Can a vegan diet suit an athlete? The answer is yes. Here are the essentials for following a balanced vegan diet.
What does a vegan diet involve?
First, what exactly does following a vegan diet mean? It is difficult to follow one without knowing which foods to include and which to avoid.
It helps to distinguish between a purely vegan diet and veganism.
Are they not the same?
Not quite! A vegan diet excludes all animal products: meat, fish, eggs, dairy and honey. This way of eating may also be described as plant-based, although use of that term varies.
Why make the distinction?
In many contexts, veganism means a lifestyle without animal products. Alongside avoiding animal-derived foods, it excludes clothing materials such as leather, wool and silk and animal-derived ingredients in cosmetics.
Vegan versus vegetarian diets
How does a vegan diet differ from a vegetarian diet? A vegetarian diet excludes meat and fish but allows dairy products, eggs and honey.
A vegan diet for athletes
Here is the question that brought you here: how can you build a vegan diet for athletes? Is it possible, and can it support better sporting performance?
Yes. A vegan diet can be balanced for athletes, even when requirements for certain nutrients and micronutrients are higher than those of the general population.
The nutrients a vegan athlete needs are the same as those required by an omnivorous athlete. The difference is that a vegan diet has a narrower range of available foods. Anticipating possible difficulties and planning the amounts, proportions and combinations in each meal is therefore essential.
The main food groups in any eating plan can feature in a vegan diet: fruit, vegetables, pulses, cereals, nuts and seeds, alongside many sources of healthy fats.
It is not about endless green smoothies, buying every seed on the planet or eating kilos of seaweed. It is about making the most of the variety available within a vegan diet so your nutrition plan supports sporting performance.
Alongside their ethical choices, including vegan values, every athlete has a life, personal circumstances and physical characteristics, as well as goals. Our job as nutritionists is to bring these factors together so each athlete meets their nutritional needs in the most individual, flexible and practical way possible.
Potential challenges of a vegan diet
The difficulties that can arise from an unbalanced nutrition plan make professional support especially useful when following a vegan diet.
Energy
Many foods included are low in calories and high in fibre, such as fruit, vegetables and pulses. Fibre is filling, so an athlete may feel satisfied before meeting their energy requirements. Foods providing plenty of energy in a small volume, such as nuts, seeds and plant protein foods, can help.
Protein
Many plant protein sources are relatively low in particular essential amino acids. Combining them can provide a “complete protein” profile: all the amino acids our bodies cannot make.
Iron
Athletes can have higher iron needs, so people combining a vegan diet with high activity may face a greater deficiency risk. The iron in plant foods, called non-haem iron, is less readily absorbed. Pairing plant iron sources with vitamin C-rich foods, such as citrus fruit, peppers, tomatoes and broccoli, can improve absorption.
Calcium
There are calcium-rich foods beyond dairy. The challenge is that some also contain absorption inhibitors, including naturally occurring phytates and oxalates. Choosing low-oxalate options, such as broccoli or bok choy, can help.
Vitamin B12
Unfortified plant foods are not a reliable source of vitamin B12, so people following a vegan diet need an appropriate supplement. We rarely speak in absolutes, but a reliable supply is essential.
Zinc
Pay attention to zinc. Much of an omnivore’s intake comes from meat, but plant sources also exist, including cereals, pulses and nuts. Choose carefully, as phytates and oxalates can limit mineral absorption.
Riboflavin
The vitamin riboflavin is often obtained from dairy products. A balanced vegan diet can instead provide it through soya and soya products, alongside fortified foods.
Should vegan athletes take creatine?
The short answer: it is not compulsory.
A vegan diet does not itself imply a pathological creatine deficiency in the way that inadequate iron can cause anaemia. Although some nutrients, such as vitamin B12, require supplementation in vegan diets, creatine is a different case.
Creatine is a non-essential nutrient because the body can make it from three amino acids (arginine, methionine and glycine).
Food can also supply creatine, mainly through animal products, particularly meat and fish. A vegan diet therefore provides virtually no dietary creatine.
Vegan athletes have very low or no dietary creatine intake and can have lower creatine levels in the blood and muscles than omnivorous athletes. Creatine supplementation may therefore be particularly useful for vegan athletes, helping improve their creatine and phosphocreatine concentrations and potentially exercise performance and recovery.
The nutrient creatine is stored mainly in muscle, although it also occurs in other tissues such as the liver and brain. It supports energy production, muscle contraction and delaying fatigue during explosive exercise.
This makes it a widely recommended supplement for athletes performing high-intensity exercise, whether vegetarian, vegan or omnivorous.
It is therefore optional, but may be useful.
If you are unsure where to start, let us help. Our sports nutritionists specialise in sporting performance and can create ahighly personalised nutrition plan that respects your vegan values. Explore our subscription options!
