Essentially Vegan means that you cut out ALL animal products; so no dairy, eggs, meat, butter (that is dairy), etc. for some that includes Honey and Bacteria. Anything made at the expense of an animal is out.
So whats in?
The hard thing is that you do not get concentrations of macronutrients like you would in other diets (ie. lean chicken is basically just protein, whereas beans are protein and carbohydrates, nuts are protein and fats etc.) so it is important that you get in a little of everything to maximize your intake of protein, carbs, and fats in the right proportions (30/40/30 respectively: http://www.ultimatehandbook.com/Webpages/Health/nutnut.html).
- Nuts/Seeds (best to eat sprouted, this increases nutrient absorption and protein concentration - http://www.growyouthful.com/recipes/sprouts.php, http://www.goraw.com/); essentials - hemp seed, flax seed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, almonds, and walnuts. These give you mostly your essential unsaturated fats (such as Omega 3 oil, polyunsaturated and mon-unsaturated fats) and proteins. They are proportionally higher in fat than protein so should not be a main source of protein. Fat and Protein are ESSENTIAL to rebuilding the cells in your body and a functional metabolism. Fats lubricate your joints, make your skin elastic and youthful, make your hair shiny, create the phospholipid bi-layer that is the cell membrane (ie. create the cells of your body), help with bowl movements, carry fat soluble vitamins and minerals (ie. A, D, E, K). Proteins support muscle development and functionality, improve brain function, re-build the body after injury, important in cell turn-over.
- Beans, lentils, peas, quinoa, millet, brown rice (when you combine a legume and a grain you get a complete protein - corn and peas, beans and rice), corn and polenta. These give you your complex carbs (slow to digest which means fuller for longer, fiber intake increases, and digestion improves) and your protein. These are proportionally higher in grams of carbohydrates than protein and lack fat. Carbohydrates are the bodies easiest source for fuel and therefore the easiest to store as body fat when consumed in excess. It is true that the body will store ANY extra calories as subcutaneous fat but carbohydrates can create the greatest impact on blood sugar. All carbs break down into sugars which are released into your blood stream and used by the body for energy to function. When you eat complex carbohydrates your body takes longer to break down the long chain carbohydrates and therefore release the sugar slowly into the blood stream - this keeps your insulin levels relativly stable which leads your body to use all of the digested sugars as fuel, but when you eat a large amount of simple sugars at one time they are digested rapidly (within 20 min for fruit) and that will spike your insulin level because your insulin is released at a concentration relative to the concentration of sugar released - more sugar released at once = more insulin released at once. Insulin moves the sugar out of your blood stream - either to be used as energy or if their is a surplus, it is stored as fat. That is why when you eat sugars and fats/proteins together you digest the sugars slower and have less of an "insulin" spike which leads to a longer release of energy and therefore less fat storage and a longer feeling of satiety.
- Fruit - these are your simple sugars, fiber, and water soluble vitamins (ie. vitamin C, B's) - included are gogi berries (contain essential omega oils)
- Vegetables
- Oils: Coconut, olive, Grapeseed, Avacado, Flax seed.
- Other: Miso and tempeh (fermented so ok - otherwise soy is so bad!) , sea veggies (nori, dulse), Kombucha, condiments, almond milk, coconut milk, coconut water, tea, coffee, agave nectar, maple syrup, stevia, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, Braggs liquid amino acids, rice/pea/hemp protein powder.
Being vegan is awesome!
- your impact on the environment is minimized. Eating meat and animal products is a HUGE environmental tax * it takes more energy to raise one cow then it would take to feed a village in africa - this is because of all the water, feed, vaccines, medicines, herbicides, pesticides, processing energy, and amount of land used are all substantially more than a vegetable garden.
- if you are an A or B blood type eating vegan is actually better for your body because you are already pre-disposed to assimilate vegan-food better. If you are an O blood-type you may need animal products (like me - I'm O and it is against my moral beliefs but sometimes I just have to eat meat) because you can only assimilate the nutrients in that form.
- Being vegan pre-disposes you to better digestion because of all the fiber you consume (watch out! too much fiber can cause diarrhea and bloating - if you notice these symptoms eat more protein - this is a sign of mal-nutrition and the inability to digest your food properly because you are eating too much fiber which is hard to digest and locking away your nutrients by flushing them through your system too quickly.)
Being vegan is not an excuse to eat crap as long as there are no animal products - do not just eat dried fruit and candy! It is an opportunity to feed your body with awareness and fresh foods minimizing inflammation and creating a healthier planet.
My Vegan Journey
Being Vegan is my favorite way to eat. It is easy because I never have to worry about animal products which are hard to cook and carry more risk of food borne pathogens. I morally agree with Veganism - being that eating animals is the most selfish way to consume nutrients because of the amount of energy that goes into producing it - also all conventionally produced meat is contaminated with corn and soy feed, chemicals from processing, antibiotics, herbicides and pesticides from feed, hormones for growth, and is usually treated with sulfites, tons of sodium, and other preservatives to maintain shelf life. Mostly I was vegan because I did not want to consume all of the crap that came along with the animal products. I never really had a hard time with the sacrifice of an animals life for my nutrition because I had killed my meat before and that got me over that quickly - but I totally disagree and am morally offended by the lives that conventional meat is forced to live at the expense of my calorie needs.
I was Vegan for 3 years while being a competitive tri-athlete. The reason I changed from being Vegan to the Paleo Diet is that my body got pretty nutritionally destroyed when I was a kid from all the crap I ate (ie. skittles, oreos, Stauffers lasagna and Top Ramen were staples - thanks Pop!) and I stopped being able to digest carbohydrates without concentrated animal based proteins - my blood sugar and vitamin levels were all off and I stopped being able to absorb calcium and iron. Anyway - I am now working with very awesome homeopathic doctors on fixing this, but in the mean-time I made the small leap to the Paleo diet. Although I still eat a lot of Vegan food and try and get away with as much Vegan cuisine as I can, I have to eat meat to balance my blood chemistry out.
I share this with you because one way of eating is not ideal for everyone - you gotta find whats right for you. But it is also totally possible to be a kick ass athlete and be Vegan! You can be super strong and lean and be Vegan - case and point Gorillas
inspired by Strauss - the most awesome vegan I know.
Resources:
Recipes:
Training:
color me skeptical!
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