Vegan Diet for Youth Athletes .... is it healthy?

Optimizing Performance

Good nutrition significantly improves athletic performance. It ensures that children have enough energy to get through a particular sport, and enhances adaptation and recovery time after intense exercise. As such, young athletes are required to have a well-planed diet in order to optimize their performance.

For ages, people have viewed the vegan diet for young athletes negatively, with the opinion that a strict vegan diet can put young athletes at a disadvantage and inhibit their performance. However, contrary to this belief, vegan athletes can get all the required nutrients from a well-planed vegan diet.

Vegan does not mean Healthy

Before we go into details, lets get one thing straight… “vegan” does not mean healthy. You can drink beer, eat French fries, and Oreos and would be considered a vegan. Just like any lifestyle choice, a carefully planned diet is critical for healthy lives. For a vegan youth athlete, it is critical that parents and guardians get well educated and are planning pre/post workout meals, otherwise there is potential for increased injuries, lack of energy resulting in a loss of enthusism.

Nutrition for a Youth vegan athlete

Nutrition is a very broad subject and it can be broken down into few different areas; Micronutrients (vitamins/minerals), Macronutrients (carbs/fat/protein) and Fluids. Vegan athletes are viewed negatively when it comes to both micro and macro nutrients. A poorly planned vegan diet can lack some crucial essential nutrients like iron, zinc, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. Second area of concern is the protein intake, poorly planned vegan diets are low in protein, and have a inferior amino acid profile when compared to an omnivore diet. To get a general understanding of basal metabolic rate (calories that a person should consume), visit our free BMR calculator HERE

Here are the general guidelines for Macro/Micronutrients.

  • Carbohydrates

    • A young athlete who trains strenuously for more than 60 to 90 minutes every day, needs a lot of energy. As such, they should consume a lot of carbohydrates in order to get enough energy for their training session. The USDA recommends that 45 to 65 percent of your total daily calories comes from carbohydrates (Agriculture, 2020).

      The perfect balance of macronutrients optimizes endurance-training performance. It is true that macronutrient needs vary depending on training volume and the athlete’s goals. As such, the more active you are, the more carbohydrates you will need. Failure to increase your carbohydrate intake to match your training volume leads to poor performance, and feeling tired. Carbohydrate needs vary from 5 to 10 grams per kilogram of body weight per day with training ranging from one hour per day to five hours or more. (Fitzgerald, 2021)

      Some examples of vegan foods that are rich in carbohydrates include squashes, potatoes, oats, peas, quinoa, pears, pineapples, melons, white rice etc. (Team, OnPoint Nutrition, n.d.)

  • Proteins

    • Proteins are essential for building and repairing muscles. With a lot of exercise, recovery is an important part of better performance. As such, it is important to ensure that your child’s diet contains protein rich food to help with recovery. Protein needs also vary depending on training volume. Traditionally, 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily for recreational endurance athletes; and 1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day for serious competitors is recommended. (Fitzgerald, 2021)

Some examples of vegan foods that are rich in proteins include seitan, edamame, lentils, tofu, tempeh, beans, etc. (Alina Petre, 2021)

  • Fats

    • Healthy fats ensure that athletes meet their daily energy needs. Young athletes burn calories for growth and development and in addition to that, they burn more calories during training. To optimize their performance, it is important to ensure that their diet contains healthy fats. The USDA recommends 25% to 35% of their daily calorie intake for 4 to 18 year olds to comprise of healthy fats. (Agriculture, 2020)

      Some vegan foods that contain healthy fat include avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, coconut, chocolate, tofu and soy beans, etc. (James, n.d.)

      A young vegan athlete can get the well-balanced and well-planned nutrition from a strict vegan diet as long as it contains carbohydrates, proteins and fats. In addition to this, it is important that their diet contains Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and Iron. If their diet doesn’t contain these crucial elements, there is no harm in supplementation.

  • Vitamins/Minerals

    • A properly planned vegan diet does not require supplements, but taking vegan vitamins can be a great way to make sure you’re hitting all your nutritional needs, Some vitamins are animal-derived, and others contain animal products such as gelatin (which comes from animal skin and bones), so make sure to buy from a reputable vegan brand.

References:

Agriculture, U. D. (2020, December). 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf

Alina Petre, M. R. (2021, November 1). Nutrition: Healthline. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/protein-for-vegans-vegetarians

Fitzgerald, M. (2021, May 13). Race Fueling. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from Triathlete: https://www.triathlete.com/nutrition/race-fueling/racing-weight-balancing-your-diet/

James, M. (n.d.). Recipes: TofuBud. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from TofuBud: https://tofubud.com/blogs/tips/vegan-fat-sources

Team, O. N. (n.d.). OnPoint Nutrition. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from OnPoint Nutrition: https://www.onpoint-nutrition.com/blog/best-carbohydrates-vegan-diet

Srdan Lukic