Top Nutrition Tips for Vegetarian and Vegan Runners

Vegetarian and vegan diets are no longer just a trend in the world of health and nutrition. From elite runners and weightlifters to basketball and football players, athletes from various sporting backgrounds are utilising vegan and vegetarian diets to optimise their physical performance. As more and more information is released advocating for the health (and ethical) benefits of a plant-based diet, athletes have found that with a little extra thought and planning, their nutritional needs can be met without eating animal-based products. Despite this, there are a few areas to be particularly conscious of when training on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Plant-based or vegan diets can be less calorie-dense than that of their omnivorous counterparts, and, as we know, it takes an abundance of calories to fuel a running habit. Consuming too few calories is something all runners will want to avoid as this can dramatically hinder recovery, hamper the positive impact of your training sessions, and can actually slow your metabolism (this is especially counterintuitive for those whose goal it is to lose weight). Adequate calorie intake is an absolute must for successful training and long-term health.

For runners, protein plays an important role in rebuilding and maintaining the muscles that power our training. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, protein intake for runners should fall between 1.2 and 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight. This means that a 70kg runner should consume between 90 and 120 grams of protein in a day. This can seem like a lot of protein, especially when you are not eating any meat, but vegans and vegetarians alike can get more than enough protein to support their training needs.

Vitamin B-12, also known as cobalamin, is an essential nutrient but not one that our bodies can produce naturally. Therefore, we need to make sure it is present in our diet to stay healthy. Most of the top sources of B-12 are animal-based products, which can make it difficult for vegans and vegetarians to get the proper amount in their system. Similar to iron (*see next point), without proper amounts of vitamin B-12, runners risk becoming anemic, which will undoubtedly have negative effects on any training regiment or derail it completely.

Iron plays an important role in transporting oxygen to your muscles and is therefore yet another essential nutrient for healthy athletic performance. If your iron levels are too low, you will generate fewer red blood cells, which means you won't be able to carry as much oxygen to your working muscles. The average male runner needs around 8 milligrams of iron per day, and the average female runner needs about 18 milligrams. Unfortunately, plant-based sources of iron are not as readily absorbed as animal sources, making iron requirements for vegetarian and vegan athletes higher than those of meat-eating runners. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that plant-based eaters consume 1.8 times the amount of iron as non-vegetarians.

Like iron, zinc is also not easily absorbed when it comes from plant-based sources, so vegetarians and vegans require higher daily levels of zinc in their diets. This nutrient helps our bodies fight infections, heal injuries, and promote healthy muscle growth. Runners need to be mindful to ensure that they are consuming enough zinc in their diets, as not being able to recover quickly or becoming sick is something we all would like to avoid.