protein in their formulas (Accelerade, etc.). And a growing number of professional athletes are using them. Players should use these drinks just as they would any other sports drink, sipping 2 to 4 ounces every few minutes throughout the practice or game. This will ensure that the body’s hydration, energy and nutrition needs are taken care of. 

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