Do you frequently suffer from inflammation and other chronic illnesses?
Do you struggle to find the energy to make it through the day? Do you sleep poorly and wake exhausted every morning? If any of these sounds like the issues you deal with daily, you may need to think about changing your diet from one based on animal products in favor of a vegan diet.
Veganism is not a new style of diet. People have been relying on fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains for centuries to make up the bulk of their diet. Before everyone had electricity and refrigeration, meat was not always a guaranteed staple in the family's diet. Most people relied on the produce grown in the home garden to feed their families daily, with enough left over to prepare to carry them through the winter when nothing would grow. If the family could not produce their food, they would likely starve.
Having a plant based diet that excludes all animal products is great if that's the right choice for you, and it is certainly possible to be both vegan and a high performer, but you do need be aware of several potential risks to both your health and your performance if you follow a vegan diet which isn't well balanced and doesn't take account of potential nutrient deficiencies. It's also quite possible, of course, to eat a vegan diet that is high in processed foods and not particularly healthy. Basing your diet around wholefoods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds will help you to meet your nutrient requirements as an athlete and support your health generally.
Would you like to live long, strong, and healthy? If you would, the secret is simple: adopt a natural food diet such as the one adopted by your ancestor, veganism. Veganism is a dietary concept not a dietary fad.
Like early man, when you eat a diet rich in fresh foods, you give your body the energy it needs to generate optimal energy to fuel you through the day irrespective of how energy demanding your day is.
