Many athletes regard themselves as “vegetarian”. However, the term vegetarian covers many diets, from those based exclusively on plant foods, to diets including some flesh foods (i.e. occasional meat eaters). You may choose a vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet to help meet your increased carbohydrate requirements for training, or to assist with weight control (some vegetarian foods are lower in fat than meat foods). Vegetarian diets have not been shown to improve athletic performance.
A well planned vegetarian diet can deliver most nutrients needed for good health and performance, provided that a variety of suitable meat alternatives (in adequate amounts) are eaten every day. If you follow a vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet, you should pay particular attention to the points listed below.
-
Variety - eat protein-rich and carbohydrate-rich foods at every meal and be sure to include a variety of meat alternatives including dried beans and peas, lentils, tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (TVP) and ready-made soy, nut or wheat-derived alternatives.
-
Convenience - as an athlete, you may have little time for meal preparation. For snacking and quick meal ideas, try baked beans, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, tahini, yogurt and milk or soy-based drinks.
-
Calcium - if you use a soy drink, make sure it’s calcium fortified as soy drinks are not naturally high in calcium. Read the nutrition information on the food label and choose a soy drink that contains at least 100mg calcium per 100mL. Firm tofu (with calcium coagulant) is also a rich source of calcium.
-
Vitamin B12 - is only found in animal foods. If you follow a strict vegan diet, it is advisable to take a Vitamin B12 supplement or include foods that are supplemented with B12 such as some soy drinks (check the label).
-
Iron - non-haem iron (the type of iron found in plant-based foods such as breakfast cereals, breads, legumes, nuts and green leafy vegetables), is not absorbed by your body as well as haem iron (meat sources). Coupled with this, some athletes may have increased iron needs (see the importance of iron for more information). To help your body absorb more iron from plant foods, try combining foods or drinks rich in Vitamin C with plant foods rich in non-haem iron. Examples of foods and drinks rich in Vitamin C include oranges, orange juice, strawberries, kiwi fruit, capsicum and tomatoes.
For more tips on vegetarian eating see Family Life - vegetarian eating.