Home » Vegan Runners & the Great Importance of Good Nutrition

Vegan Runners & the Great Importance of Good Nutrition

Vegan runners & the importance of good nutrition – let’s explore this important connection to make sure that good health is optimised as well as your fitness and your speed.

 

vegan runners

Vegan Runners

 

Vegan Runners

Plant-based diets are packed with vitamins and minerals and can be exceptionally healthy and rewarding  but the vegan runner is at potential risk for nutritional deficiencies if proper dietary planning is not heeded to sustain an active lifestyle. We really need to consider what it is they need and ensure it is included in a vegan diet plan and in this way optimise runners.

 

Nutrition for Vegan runners

Fortunately, paying attention to adequate-protein, mineral, and vitamin intake can ensure that vegan runners maintain their running schedule and that they even excel in performance by allowing the benefits of veganism to work for them. lets hear it for this diet in many ways it is an absolute winner!

 

Protein for Vegan Runners

Protein is necessary for sustaining physical activity. Protein repairs tissues and muscles, builds red blood cells, and synthesizes hormones and enzymes. But because protein often comes from meat sources, vegetarians risk inadequate intake that could result in poor performance and low energy.

In addition, plants – though often abundant in protein – do not individually contain all nine essential amino acids, as animal protein does.

 

As a result, vegan runners consume a variety of plant proteins throughout the day to ensure that all amino acids are ingested. Furthermore, soy protein provides all essential amino acids on its own and can easily be incorporated into a meatless diet. Other plant protein sources include beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

 

Vegan runners might like a read of my post on how to fry tofu

 

vegan runners

Vegan Runners

I love a good bit of tofu don’t you?

 

Minerals & nutrition for Vegan runners

One of the most important minerals for all runners is iron, as it is often the first to become deficient if proper measures are not taken. Vegan athletes are at a higher risk for anemia by not eating red meat, which contains a form of iron easily absorbed by the body. Female runners are at even greater risk, as an iron deficiency in female athletes is linked to menstrual abnormalities and the possibility of osteoporosis. This has to be most carefully considered

 

Vegan runners need to rest

All runners need to rest regularly – all people do our bodies need it.

However, vegetarian runners – even female ones – should rest easy, as proper planning can ensure that iron stores stay high. Ingesting iron-rich plant sources (such as green leafy vegetables, fortified breakfast cereals, beans, and tofu) with vitamin C to aid its absorption. Drinking a glass of orange juice with breakfast, for example, will better guarantee that iron is distributed into the body.

lets take a look at what our runners bodies need though.

An equally important mineral for vegan runners is calcium, as runners with low dietary calcium increase their risk of bone and stress fractures. Vegetarian runners should aim for 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day, either through dietary supplements or through an average of three calcium-rich food servings per day. Vegetarian foods rich in calcium include leafy greens, calcium-fortified juices, soy products, and breakfast cereals. Dairy foods are also high in calcium if milk products are included in the vegetarian’s diet.

 

vegan runners

Take a look here for the best underwear for runners

 

Vitamins for Vegan Runners

Vitamin B12 deficiency can become a problem for strict vegans who ingest no animal products at all, as this vitamin is found only in meat and in animal derivatives such as dairy and eggs. Vegan runners should consume foods fortified with vitamin B12, or make sure to take a vitamin B12 supplement, as this vitamin is needed for red blood cell production.

 

Vegan runners and vegetarianism

Runners need not avoid vegetarianism, and can, in fact, reap the benefits of this healthy diet to sustain their level of activity if they pay attention to adequate nutrition.

A nutritionally sound vegetarian diet should include a wide variety of foods and must mind the intake of essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins. With proper planning, vegetarian runners can use their diet to maintain peak performance and keep their bodies in good health.

 

I hope you have found this post on vegan runners and nutrition useful. You might also like my post on a high protein vegetarian diet plan

 

Vegan Runners

pin nutrition for Vegan Runners for later

 

 

Further reading for vegan runners!

If you have enjoyed this post and nutrition is important to you then I have some other posts you might really enjoy reading: 

You might like my recipe for vegan stuffed cauliflower and you might also like my post on how to make walking less boring in case you fancy a change of pace one day! 

If you are vegan and a runner I would love to hear all about your diet and how you keep yourself nutritionally healthy.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.