Junk food causing problems for Dwight Howard and the Denver Nuggets

Lots of news this week about how healthy eating habits can hamper NBA play. First up, details on how Dwight Howard’s sugar addiction last season while he was with the Lakers caused him to have sluggish play.

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard was hit with a shocking diagnosis during his lone season with the Los Angeles Lakers last year. According to a physician working with the team’s medical staff, Howard was consuming “the equivalent of 24 Hershey bars a day” because of all the candy and glucose-rich carbonated soda he was drinking.

Dr. Cate Shanahan, in a feature by CBS Sports’ Ken Berger, described her shock at Howard’s alarming levels of glucose in his system, telling CBS that she became concerned because Howard’s sluggish play and blood work “reminded me of patients who have pre-diabetes and neurological problems because of how sugar impacts the nervous system.” A subsequent blood test revealed frightening amounts of glucose in his system.

Dr. Shanahan went on to explain how she saw classic signs of sugar addiction, spikes in energy followed by crashes and erratic motor skills that were indicative of nerves misfiring. Coming off of back surgery, this wreaked havoc on Dwight’s system. Since Howard has been in Houston, he announced he’s changed up his eating habits.

Meanwhile, Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw noticed something similar with his players. In trying to figure out why his players were so slow out the gate during games, Shaw took a look around the locker room and noticed that greasy pizza and nachos covered with cheese were typical pregame meals for players.

Shaw has searched for answers to their offensive woes in the first quarters of games. Last week, he walked through the locker room, saw players eating pizza and nachos and believed the poor diet to be the cause. So he picked up all the junk food and threw it in the trash.

The Nuggets had fresh salads with chicken breast and cold cut sandwiches before Monday’s game.

A healthy inside makes for a better performance and you look better too!