Is There a Place for Veganism in Elite Competitive Sports?

In the sports field, triumphs come by a disciplined diet and lifestyle. Could vegans or vegetarians fit into the athletic world? Perhaps discipline is the most important. Due to eating everything is a natural event, food restrictions could be directed more at quantities and times rather than removing something from the plate. Looking at the diet of a vegan, they expand their options to find the sources of energy essential for its recovery. In his article, Jim Gerard writes, "The vegan athlete's foremost concern is getting enough calories.

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Plant foods pack a lesser punch per volume not just in protein, but overall calories so vegan athletes may have to jack up their caloric consumption" (Gerard). All groups that avoid animal products in some way suffer certain relapses in the process, so they are forced to meet their nutritional needs as soon as possible.

For example, vitamin D not only strengthens the immune system, but also prepares the body for the absorption of calcium, thus nourishing the athlete and preparing him for high performance.

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Milk and cheese are a direct source of vitamin D, but not the only ones, "so vegans must turn to cereals, soy products and orange juice fortified with it or spend 10 to 15 minutes a day in good, old-fashioned sunlight” (Gerard). From another perspective, there are enough nutrients in meat. In her article “Vegetarian and Vegan Diets, 'Enough' for Athletes" Katherine Patton corroborates the importance of meat in the intake, both in a very active life and from a general view due to the nutrients it has, "Vegetarian and vegan diets are typically low in calories.

.. don't provide essential nutrients, which are primarily found in animal sources.

This includes protein, iron, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12, which are all crucial to support muscle synthesis and recovery, bone density and oxygen transport". Along with a nutritional imbalance, a caloric imbalance can be triggered that compromise the total performance of athletes. Both, vegetarians, vegans, and the traditional athlete can lose a competition if cravings precede over self-control. "The diets of meat-eaters and vegetarians alike range from healthful to harmful" (Duchene). A soccer player who eats eggs, nuts, and lean meat three hours before the game is more capable than the player who chooses sausages plus brussels sprouts, knowing that the effect will be flatulence and heartburn. And this rule applies to any athlete, who could be a vegan addicted to sugar.

From a psychological aspect, our actions are based on a message captured through the senses, therefore, the nutritional regimen will depend on the environment, culture and needs, in which the physical balance goes hand in hand with the mind. Part 2 There are clearly differences in the way of eating, even more when those involved are dedicated to measuring their performance by physical competence. In general, meat becomes a basic element in food because is a complete food; apparently it would take advantage of the plant-based diet, which requires supplements to be at the same level. If we notice that behind a diet there are countless reasons to do so, maybe athletes will be include more openly despite their regimen.

If a person chooses to eat meat or not, of course have a very personal reason, as Susan Kleiner invites us to analyze, "If the decision to consume a meatless diet is not based upon moral or ethical principles, it may be more practical to encourage the athlete to include some meat in their diet". Regardless of what eating style a person chooses, his principles should govern his choice. In turn, this decision must have a scientific basis, which together with ethics prevents us from falling into myths. Some people out of curiosity will want to try what the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle is like. For someone who is an important image, as an athlete in this case, there is an objective that surely has been studied, tested, and approved.

These last years, some renowned actors have joined to make the documentary called "The Game Changers" that deeply promotes a life based on exercises and a diet without any meat and derivatives. In the transcript producer James Cameron emphasizes: "with plants having on average 64 times the antioxidant content of animal foods. This helps explain why switching to a plant-based diet can help reduce measures of inflammation by 29 percent in just three weeks", this range of antioxidants with anti-inflammatory is one of the reasons why vegetables are essential for everyone. Following the approach of this documentary, athletes of different categories tested the effect of the plant-based diet and declared that the oxygenation of their blood changed resoundingly. What is this about? Vegetables contain nitrates, which are found mostly in green leaves and whose function is to keep our blood vessels open and ready to receive clean oxygen and relax the veins.

Famous people, who in addition to being athletes are also influencers, want to share their experiences and routines because media is the fastest tool to reach the public, so their main message is that meat is not necessary even for heavy activities such as weightlifting. Since the benefits of this plant-based diet have been maximized, people are more attracted to the proven benefits from constant studies and comparisons.

The article "Plant-Based Diets for Cardiovascular Safety and Performance in Endurance Sports" by the Journal Nutrients reflects the importance of measure fats in the food, "Plant-based diets reduce body fat, an effect that not only reduces atherosclerotic risk but may also be directly beneficial for athletic performance ...

As a result, low-fat diets are more effective than calorie-matched low carbohydrate diets for reducing body fat". Relating this opinion with the information in the media about nutrition, people are in a daily search of how to achieve the perfect body, so instead of setting aside an appointment with a specialist, they only make decisions based on the videos that most they were attracted. Losing weight in a couple of days is something that we all would like, but people in general forget that each body has a different metabolism that requires specialist guidance, and that cannot be obtained by liking a video.

Referring to the benefits of meat, in it we naturally find the zinc that is necessary to defend ourselves against viruses and bacteria. This component helps the growth and development of our body, in addition to being part of each cell of our DNA. All athletes need an immediate recovery, due to their skills they are also exposed to traveling and being in contact with the public, why then would we remove meat from their plate if together with vegetables they are a balanced combination? As additional information, zinc and iron are the nutrients that a vegetarian most commonly suffers from deficiency. Specialist Susan Kleiner supports this, "It is the variety of types and cuts of meats that provide the total array of nutrients necessary for an adequate diet."