There is research to support that a whole food diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, lowered LDL and blood pressure, lowered incidence of Type II Diabetes and certain cancers, in addition to promoting recovery from training and lowering overall inflammation.

In turn, a poorly constructed PB diet can predispose athletes to macro protein and micronutrient B12, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron and Omega 3 deficiencies. With the strategic management of food and appropriate supplementation, a nutrient-rich plant-based diet can be designed to achieve the dietary needs and performance goals of most athletes.

The most common nutrient deficiencies in plant-based athletes are listed below, as well as suggestions on how to address and supplement their diet. The biggest concern when it comes to any diet is if it is providing sufficient energy to achieve energy balance.

Data suggests that often, particularly in endurance sports, there is a negative energy balance, and many athletes are not meeting their needs. The consequences of insufficient energy balance are important to note; compromised immunity, low bone density, hormonal irregularities, reduced strength and muscle mass, a lack of training adaptations and lowered work capacity.

I mention this because it can become a bigger problem when athletes have dietary restrictions plant-based that limit food options and availability. The consensus amongst sports scientists is that athletes need more protein than is currently being recommended.

A plant-based diet can present challenges in meeting those requirements while also staying in energy balance. Plant sources of protein are often higher in carbohydrates and fat than animal sources, and this needs to be thoughtfully considered.

Especially important is the amino acid Leucine, which is the primary trigger for muscle protein synthesis. Due to the absence of marine-sourced fats, PB athletes appear to consume significantly less n-3 fatty acids DHA, EPA than their animal-eating teammates. N-3 fatty acids play an important role in cardiovascular health, normal growth and development, and inflammatory and chronic disease.

In terms of performance implications, n-3 fats might also increase nitric oxide production, assist with MPS, and improve heart rate variability. Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin produced in the skin, is essential for calcium absorption and bone health and plays an important role in many physiological processes key to endurance sports.

While we are able to synthesize it from sunlight, Vitamin D can also be found in animal-based and fortified foods. Getting enough Vitamin D through sun exposure alone is hard, so many athletes, plant-based or otherwise, will look to supplement. Poor vitamin D status negatively affects muscle strength and oxygen consumption, which confirms that supplementation can protect against overuse injury via its role in calcium metabolism and skeletal muscle function.

B12 is important for cell metabolism, brain and nerve function and the formation of blood. For women specifically, higher B12 levels are associated with enhanced athletic performance. Adequate levels of B12 also provide the body with an increased ability to deliver oxygen, thus possibly enhancing endurance capacity.

How to check the box: Luckily, many products now are fortified with B12, and supplementing is inexpensive and efficient.

Cereals, some packaged oats, nut milks and plant-based meats are the most consistently fortified products, but nutritional yeast, tempeh and nori seaweed also naturally contain small amounts of B12 that can add up when consumed regularly. The main source of iron in the plant-based diet is found in the non-heme form, which is less bioavailable than the heme iron found in animal products.

Ring a bell for you? A plant based diet can be one of the best overall strategies to try to reduce inflammation which result from running and hard training.

There have been some studies that have shown that some very specific foods can help us deal with post-run inflammation and overall soreness, so take note: eating cherries, pomegranate seeds, blueberries, blackberries and even watermelon are great in fighting running inflammation!

You probably know the big concern surrounding this diet, right? Protein, protein, protein…yep. So the rule of thumb for sporty people or athletes is to consume between grams of protein for every kilo of weight.

This means, if you weigh 70 kilos your daily protein intake should be anywhere between 70 to grams per day. And doing that on a plant based diet is super achievable. There have been studies comparing omnivore, vegetarian and vegan diets to see if they can all achieve their required protein intakes for the day…and guess what?

All three of them are able to easily meet their requirements. If you do this every day of the week—not just once or twice a week, but every day—it should be easy to bump up your protein levels. Well, every legume like lentils, chickpeas and beans red beans should be higher up on your list if you are worried about protein.

You can also try adding in some tofu or tempeh too if you feel like mixing it up. The usual shakes and protein powders for those on a plant based diet are made from: peas, rice or soy…and as long as you check the ingredients of the product remember, try to avoid artificial preservatives and sweeteners if you want to do the plant based diet right you should be all set.

Now, lastly, here are some final things that you may want to read before you decide to try out a plant based diet. Imbalances may not even be the result of your diet, but can often pop up as a result of lots of hard training, too.

Which I definitely recommend doing. The good thing is that now there are a lot of plant based products that come with added B12, which makes it a bit easier to keep balanced.

Vitamin D which has been getting a lot of news and attention after worldwide Covid lockdowns, and with people not being exposed to the great outdoors is another of the key micronutrients that you should be looking at closely when following a plant-based diet.

While you can obtain this from plant-sourced food and sun exposure is something that as a trail runner you probably get plenty of , it is still not enough if your body is not able to absorb this vitamin correctly.

Mushrooms are something that you want to keep in your regular diet if you are low in Vitamin D. Nowadays, there are also a lot of fortified foods on the market with added Vitamin D. In general, try to incorporate lots of dark, leafy greens into your diet…and try to have this with some Vitamin C in it to help the body absorb it better.

A great example of this: a nice salad with some lemon juice and pepper. Nowadays there are millions of easy recipes you can find online to give yourself a nice, tasty meal with only plant based foods.

Whether you practice endurance sport or not, adding more plant-based foods into your diet will definitely be good for you. No matter if you keep consuming animal products or not, the benefits of eating more plant-based foods are clear and loud. Do you want the formula to train for a 50k or any Ultra marathon?

even in a city. Learn how to train, nail your nutrition, race, stay injury free and more. We know how hard it is to plan your trail running season. What is the best way to plan the season in order to perform well enough, and also have fun?

Should every athlete have an offseason? What should winter training look like? No matter where you are, build strength for the mountains with our jumps routine.

When done correctly and methodically, this routine will help you feel stronger and more prepared when heading to the mountains to train or race. Our routine aims to train two things: your strength and your competence in different types of terrain. These skills safely enable you to run farther and more consistently in the mountains.

A strength routine plays a key role in your development as a trail runner. We need to prepare our bodies to withstand the impact of running long downhills; to avoid fatigue and thus avoid falling in technical sections; and to be a strong, compact ally to our minds during climbs.

Then, you can keep building from there. Skip to content. Training Plans Challenges What is Vert? Our story Our coaches Reviews FAQs Journal Success stories ES Menu. Log in. Daniela Corvalán.

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And doing that on a plant based diet is super achievable. There have been studies comparing omnivore, vegetarian and vegan diets to see if they can all achieve their required protein intakes for the day…and guess what? All three of them are able to easily meet their requirements. If you do this every day of the week—not just once or twice a week, but every day—it should be easy to bump up your protein levels.

Well, every legume like lentils, chickpeas and beans red beans should be higher up on your list if you are worried about protein. You can also try adding in some tofu or tempeh too if you feel like mixing it up. The usual shakes and protein powders for those on a plant based diet are made from: peas, rice or soy…and as long as you check the ingredients of the product remember, try to avoid artificial preservatives and sweeteners if you want to do the plant based diet right you should be all set.

Now, lastly, here are some final things that you may want to read before you decide to try out a plant based diet. Imbalances may not even be the result of your diet, but can often pop up as a result of lots of hard training, too.

Which I definitely recommend doing. The good thing is that now there are a lot of plant based products that come with added B12, which makes it a bit easier to keep balanced. Vitamin D which has been getting a lot of news and attention after worldwide Covid lockdowns, and with people not being exposed to the great outdoors is another of the key micronutrients that you should be looking at closely when following a plant-based diet.

While you can obtain this from plant-sourced food and sun exposure is something that as a trail runner you probably get plenty of , it is still not enough if your body is not able to absorb this vitamin correctly.

Mushrooms are something that you want to keep in your regular diet if you are low in Vitamin D. Nowadays, there are also a lot of fortified foods on the market with added Vitamin D.

In general, try to incorporate lots of dark, leafy greens into your diet…and try to have this with some Vitamin C in it to help the body absorb it better. A great example of this: a nice salad with some lemon juice and pepper. Nowadays there are millions of easy recipes you can find online to give yourself a nice, tasty meal with only plant based foods.

Whether you practice endurance sport or not, adding more plant-based foods into your diet will definitely be good for you. No matter if you keep consuming animal products or not, the benefits of eating more plant-based foods are clear and loud.

Do you want the formula to train for a 50k or any Ultra marathon? even in a city. Learn how to train, nail your nutrition, race, stay injury free and more. We know how hard it is to plan your trail running season. What is the best way to plan the season in order to perform well enough, and also have fun?

Should every athlete have an offseason? What should winter training look like? No matter where you are, build strength for the mountains with our jumps routine. When done correctly and methodically, this routine will help you feel stronger and more prepared when heading to the mountains to train or race.

Our routine aims to train two things: your strength and your competence in different types of terrain. These skills safely enable you to run farther and more consistently in the mountains.

A strength routine plays a key role in your development as a trail runner. We need to prepare our bodies to withstand the impact of running long downhills; to avoid fatigue and thus avoid falling in technical sections; and to be a strong, compact ally to our minds during climbs.

Then, you can keep building from there. Skip to content. Training Plans Challenges What is Vert? Our story Our coaches Reviews FAQs Journal Success stories ES Menu.

Log in. Daniela Corvalán. Share this post. Ultimate Guide for Plant Based Endurance Athletes. Play Video. Learn more.

A plant based diet can help us with:. Lowering our overall body fat percentage and lowering concentrations of lipids in your blood flood. Help oxygenate our tissues.

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