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Vegan Athletes

Special Considerations for the Vegan Athlete

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Sideline Management in Sports

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Abstract

Vegan diets are becoming more popular, including in the sports field, not only for health, animal welfare, and sustainability reasons but also for allegations of increased performance. However, despite this increasing interest, the literature regarding some important specifications in athletic populations is still scarce. In this chapter, we attempted to discuss the most important and challenging features, with a focus on health and performance, both physical and mental. Although vegan diets tend to be richer in polyphenols, carbohydrate-rich foods, and vitamins C and E, data suggest that there might be an increased deficiency risk for some nutrients. Topics like energy intake, protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B12 have been addressed, as well as the noteworthy importance of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation. Given its rising popularity, there is the need to clarify some queries, especially in elite athletes, in which the literature is limited.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Performance Unit, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Estrada da Malhada de Meias, Alcochete, Portugal

    António Pedro Mendes

  2. Medical Department, UAE Football Association, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Francisco Pereira

  3. Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, CIAFEL, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Vítor Hugo Teixeira

  4. Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Porto, Portugal

    Vítor Hugo Teixeira

  5. Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, FCNAUP, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Vítor Hugo Teixeira

  6. Futebol Clube do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Vítor Hugo Teixeira

Authors
  1. António Pedro Mendes
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  2. Francisco Pereira
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  3. Vítor Hugo Teixeira
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise and Sports Medicine Department of Orthopedics Rheumatology, and Traumatology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

    Sérgio Rocha Piedade

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Elmhurst, IL, USA

    Mark R. Hutchinson

  3. Sydney Orthopaedic Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    David Parker

  4. FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Espregueira-Mendes Sports Centre, Porto, Portugal

    João Espregueira-Mendes

  5. La Tour De Salvagny, France

    Philippe Neyret

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Mendes, A.P., Pereira, F., Teixeira, V.H. (2023). Vegan Athletes. In: Rocha Piedade, S., Hutchinson, M.R., Parker, D., Espregueira-Mendes, J., Neyret, P. (eds) Sideline Management in Sports. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33867-0_5

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