Vegetarian Athletes and Building Muscle

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Statement: Vegetarians face issues with their diet in regards to building muscle and strength, but are able to build muscle and have the right amount of nutritional food just as well as meat eaters when adequate nutrition and exercise is applied.

Vegetarians face issues with their diet in regards to building muscle and strength but can build muscle just as well as meat eaters when adequate nutrition and exercise is applied. Nutritional concerns that vegetarians might face include protein, creatine, iron, zinc and vitamin b12. ‘’Well planned, appropriately supplemented vegetarian diets appear to effectively support athletic performance (Barr 2004)’’. As long as vegetarians get the adequate intake recommended along with following RDI and the supplementation with key nutrients, they will be able to build muscle and strength just as well as non-vegetarians. There are many different types of Vegetarian diets with each type of diet slightly varying in their own way. From these diets, there are two main categories, which are the Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian, and the Vegan category.

The most essential nutrient for muscle and strength building is protein. The recommended daily intake for protein is 0.8grams and vegetarians can meet their protein needs with exclusively plant-based sources ensuring energy intake is adequate. On top of the 0.9grams of protein recommended daily, vegetarians are encouraged to consume 10% more daily to complete indigestion of incomplete digested plant based sources of protein. Protein sources rich is protein include eggs, dairy and soy products which all provide the essential amino acids crucial for protein synthesis. Plant based sources contain non-haeme as opposed to haeme and are less absorbed, but can be made ...

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