How vegan athletes can ensure that they’re performing their best through supplementing with multivitamins and more
If you are an active vegan, it is not always easy to find suitable food. Although plants are incredibly healthy, they do not provide all the nutrients you need. So in this article, we will discuss the needed nutritional supplements and award the title of the best vegan multivitamin for athletes.
Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles have started to become more mainstream due to environmental, animal rights, and health concerns. As of 2018, according to a Gallup poll, 3% of the United States was vegan while 5% was vegetarian. Aside from those two statistics, those who aren’t on plant-based diets have shown a greater likelihood to purchase plant-based alternatives for their daily food items, such as milk. Plant-based milk alternative sales increased by 9% from 2017 to 2018.
Furthermore, vegan alternatives to meat grew by 24% in that same timeframe, telling of a food revolution that is occurring even in those who still indulge in animal byproducts from time to time. As this trend has continued to grow, it has only become easier to follow these diets, as there’s more money poured into the industry by consumers, food companies are more willing to provide these alternatives as long as they’re selling well. Now, restaurants, grocery stores, and more are all offering plant-based sections and menus in their businesses.
Since it can be difficult to cut entire food groups out of your diet without experiencing any deficiencies, a lot of those who switch to plant-based diets try to do so with supplementation that makes up for any vitamins or minerals that were easier to get through eating meat. That’s not to say you can’t have a healthy, well-rounded diet by eating plant-based, but there are certain nutrients that are simply easier to obtain in meat than in plants and vice versa.
For the group of vegans and vegetarian athletes, supplementation is of great importance. They are constantly in need of more essential nutrients to fuel their active lifestyle, as compared to someone who isn’t active at such a high level on a daily basis. For this reason, all athletes, and not just vegans, should look into using a multivitamin to help them obtain proper nutrition in the midst of their busy and active life.
For the vegan athletes, their options can be limited when it comes to multivitamins, though, since many multivitamins are delivered in a gelatin capsule, which is not a vegan-friendly method. So, it’s important to review the options for vegans and determine which vegan multivitamin can supplement these athletes the best.
In which areas do vegan athletes need the greatest supplementation?
It’s also important to identify which vitamins and minerals vegan athletes might be most in need of, based on those vitamins and minerals that might be easier to obtain when not on a plant-based diet.
The Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that vegetarians and vegans were more prone to be deficient in “protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12.”
Again, this is not to say that the vegan diet leaves a lot to be desired, quite contrary actually. And if someone had switched from an omnivorous diet to eating solely meat, they would experience deficiencies as well. It’s important to be aware of these deficiencies nonetheless to safeguard against them by supplementing. These deficiencies, if they manifest, are especially concerning to athletes as well. This often causes female athletes to become anemic or even leads to low bone density. It could also be difficult for someone with these deficiencies to maintain a constant source of energy.
To combat these potential issues, it’s advisable to take a supplement of B12, vitamin D, iron, iodine, calcium, zinc, and foods such as nuts and avocadoes and oils for additional fats. Additionally, creatine is listed as something that should be noteworthy to vegan athletes since it is something generally included in red meat and can be a performance and recovery booster.
The best supplements for vegan athletes
So, now it begs the question, what is the best vegan multivitamin for athletes or what supplements should vegan athletes be taking?
- Performance Lab Whole-Food Multi: the most useful and necessary supplements for vegan athletes are those that contain vitamins, such as Performance Lab Whole-Food Multi. This is a highly recommended multivitamin supplement and they’re offered in formulas for men and women. They contain riboflavin, calcium, iodine, iron, zinc, and vitamins B12 and D in varying amounts for the men’s and women’s formulas. These cover most of the essential possible deficiencies that vegan athletes might face, so this is a great option.
- Plant-based protein powder: if an athlete wants to go for more than just the bare minimum and continue with further supplementation, they can do so by incorporating a plant-based protein powder into their daily routine. This will help the athletes to gain muscle and power to increase performance in their respective sports.
- Male athletes might consider taking some Centra Peak test booster: this is because research has shown that vegan diets can lead to lower testosterone levels in men than their omnivorous counterparts. Decreased testosterone can make for many visible differences in male athletes. Some of these include a negative impact on recovery and muscle growth, also inhibited sleep quality, greater inability to think clearly and your ability to remember clearly, and can negatively impact mood and libido. The Centra Peak test booster contains only legal supplements to boost testosterone in those who need it.
- And for post-workout routines, vegans can consider using the Performance Lab SPORT Post-Workout, which contains creatine and can assist with recovery and performance.
Other tips for vegan athletes
In addition to these great supplements and the best vegan multivitamin for athletes, there are other considerations that vegan athletes should think about when going through their day to give them the best possible results on the field, court, track, or in the pool.
- First, they should try to vary their protein intake as much as they can. Although the vegan diet might not pose as many issues as some might think of achieving a healthy amount of protein, diversity of proteins can be important in order to incorporate all amino acids into your diet. There are 20 kinds of amino acids, and not every one of them is incorporated into every protein source, which is why it’s important to get that protein diversity.
- Also, vegan athletes should make sure to eat enough to fuel their rigorous workouts. Some vegans have reported difficulty in consuming enough to make up for the energy depleted in their workouts. But this is critical. Eating greens that are dense in calories can be the key to replenishing the massive amount of calories burned in a demanding workout. A good example of this is peanut butter.
- Everyone knows the massive importance that sleep has on everything we do throughout our day, and it’s no different for recovering from a sporting event, practice, or workout. And vegans can be at a disadvantage in the sleep category if they have decreased testosterone levels. For this reason, vegan athletes should make sure that they’re getting at the very minimum of seven hours of quality sleep each night to allow their body to recover and regenerate.
- To make sure that your vitamins and supplements are being effective to their full potential, you should generate a routine for taking them. These supplements won’t work if taken sparingly throughout the week or month, they need to be taken daily to establish themselves in your system and so your body can start adapting and recovering easier. Establish a time of day when you’re going to take your supplements and do so at that time every day, whether it’s before you get ready for bed at night or before you eat breakfast in the morning, routine is key to making sure that you’re not skipping days of supplementation.
- You can also look into good vegan pre-workout supplements such as Motion All-Natural Pre-Workout Powder. Not many pre-workouts out there are vegan-friendly since many have BCAAs, which are frequently (but not all the time) animal by-products. And for that reason, you should also be careful to read product labels of what you’re supplementing with to make sure that the ingredients fit into the vegan lifestyle.
Final thoughts: the best vegan multivitamin for athletes
In conclusion, you shouldn’t be using these supplements as a crutch for a poor diet. You should be trying to get as much nutrients and replenishment from your diet as you can and supplement with any areas that you have trouble meeting those dietary requirements. These supplements can also help to cover you if you have a bad meal or two and don’t get all the necessary nutrients that you should be getting.
If you supplement right, stay on top of your dietary needs and vary your proteins, you’re doing everything you need to recover and perform just as well as any omnivorous athlete. It might take some extra care and consideration, but you’re probably on the vegan diet for the right reasons and you’ll feel better for it in the end.