Healthy Foods For Vegan Athletes
Fresh, seasonal foods form the basis of a healthy diet for vegan athletes. The vegan doesn’t just live on rice! There is a very large selection of healthy foods that can be found in a vegan diet.
You don’t necessarily have to eat animal foods to be able to achieve maximum performance in sport. A vegan or vegetarian diet is possible at any stage of life, although certain things must of course be taken into account so that there is no nutrient deficiency. Today we introduce you to various healthy foods for vegan athletes .
A well-planned vegan diet provides all the important nutrients the organism needs. Even athletes can eat without animal products if they follow a few guidelines that will help them prevent deficits and perform well. With the right diet, you can also prevent injuries while exercising.
Healthy foods for vegan athletes
Vegan athletes may have chosen this type of diet for ideological or health reasons, or simply because they like it best. It is important that the daily menus are composed in a balanced way, but this is the case with every form of diet. Vegans can also do (professional) sport and perform optimally.
Are there really vegan athletes?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes. There are vegan athletes at all levels and in all sports. We have put together a few examples for you:
- Lizzy Hawker, the British long-distance runner has already won the Ultra Trail Montblanc five times.
- Edwin Moses has already won two Olympic 400-meter hurdles.
- Dave Scott, a vegan triathlete, has won the Ironman Hawaï six times .
- Alberto Pelaez Serrano is also a very successful long-distance runner who lives vegan.
- Serio Agüero “El Kun ” is a vegan soccer player.
- Patrick Boboumian bears the title of “Germany’s strongest man”.
- The Williams sisters are world class in tennis.
- Frank Merdrano, who also lives vegan, practices calisthenics very successfully.
Vegan athletes: which foods shouldn’t be missing from the nutrition plan?
Fruit and vegetables for vegan athletes
For vegan athletes, fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables are one of the cornerstones of nutrition. Vegans not only live from rice, the diet can be very varied and delicious!
Fruit and vegetables of the respective season provide the athletes with important vitamins and minerals. When it comes to athletes who need to optimize their bodies, for example by losing fat, a wide variety of vegetables are preferable.
However, should the athlete need more weight and want to improve their performance, fresh fruit (and various other foods that we will mention later) are excellent choices. Because they contain more calories and carbohydrates than vegetables, even if they don’t fill you up for so long.
Carbohydrates for vegan athletes
Rice, oats, quinoa and other seeds and dried fruits provide vegan athletes with healthy carbohydrates and at the same time provide proteins and healthy fats. They also naturally contain important vitamins and minerals. Legumes and dried fruits are excellent sources of vegetable carbohydrates and proteins in the vegan diet.
Proteins for vegan athletes
Many see this as a problem of the vegan diet for athletes. Because they think that this macronutrient is only sufficiently present in animal foods. But pulses and dried fruits also provide high quality protein.
They can be eaten in stews, salads, hummus, peanut or cashew butter, all of which are rich in calories and nutrients. In addition, spreads made from dried fruit (for example almond or hazelnut spreads ) are recommended , which you can easily make yourself by pureeing these types of nuts.
In addition, mushrooms (such as mushrooms) and brewer’s yeast are also characterized by excellent nutrients. Two tablespoons of brewer’s yeast (in salads, mixed drinks, soups …) provide around 12 to 15 g of protein.
Healthy fats for vegan athletes
Healthy fatty acids are essential and should not be missing in a vegan diet. This could be seen as a problem, as oily fish in particular is known to be one of the best sources of omega-3. But there are also other foods of plant origin that provide essential fatty acids. These include, for example:
- Dried fruits: nuts, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios, pine nuts, etc.
- Seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, poppy seeds, etc.
- Fatty fruits: avocado, olives, etc.
- Vegetable oils: olive oil, oils from seeds or nuts
- Vegetable margarine (preferably organically grown)
Don’t forget that a nutritionist is very important to vegan athletes. Because he can create an individual nutrition plan that contains all the important nutrients in sufficient quantities and covers the required needs. In this way, vegan athletes can also perform at their best and keep their health in an optimal condition.
