Ergo-Nutritional Intervention in Basketball: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Using nutritional supplements is a widespread strategy among basketball players to ensure the appropriate provision of energy and nutrients to avoid certain complaints. Particularly in basketball, there is no consensus on the type, quantity or form of use in which these supplements should be administered. Therefore, the main aim of this systematic review is to highlight the ergo-nutritional aids that may be effective in basketball. A structured search was carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA®) guidelines in the Medline/PubMed and Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases until 31 December 2021; no year restriction was applied to the search strategy. There were no filters applied to the basketball players’ level, gender, race, or age to increase the power of the analysis. The results of this systematic review have shown that the effective dose of caffeine to enhance anaerobic performance and the feeling of vigorousness and energy ranges from 3 to 6 mg·kg−1, showing more positive effects when is supplemented 60–75 min before exercise in the morning and in test-based task. On the other hand, vitamin E (ranging from 200 to 268 mg), vitamin D (10,000 IU) and EPA (2 g) may have a potential role in recovery and wellness. The primary limitation of this study is the scarcity of studies related to nutritional supplementation in basketball players. However, a major strength is that this is the first systematic review describing what ergo-nutritional aids may be specifically helpful for basketball. Despite the need for future studies, certain nutritional supplements may have promising advantages for basketball (long-term supplementation of nitrates for recovery), whereas others (β-alanine, sodium bicarbonate, and acute nitrate supplementation) might theoretically be regarded as not interesting for basketball, or even not recommended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as bovine colostrum.

Dietary and Biological Assessment of Omega-3 Status in University Rugby Football Players: A Case-Control Study

“…Philpott et al found that a dosage of 1.1 mg of n-3PUFA has a beneficial effect in reducing muscle soreness and elevated levels of creatine kinase in competitive soccer players after eccentric exercise (33). Escribano-Ott et al reported that EPA (2 g) had a potential role in recovery and wellness in basketball players (34). This study suggests that the results have the potential Asian J Sports Med.…”

Personality Determinants Related to the Use of Selective and Effective Dietary Supplements by Elite Polish Team Sport Athletes

“…Mineral salt supplementation could have a significant impact on the regulation of water, electrolyte and acid–base management as well as neuromuscular excitability and haematopoietic processes [ 34 , 49 ]. The significance of vitamins D and E for well-being and regeneration was confirmed among basketball players [ 54 ]. The use of carbohydrate supplements as well as vitamins and mineral salts could also be justified with regard to the results of numerous studies in the scope of quantitative dietary assessment, indicating a low supply of various nutrients in the diet of athletes, including energy, carbohydrates, mineral salts (inter alia, K and Ca) and vitamins (group B and vitamin D) [ 55 , 56 , 57 ].…”

“…The use of probiotics, in connection with their positive impact on the composition of the body, reduction of cortisol and lactate levels, and increase in the synthesis of neurotransmitters regulating cognitive functions and mood, could have a positive impact on the functioning of athletes [ 62 ]. The lowest was the scale of bicarbonate usage, which corresponds to the physiology of effort in team sports [ 54 ].…”

Practical Application and Methodological Considerations on the Basics of Sports Nutrition in Basketball: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of Observational and Interventional Studies

“…To obtain the assumed aims, the following prosecution was planned to undertake: (1) evaluation of habitual energy and macronutrients intake and hydration strategies/hydration status in BP at a different age, level of training experience, gender, or level of full-body abilities (able-bodied BP and para-athlete players); (2) identification of possible reasons for poor nutritional value and quality of diet in BP based on eating behaviours and nutritional knowledge (NK) evaluation; and (3) consolidation of summaries of experimental protocols and evaluation of the effectiveness of up-to-date dietary interventions related to hydration strategies and macronutrients manipulations undertaken in BP. Recently, two reviews on in-season nutrition strategies to enhance recovery for BP [11], or ergogenic and/or micronutrients' supplementation interventions in basketball [12], were published. However, the scopes of the aforementioned reviews do not cover the scope of the current systematic review.…”