Can Athletes Be Vegan? Breaking Common Myths

The proportion of the population that says they follow a plant-based diet (PBD) is currently between 5 – 10% in developed countries. Under the PBD umbrella we have several options ranging from the total exclusion of meat consumption to nuances where some products of animal origin such as milk, eggs or fish are used. When we refer generically to a PBD, we refer to the fact that a large part of the dietary intake comes from plant sources.

Veganism, vegetarianism or diets with a predominance of plant foods are here to stay, and for me, contrary to what many colleagues may think, I believe they offer more health benefits than drawbacks, and even more so in the social and environmental context in which we currently live. It is difficult for us to see things and bring out the good side, it is difficult for us to challenge our own beliefs, to make them flexible and to make them participate in what science says to form an informed opinion. Whether I like it or not, whether I follow it or not, this is not a matter of an opinion based on my beliefs but of a fact that is becoming more and more scientifically evidenced. I don't want to convince you that basing your diet on plants is the best option, I want you to know why I tell you and that you are the one who chooses.

But as I said, and to give you some data, in Spain, it is estimated that 7,8% of the population over 18 years of age is vegan or vegetarian. Therefore, in the face of this growing way of eating, it is time to take action and, rather than trying to argue you out of it, if you want to do a PBD, what nutrition professionals should and should do, is that your food choice is made in the best possible way. For this you must, without bias, get into the mind of a vegan and know why they decide to be one. Most seek animal welfare, and also for health. When I train future nutritionists or other colleagues, I always say the same thing, if we want an athlete to adopt a certain behavior, the first thing we must do is provide or give them options and fundamentals, recognize their feelings and perspectives. If you come to my office as an athlete who wants to try veganism and I laugh at you, I would be betraying my profession, breaching its ethical code and disregarding science and the worst, showing a tremendous lack of empathy and sensitivity. Therefore, the first thing is to adopt an open mind and stop thinking that you cannot be vegan and an athlete; As the saying goes, the examples speak for themselves. Tennis players such as Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, NBA players such as Chris Paul, Diana Taurasi, National Football League players such as Derrick Morgan, or boxers such as David Haye and the legendary Mike Tyson when he made his epic return at the age of 54, after ten years of performing a PBD. Olympic medalists such as Rebecca Soni, Meagan Duhamel or one of the best Olympic athletes in the history of athletics, Carl Lewis who attributed his successes to a vegan lifestyle and a PBD, if you don't remember, won ten Olympic medals (nine golds). Lewis Hamilton, six-time Formula 1 world champion, also follows a plant-based diet. Arnold Schwarzenegger recognized that it was not necessary to eat meat to gain muscle, currently following a PBD. However, this is nothing new, although some present it as a new global trend. Athletes on plant-based diets have existed since Roman gladiators whose diet was primarily based on grains (barley, wheat) as determined in a study that looked at the composition of their bones.

According to the theory of self-determination, we could rather than prohibit teaching them the pros and cons, not so that they stop doing it but so that their choice is as safe and adapted as possible to their performance. This is applicable to any diet pattern. A plant-based diet can have pros and cons for the athlete, the question is not whether to do it, but how to do it as well as possible. In terms of health, we know of many of the benefits of PBDs such as reducing cardiovascular risk, type II diabetes, cancer, hypertension, etc.

The first problem we can find is that the diet is poorly planned. Sure, this is problematic whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous. If you "build" your diet badly, then deficiencies will surely appear or you will eat high amounts of processed foods for vegans, rich in poor quality fats and with sugars in many of them, thus being negative.

However, it has traditionally been recognized that in PBD there is a greater amount of some compounds such as tannins, oxalates, lectins, glucosinolates, phytates and also fibers, which may be interfering with the absorption of important nutrients such as iron and zinc. These compounds have come to be called anti-nutrients, being substances that the plant generally creates as a means of protecting the environment that surrounds them. For example, tannins are present in legumes, nuts, grains, beverages such as coffee or tea. In the case of phytates present in cereals or seeds, they can limit the absorption of calcium, magnesium, zinc or iron. Finally, dietary fibers decrease nutrient absorption and increase satiety. Although all this a priori may make you think that it is better not to take them, their role in different aspects related to health is important. Fiber, for example, we know is a great ally of our health, favoring the growth of our intestinal bacteria and the production of different beneficial compounds from them. The satiating effect also makes them interesting in weight control diets, however, we must be cautious in athletes in order to ensure that the energy consumption is adequate for the demand they require. The unfounded fear of the so-called "anti-nutrients" today is clouded by science where we are being shown in vitro studies, in animal models, as well as some others carried out on humans, how these compounds can be great allies of our health, especially if we take into account that the concentration of these substances after the use of different cooking techniques decreases (soaking, cooking, fermentation, germination) and its interaction with the food matrix, where it acts synergistically with other substances, minimises the risk versus the benefits.

Therefore, and as we will discover in future posts, if your plant-based diet is well designed, you will not only adequately cover your performance but you will also be doing your health a favor. In the next post about PBDs I will talk about proteins.

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