2019-10-01 Australian Men\'s Fitness

100 MEN’S FITNESS OCTOBER 2019

THEREISALARGENUMBEROFVEGANATHLETESWHOARECONSISTENTLYSURPASSINGTHEIRCOMPETITORS.

MYTH

Vegansare

malnourished

■It’sallverywell

lookingatworld-

classathletes,but

whatabouttherest

ofus?Onaverage,

vegansand

vegetarianslive

longerandgrowold

withfewerhealth

conditions.Those

eatinga plant-based

diet,forexample,

tendtohavelower

riskofheartdisease

andcancer(our

twobiggestkillers

intheWest),as

wellasa lower

riskofdiabetes,

andhealthiergut

profilesandlower

bloodpressure.

Thereasonsare

numerous.It’s

partlybecause

plant-basedfoods

areincredible

nutritional

packages,filled

withphyto-

nutrients,

antioxidants,

vitamins,minerals

andfibre.Butit

is alsobecause

cuttingoutmeat

andanimal

productsmeans

a lowerintakeof

saturatedfat,aswell

asthehormones,

antibioticsand

othercarcinogenic

propertiesfound

inmanymeatand

animalproducts.

■Thelatest

research, then,

might just make

you think twice

about traditional

teachings in the

world of sports

nutrition. Just

because things

may have worked

well for some

people historically,

that doesn’t mean

it’s the optimal

way forward for

those willing to

challenge the

status quo and base

their actions on the

best information

andfactsnow

at our disposal.

Veganism might

not be everyone’s

dairy-free cup of

tea, but for anyone

who’s interested in

animal welfare and

minimising their

environmental

impact, it’s

important to know

that a vegan diet

can give your body

all the nutrients

it requires to be

healthy, strong and

powerful. In fact, it

could even be your

secret weapon.

■Thisis infacttrue,

but perhaps not in

the way you might

expect – a whole-

foods vegan diet

actually improves

recovery time,

because of the

high level of

phytonutrients

and antioxidants

in plants which,

on average,

have 64 times

the antioxidant

properties of

animal foods. This

helps to reduce

exercise-induced

inflammation

andresulting

muscle soreness,

so for competitive

athletes the quicker

recovery from

consuming a

plant-based diet

can get them back

training harder,

sooner. Taken

over the course

of a whole season

or a year, the

cumulative results

can be significant.

This effect has

been shown in

numerous studies

assessing real-life

performance of

athletes in both

endurance and

strength settings.

But you can’t cut

corners by just

taking antioxidant

supps – research

has shown that

taken in pill form,

antioxidants

can in fact impair

performance

a n d r e c o v e r y.

The nutrition of

whole plant foods

is significantly

more complex

than just taking

single nutrients

in isolation.

OUR TWO CENTS

The Men’s Fitness verdict

MYTH

A vegan diet will affect your recovery

MYTH

Vegan athletes

don’t perform

as well

■ There is a large

and fast-growing

number of vegan

athletes, across

a wide variety

of sports/

disciplines, who

are consistently

surpassing their

competitors. From

ultra-distance

triathletes to

boxers and

bodybuilders,

world-class

athletes are

adopting a plant-

based diet to give

them the edge.

The Tennessee

Titans NFL team

is a prime example

• half the team has
  gone plant-based
  to help aid recovery
  and increase
  energy levels.
  These are huge
  125kg+ athletes
  at the top of their
  game. The same
  goes for a growing
  number of NBA
  players. Then
  there’s world-
  record holding
  strongmen,
  powerlifters and
  bodybuilders all
  proving that a
  vegan diet doesn’t
  hold you back and
  can in fact give
  you a competitive
  advantage.

Is seaweed the “new

kale”? This green

goodie is packed

with nutrients,

including up to 35%

of your fibre RDI.

35

%