VEGAN NUTRITION

What is a vegan diet?

A vegan diet is one of the most unusual. It is different from a vegetarian diet, which involves excluding meat from the diet. Also, veganism is different from a vegan diet, which requires the elimination of meat, egg and milk consumption.

More concretely, a vegan diet consists of avoiding all animal products or products that use an animal body in their preparation. In order to adopt such a diet, one must favour foods such as cereals, nuts, beans and plant-based foods.

Is veganism a barrier to sports programmes?

In order to work on your muscles, it is essential to consume foods rich in protein. Thus, a vegan diet is by analogy a limit for a fitness programme. However, the assertion that veganism is not recommended for athletes is false. In fact, with this diet, the athlete can supplement his or her diet with vegetable proteins.

Some protein varieties contain amino acids that are important for muscle development. For example, it is advisable to consume foods such as rice and pea protein. These are more suitable for a sports programme, unlike hemp protein which has a low amino acid bioavailability.

The vegan diet for a sportsman

Some foods are rich in amino acids while others are not. To achieve a better combination of a fitness programme and a vegan diet, you should favour foods rich in plant proteins such as :

• Cereals such as rice, oats, wheat ;
• Nuts and seeds such as pistachios, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds;
• Buckwheat and quinoa

You should combine these different foods to ensure that you reach a sufficient protein quota each day. This helps to build muscle and boost performance in sport. For best results, in addition to these protein foods, the athlete should add food supplements.

Using food supplements for a complete vegan diet

Recommended for vegans and vegetarians, powdered food supplements are one of the best solutions for filling the amino acid gap. Basically, a vegan diet based on cereals and nuts can be insufficient to provide the amino acid needed by the athlete. Therefore, by adding these nutrient-rich products, i.e. food supplements, the vegan sportsman gives himself even more chances to reach his goals in better conditions.

Rice and pea protein are especially recommended for this purpose. Indeed, when combined, these two foods provide as much protein as a food rich in lactose. Also, these two nutrients combined are very effective for gaining muscle mass quickly.