What Supplements Do I Actually Take as a vegan?
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
In the position paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, it is noted that a well-prepared and balanced vegan diet can fit into any life cycle and in various situations such as pregnancy, breastfeeding and athletes.
So why do people still feel that you can't meet all your needs on a vegan diet? Why most athletes still feel they might Sabotage their accomplishments?
I wasn’t a bodybuilder or an athlete before I became vegan. I'll tell you a secret, one of the reasons I decided to compete as a vegan bodybuilder was to see if they were right. You can only imagine how I felt on stage; at the first time they announced that I was the first vegan and natural competitor that won the title "Israel miss bikini 2018".
How can I, a 37 year old vegan become a "pro" bodybuilder? How do I do it?
So I made a research. You want to know more? Read! Ask! Try! Track! learn! For me all of the above are processes I do every day, because the data we have is changing all the time. So I went to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and learned what are the important things I need to pay attention on my diet. Specifically as an athlete .
protein – they wrote that " Vegans eat less protein than non-vegans, which can hurt their performance" and " Regarding the level of digestibility or availability of the plant protein, the review indicates that the currently leading measure of protein availability is Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS).
The plant protein gets a lower DIAAS score than animal protein and so the recommendation is that vegans should consume higher amounts of protein".
Well that’s an easy one. I decided to eat more protein than a non vegan athlete. Around 2.5 gr protein for every kg of my body weight (their recommendation is 1.4-2.7 gr ). Why? Because in plant based diet, you will find most food does not contain a balanced profile of amino acids . and as we know the human body cannot make 8 of them on its own . Those essential amino acids are found almost in all foods, but not at a sufficient level. So providing the body with a wide range of food sources at a higher quantity will give the body all it needs to build and recover.
And this is also my first supplement . "Protein Powder" - No it won't give you muscle. It will give anyone who is training another available source of protein.
They indicate a potential deficiency in omega 3 fatty acids and also the quality of omega 3 from inferior plant sources. You can definitely get it from your nutrition (walnuts, Flaxseed and more) but when you are on a diet, cutting calories it might be tricky to add fats. Baside that. I require a lot from my body, and I want to give him more of what he needs to survive but what he needs to get a significant benefit from his diet in order to recover well. I supplement "Omega 3" in seaweed-based capsules..
Because plant-based diets can be low in iodine, Vitamin D,iron, Calcium ,zinc (Zinc is found in high amounts in plant foods but less available because of the phytic acid so manipulations like sprouting, soaking and fermenting should be done to decompose the phytic acid and prevent the anti-nutritional effect) , and b-12 vitamin. I make sure I take blood tests , consult a professional nutritionist and adjust my nutrition or take them as a supplements. For example, salt enriched with iodine. Or b12 pills.
They point to the quality problems of plant protein - the lack of branching amino acids (BCAAs), especially leucine.
However, they note that legumes are a good source of protein and that adequate intake of certain leucine and lentils can be achieved. And again since I cut calories and cannot have large quantities of food when I'm on prep. I use Bcaa vegan supplement to ensure I get a high-quality, low-calorie protein.
It is important for me to say that this supplement is not needed if you are getting to your total daily protein and not during an intense workout period. As a matter of fact, as I have been taking during these extreme times, it is also multivitamin
. 5. one more supplement that as a vegan we do not get from our nutrition and contributes to strength, endurance and much more. Creatine.
Vegans who consume it will see an improvement in strength it can increase athletic ability. Creatine has many other benefits associated with muscle function:
Creatine acts as a muscle acid buffer which means that we will help with weight training and slightly postpone the muscle burn when doing a set so that it can help in a few repetitions and thus contribute to a larger workout volume.
Creatine is associated with an IGF-1 growth factor in muscle which is an anabolic hormone and contributes among its other effects to muscle growth.
Creatine causes faster recovery of glycogen stores in muscle after training, which results in better recovery between workouts. Creatine helps activate intramuscular gene factors associated with hypertrophy.
6 . Sometimes you ask me if I take a stimulant or pre workout. Personally these things give me a heartbeat and in a way that hurts my workout. So if I need a stimulant, I take a caffeine pill. Notice if you consume high caffeine, be careful not to over-consume with a professional. This is a good note for each of the sections. Every body is different.
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