The misperception that vegans are weak individuals from only eating sprouts and veggies needs to be removed. With such a nutrient dense diet as the vegan diet, it’s possible to be vegan and be a strong, winning athlete. Here are just a few examples in case you are skeptical. These are all current vegans who excelled in their athletic career while maintaining a healthy vegan diet.

Scott Jurek – two-time winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon (The Badwater Ultramarathon is considered the toughest extreme-sport marathon on earth. 115-degree heat, 135 nonstop miles from Death Valley to Mount Whitney. That’s like running about five regular marathons in a row!)
Billie Jean King – tennis champion
Martina Navratilova – tennis champion
Bill Pearl – four-time Mr. Universe winner
Dave Scott – six-time Ironman triathlon winner
James Southwood - London kickboxing champ
Brendan Brazier – Pro Triathlete and Ironman
John Salley – former NBA star
Tony Gonzalez – Kansas City Chiefs tight end
Mac Danzig – mixed martial arts fighter
Salim Stoudamire – Atlanta Hawks NBA star
Carl Lewis – Track and Field Olympian
Desmond Howard - football player
Molly Cameron – cyclist
Mike Tyson – boxer

The important thing to know is that to be a vegan athlete you have to be committed. You have know how to get all the important nutrients and vitamins that are essential to muscular development and improved performance. It is completely possible and easy to get the protein, iron, calcium, amino acids, and vitamins from a plant based diet. Not only will you maintain your athleticism, but you will have improved health and vitality. If you are having trouble getting the nutrients you need from a vegan diet or don’t know what sources to turn to, read up on my vegan myth series to learn more.

Here is a great YouTube video I found which shows a ton of vegan athletes. It goes on for 10 minutes, so that should be enough proof that vegans can compete with, and beat, meat eaters.

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”
- Albert Einstein

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Myth: Vegans can’t get enough iron from their diet

Truth: When looking a the top ten iron rich foods, five of them are plant sources

Here is another comment I have heard a lot from vegan critics. I have heard that I need to be careful of iron deficiency, or anemia, because I won’t be able to get a sufficient amount of iron on a vegan diet and I’m also a woman so that puts me more at jeopardy. Anemia is the most common nutritional deficiency, but both vegans and meat eaters need to make sure they are getting the right iron rich foods in their diet. Most people think that iron comes from meat or animal products. In actuality, there are many plant sources that have loads of iron in them. Here is a list that I found on WebMD:

* Red meat
* Egg yolks
* Dark, leafy greens (spinach, collards)
* Dried fruit (prunes, raisins)
* Iron-enriched cereals and grains (check the labels)
* Mollusks (oysters, clams, scallops)
* Turkey or chicken giblets
* Beans, lentils, chick peas and soybeans
* Liver
* Artichokes

This is a list of ten iron rich food sources. Notice that half of the list is plant based! Imagine that……
The important thing is to include a variety of these sources in your daily food intake due to some sources having more iron than others. I also want to note that it has been found that Vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron so eating an iron rich food with a vitamin C rich food is best. On another note, Vitamin D decreases the absorption of iron so keep that in mind. Hopefully this settles the iron debate.

A great iron laden dish is “The Kind Diet’s” Sicilian Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins….Iron Galore!

Myth #4 = DEBUNKED!

Truth: There are many plant sources of amino acids

Amino acids are essential to your body’s functioning and are the building blocks of protein. The body has 20 amino acids that act as building blocks, but can only synthesize 12 of them on its own. That means that 8 of the amino acids must come from food sources. “Nonessential” refers to the amino acids that the body can create and “essential” refers to the amino acids that must come from our diets. Vegans who eat a varied diet, complete in whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits and eat a variety of plant protein sources should not have trouble obtaining the essential amino acids. By simply including beans, whole grains, soybeans, lentils, and nuts in your diet you will be covered. In fact, a meal containing brown rice and beans, quinoa, or soybeans will provide you with a complete protein (one that contains all 8 essential amino acids). Protein deficiency is very rare in our culture and we often take in way more protein than needed. (*See Myth #1) Vegans should not be worried about being deficient in their amino acids unless they are not eating a healthy diet and are consuming mostly processed sugars, flours, and junk food, which would bring about many other problems besides protein deficiency.

Myth #3 = DEBUNKED!

Truth: There are plenty of plant sources that provide a tremendous amount of calcium

Calcium is a very important mineral for the human body. Not only do we need calcium for strong bones and teeth, but it is also needed for our nerves and muscles to function properly along with blood clotting. The assumption that we must drink three glasses of cow’s milk daily to get our calcium means the American Dairy Association is doing a good job with their marketing (Read my blog on dairy to learn more about this). The truth is, there are many food sources of calcium for vegans, or anyone, to choose from to get the recommended daily value. Tofu, broccoli, kale, collard greens, soybeans, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, and okra are great alternatives to getting the calcium your body needs. Also, just like the dairy versions, vegans can purchase calcium-fortified soy milk and juices. In fact, there is as much calcium in four ounces of firm tofu or ¾ cup collard greens as there is in one cup of cow’s milk. I found the chart below on the Vegetarian Resource Group’s website to show you the calcium content in certain foods.

Food Amount Calcium (mg)
Blackstrap molasses 2 Tbsp 400mg
Collard greens, cooked 1 cup 357mg
Tofu, processed with
calcium sulfate* 4 ounces 200-330mg
Calcium-fortified orange juice 8 ounces 300mg
Soy or ricemilk, commercial,
calcium-fortified, plain 8 ounces 200-300mg
Commercial soy yogurt, plain 6 ounces 80-250mg
Turnip greens, cooked 1 cup 249mg
Tofu, processed with nigari* 4 ounces 80-230mg
Tempeh 1 cup 215mg
Kale, cooked 1 cup 179mg
Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 175mg
Okra, cooked 1 cup 172mg
Bok choy, cooked 1 cup 158mg
Mustard greens, cooked 1 cup 152mg
Tahini 2 Tbsp 128mg
Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 94mg
Almonds 1/4 cup 89mg
Almond butter 2 Tbsp 86mg
Soy milk, commercial, plain 8 ounces 80mg

Myth #2 = DEBUNKED!

Myth #1: You can’t get enough protein on a vegan diet.

Truth: You can get more protein than your body needs on a vegan diet.
Most people think that protein only comes from animal sources. This is due to many, many years of thinking of food groups in the form of vegetables, fruit, grain, and meat. Most meals are served with meat as the main feature, the protein portion of the meal. Fad, high protein diets are advertised showing plates of chicken, beef, eggs, cheese and even bacon as the staples. ( I really don’t understand how Mr. Atkins got so many people to buy into this high fat, artery-clogging diet.) It is so easy, and much healthier, to get protein from a variety of sources other than animals and you have so many options to choose from. Beans, nuts, lentils, grains, tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc, are all great plant proteins. When I used to eat meat, I found it very boring. I mean, you can only cook chicken a certain number of ways to try to make it exciting. However, beans alone can offer you so many meal options including soups, stews, burritos, spreads, dips, salads, pasta dishes, rice dishes, hummus……..I could go on and on. Next let’s compare the nutrition between a serving of beans vs. steak.

Steak
20% of calories from protein
80% of calories from fat
0% of calories from complex carbs
Contains excess hormones
Raises cholesterol
No fiber

Beans
25% of calories from protein
5% of calories from fat
70% of calories from complex carbs
Helps discharge excess hormones
Lowers cholesterol
High in fiber

On top of all this, plant proteins are much less expensive than animal proteins. So there you have it, Myth #1 debunked. I’m not trying to convince you to give up meat, but to think outside the box and open your mind to the variety of food sources mother nature has provided us with.