Running Header: VEGAN DIETS 1 Introduction With continued interconnectivity and the ability to access the internet at all places, there is increased ease in sharing of information that enables people to have knowledge veganism, which is becoming a topic of discussion for everybody more so to the sports and health fraternity. Few research papers have been done to show the relationship that exists between veganism and athletes. Thus, this research paper aims to determine the relationship between athletes’ health and vegan dietary components. The data for conducting this research came from the sports nutrition databases/literature where it was found out those challenges associated with VEGAN DIETS 2 veganism that first need to be addressed before implementing the strategy. The problems found included; less energy and proteins, inadequate vitamins like B12 and D. less rich in calcium, iron, and zinc minerals. The plant-based vegan lack fatty acids like EPA and DHA, as well as the long-chain n-3. Proper food management with adequate supplementation of the diet, a well nutritive vegan diet can be achieved and used by the athletes. Supplements such as creatine and alanine might be used to add to the vegan dietary as they help in making the lower muscles stronger. Therefore, the thesis of this paper examines the various effects of applying a vegan diet to athletes and ensuring their health and performance in athletics are up to standard with the knowledge of sports nutrition. Background With the increased access to social media, vegan diets are becoming extremely visible and to the knowledge of many people, especially the athletes who points out their views on the use of veganism (Quinn, 2016). Many reports show that veganism helps in reducing the risk of heart attacks, lowers blood pressure, and prevents diabetes and cancer. In definition, veganism is simply the act of avoiding animal products as part of your diet. Another culture that prohibits the use of animal products as part of the diet strongly encourages veganism (Appleby, 2016). Many people subject it to stigmatization and give it a negative attitude because they believe the consumption of animal products is much better than veganism. High-profile athletes such tennis champion, Venus Williams and boxer heavyweight giant David Haye confirms that they have adopted veganism and its one of the most proficient practice of diet one should consider. However, when vegan diets are not properly constructed, the athlete or the user might be exposed to deficiencies such as macronutrients and micronutrients. This is because many of these VEGAN DIETS 3 nutrients are abundant in animal products; thus, the need to highly paying attention while constructing vegan diets (Povey, 2001). May practitioners have instead claimed that vegan diets offer many benefits such as antioxidants, vitamins C & E, and carbohydrates that provide maximum energy required during training and recovery period in case of injuries. To meet the requirements of a vegan diet to ensure that health standards and high performance are met, a general literature review should be conducted on the global veganism in sports. Thus, this research paper aims to address these points on the essential diets to include in the vegan diet. The main points to achieve this research go on the macronutrients, micronutrients, and supplements that are required to include in the nutrition pack of an athlete to complete the vegan dietary recommendations. The healthy elements of a vegan diet Energy Many athletes require sufficient energy to help them during training and the actual athletics competition. Data from various sources suggest that many athletes record negative energy balance, which is seen during heavy training sessions, more particularly in sports such as combat, skating, and gymnastics (Loucks, 2004). Games that require the athlete to have less body mass more precisely from female athletes; are always exposed to a decrease in bone mineral density due to the construction of a hypocaloric diet poorly. Other athletes have difficulties in meeting their energy requirements due to heavy training, frequent traveling that reduces their appetite that arises from lack of common foods they are conversant, and even change of environment that affects the eating habits. VEGAN DIETS 4 Lack of enough energy in the body may lead to weak immunity that will, in turn, lead to frequent health issues making the athlete get off training and even miss competitions. Poor feeding habits bring about loss of weights that affects the mass of muscles, reducing the strengths of the athlete, which in turn can lead to reduced work output, thus preventing adaptation in training sessions (Loucks, 2004). Therefore it's highly recommended to construct a diet that is highly rich in energy-giving foods to boost the energy balance of the vegan athletes. Proteins Protein is one of the core nutrients that is significantly beneficial to the life of the athlete, and in administering a vegan diet, maximum attention should be given during the construction of the diet to avoid deficiency in proteins. Proteins are regarded as a substrate during training as it catalyzes the adaptation of exercises since it helps in the breakdown and synthesis of the muscle protein (Phillips, 2011). Positive net protein balance can be achieved by elevating the Muscle Protein Synthesis that ensures adapting to the exercise and help in recovery during injury. Vegan dieting athletes require protein to promote their satiety as they maintain their lean mass. Endurance during training sessions also adds to the need for extra proteins. Therefore, to achieve this, vegan dieters who always appear to take fewer proteins as compared to omnivorous dieters should pay great attention to the type of food they consume. To ensure they receive high-quality proteins with the right quantities to enable them much their counterparts. Suggested foods that may bring good protein value include; nuts, legumes, seeds, and grains, which are highly recommended by a nutritionist to be part of the diet that will, in turn, improve adaptation during training and give quick recovery in case of injuries. EPA and DHA VEGAN DIETS 5 Fatty acids are also part of the macronutrients that appear to be consumed in fewer quantities by the vegan athletes. Lack of n-3 fatty acids may cause health implications as they help in growth and development and very important in the health of cardiovascular. It also helps in preventing inflammatory diseases that improve exercises like induced bronchoconstriction and the complete immunity of the athlete. N-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA have reported many benefits making it a popular additive during the construction of the vegan diet. ALA is a supplement that can be used to improve the blood levels of EPA without affecting the status of the DHA (Dinu, 2017). Oils of microalgae provide maximum EPA and DHA, which helps in the vegan diet as they help in improving the blood levels of both EPA and DHA. Various food sources that are rich in n-3 fatty acids include; the flax seeds, walnuts, and seeds of chia. The consumption of the n-3 fatty acids can be combined in a ratio of 2:1 EPA and DHA, respectively, consuming 1-2 g daily. DHA dose can also be administered solely at a rate of 500-1000 mg a day, which can equate to 1-2 g of the microalgae oil. Micronutrients Achieving micronutrient sufficiency is an essential concern for all athletes. The AND have indicated that attention should be paid to attain adequacy in vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, and vitamin D intakes when designing a vegan diet in particular. Vitamin B-12 Vegans are highly exposed to developing deficiency of vitamin B-12 due to the absence of animals and dairy products within their diets. Vitamin B-12 is synthesized from the anaerobic process by microorganisms that are inside the rumen of animals like cattle and sheep. The human only receives them through the consumption of these products. Plant-based sources of Vitamin VEGAN DIETS 6 B-12 are always not familiar (Pawlak, 2014). Cobalamin (Vitamin B-12) helps in the functioning of the nervous system and the synthesis of DNA. When vitamin B-12 is insufficient in the body there are risks of changes in the morphology of the blood cells. This leads to the development of symptoms of neurological and hematological deficiencies that can cause anemic conditions. Vegans are therefore advised to supplement Cobalamin in their diets by consuming foods that are fortified and also take supplements that are rich in vitamin B-12 daily to improve the overall intake of Cobalamin. The intake reference of diets recommends that a total of 2.4 µg should be taken a day; thus, the adults and the vegans should take up to 6 μg a day of the vitamin. Vitamin D Vitamin D is produced in the skin and always crucial in absorbing calcium into the bones. It improves the overall health of bones and the physiological processes at large. Synthesis of vitamin D takes place in the exposure of skin to sunlight, other anima products, and through taking fortified foods. Many reports show that may vegans take low vitamin D as many of them are always not exposed to the sun. But, a derived version of vitamin D called Cholecalciferol [D3] which is gotten from animals is excellent news to vegans who cannot access sunlight, or fortified food that is in vitamin D (Del Valle, 2011). Supplements of vitamin D like Ergocalciferol [D2] are not readily available as much as they are more abundant in vitamin D than D3. Athletes should then aim to achieve more plasma levels of up to 250HD using supplements of quantities 30-40 ng. ml per day. The doses of supplements should be administered 4-5000 IU per day added with 50 -100 µg /day of vitamins k1 & k2 that improves recovery and adds more strength during training and competition. VEGAN DIETS 7 Iron Iron deficiency is also another point of concern in the construction of vegan dietary. Vegans receive a high amount of iron from consuming food rich in legumes and whole grains, which gives the same amount of metal as the other counterparts (omnivorous). Vegans, on the other hand, needs to pay attention due to less availability of the plant-based irons to ensure that their diets are proficiently rich in iron. Metal can be mainly found from the non-haem forms, which are always not readily available (Davey, 2003). Inhibitors such as tannins, which are received from coffee and tea products that are included in the vegan's diet, reduce the total amounts of iron that are absorbed. Phytates, which are inhibitors found in legumes and whole grains, also reduce the amount of iron consumed in the diet. It is then highly recommended for the vegans to choose wholefood that is rich in iron and reduce consumptions of foodstuffs like coffee, cocoa, and coffee that have inhibitors that reduce the amount of iron absorbed. Vegans should consume foods that are rich in vitamin C, which enables the absorption of fortified food in the diet in incidences of palatability. Zinc Zinc is a micronutrient that constitutes of enzymes that help in the metabolism and synthesis of DNA and expression of genes. Zinc is also significant in the growth and repair of cells as well as the metabolism of proteins. Zinc is very similar to iron and is widely found in plant-based foods, although they are not always readily absorbed. Vegans are then needed to take increased percentages of zinc more than their counterparts to balance the equilibrium. Will help the body to improve its adaptation in reducing the losses of zinc and increase its absorption to improve the dietary of the vegans (Ball, 2000). Foods such as beans, nuts, seeds, and whole VEGAN DIETS grains are very rich in zinc, and the vegans should consider phytate. Also, hemp and seeds of pumpkins are highly rich in zinc and are recommended for consumption. Methods of mineral absorption should be adopted, such as fermentation and soaking should be supplemented to improve zinc levels in the diet. Calcium Calcium is also a micronutrient that is broadly abundant mostly in dairy products. Resources show that vegans always take less calcium than their counterparts (omnivorous and vegetarians). Lack of calcium in the diet would lead to incidences of fracture and mostly affects children who require calcium abundantly for the development of their bones. Vegans are required to take 578 mg of calcium per day, which is similar to 875 mg taken by their counterparts in a day (Ho-Pham, 2009). Calcium is always absorbed in the foods when there is enough vitamin D improving the sufficiency of calcium within the diet. Vegan athletes are therefore required to take a lot of plant-based foodstuffs like beans, green vegetables, and pulses, which gives sufficiently larger quantities of calcium in a day. Kales, broccoli, and bok choy are the particular green vegetables that are high in calcium, adding spinach and arugula that speeds up the absorption of calcium within the diet. Supplements Creatine Sources show that constructed vegan diets reduce the levels of creatine stored in the muscles. It is an organic acid that is synthesized from glycine and methionine and is naturally found in the tissues that provide energy during heavy training of the athletes. Many animal 8 VEGAN DIETS 9 products, including fish and meat, are highly rich in creatine but cannot be included in the vegan diet. Supplementing creatine as significant effects on the muscles as it improves the workability during high intense training by improving muscle hypertrophy and muscle strength. When creatine is enhanced in the diet, the plasma volumes also increases, storage of glycogen increases, oxygen consumption is reduced during the training sessions. Supplementing creatine is more critical to athletes with low muscle creatine stores as it helps them improve their maximal strength (Lukaszuk, 2002). Vegan athletes should consider creatine supplementation as part of enhancing their ergogenic levels to strengthen the creatine stores in their muscles, which in turn increases their maximal strength. It is thus recommended that in supplementing creatine, its powder forms should be considered since capsulated products may contain gelatin, which might cause implications in the muscles. Another type of applying creatine is by co-ingesting with wholefoods or a mixture of both proteins and carbohydrates that gives an optimal way for improving the storage of creatine in the muscles. Beta-alanine Beta-alanine is also a supplement that is less in the diet of vegans recording low levels of muscle carnosine. This is if it's compared to other counterparts (omnivorous and vegetarians). β alanine is an antioxidant that intracellular proton buffer mostly seen in the skeletal muscles and the CNS. The primary sources of beta-alanine are meat and poultry, which are animal products but must be included in the diet of vegans. β alanine generally helps in improving the concentrations of carnosine in muscles, giving maximum performance during high-intensity training and competitions; since fatigue is reduced by the buffered protons and the radicals that VEGAN DIETS 10 are scavenged (Everaert, 2011). To effectively administer beta-alanine, the saturation of carnosine in the muscles must be achieved. Thus, in loading β-alanine, doses of 4-6 g a day are divided to be taken in 2-4 weeks. A case study of doing exercise in duration of 60 s was done to ensure the effectiveness of supplementing beta-alanine. Aerobic exercise, which could attenuate the muscle fatigue, was also done to improve the performance of high-intensity activity with a time factor considered. It is then feasible that the effectiveness of beta-alanine could be supplemented to the vegans to be at the same levels as their counterpart's omnivores and vegetarians. Conclusions Generally, vegan diets have shown low levels of energy, proteins, vitamins B-12 & D, n3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, calcium, and supplements of creatine and beta-alanine as compared to their counterpart’s omnivores and vegetarians. Research shows that it takes time to achieve high energy from the plant-based foods; various problems of digestibility make proteins absorption difficult as well as calcium, zinc, and iron. Thus, vegan athletes should consider taking extra quantities of foods to gain these nutrients at the same rates as omnivores and vegetarians. There are difficulties in choosing that is rich in both the macro and micronutrients, making it challenging to pay attention to achieving the required nutrients within the diet. Supplements such as creatine and beta-alanine are essential to the vegans' diet as it improves the performance of muscles leading to maximal strengths during intense exercises due to less muscle fatigue. Therefore, on the road to achieving a Vegan diet, which requires a strong manifestation of beliefs and due diligence to sustain the food effectively. This research paper aimed to vividly explain the relationship between the vegan dietary and sports nutrition and exclusively discuss VEGAN DIETS 11 the core nutrients that are difficult to include in the diet of a vegan and give recommendations on what should be considered to achieve a sustainable vegan dietary. VEGAN DIETS 12 References Quinn, S. (2016). Number of vegans in Britain rises by 360% in 10 years. The Telegraph, 18, 2016. Appleby, P. N., & Key, T. J. (2016). The long-term health of vegetarians and vegans. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 75(3), 287-293. Povey, R., Wellens, B., & Conner, M. (2001). Attitudes towards following meat, vegetarian and vegan diets: an examination of the role of ambivalence. Appetite, 37(1), 15-26. Loucks, A. B. (2004). Energy balance and body composition in sports and exercise. Journal of sports sciences, 22(1), 1-14. Phillips, S. M., & Van Loon, L. J. (2011). Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation. Journal of sports sciences, 29(sup1), S29-S38. Pawlak, R., Lester, S. E., & Babatunde, T. (2014). The prevalence of cobalamin deficiency among vegetarians assessed by serum vitamin B12: a review of literature. European journal of clinical nutrition, 68(5), 541-548. Davey, G. K., Spencer, E. A., Appleby, P. N., Allen, N. E., Knox, K. H., & Key, T. J. (2003). EPIC–Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33 883 meateaters and 31 546 non-meat-eaters in the UK. Public health nutrition, 6(3), 259-268. Ball, M. J., & Ackland, M. L. (2000). Zinc intake and status in Australian vegetarians. British Journal of Nutrition, 83(1), 27-33. VEGAN DIETS 13 Ho-Pham, L. T., Nguyen, N. D., & Nguyen, T. V. (2009). Effect of vegetarian diets on bone mineral density: a Bayesian meta-analysis. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 90(4), 943-950. Del Valle, H. B., Yaktine, A. L., Taylor, C. L., & Ross, A. C. (Eds.). (2011). Dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D. National Academies Press. Lukaszuk, J. M., Robertson, R. J., Arch, J. E., Moore, G. E., Yaw, K. M., Kelley, D. E., ... & Moyna, N. M. (2002). Effect of creatine supplementation and a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet on muscle creatine concentration. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 12(3), 336-348. Everaert, I., Mooyaart, A., Baguet, A., Zutinic, A., Baelde, H., Achten, E., ... & Derave, W. (2011). Vegetarianism, female gender and increasing age, but not CNDP1 genotype, are associated with reduced muscle carnosine levels in humans. Amino acids, 40(4), 12211229. Dinu, M., Abbate, R., Gensini, G. F., Casini, A., & Sofi, F. (2017). Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 57(17), 3640-3649.
Purchase answer to see full attachment