When one imagines an athlete or famous sports star such as Serena Williams, the last thing they would think of is a vegan diet. The 37-year-old professional tennis player has been a vegan since 2011. Many top notch athletes like Williams have been making the switch to a strictly plant-based diet in order to establish and build up foster a healthier lifestyle long term.
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World renowned athletes such as Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Lewis Hamilton, David Haye, and even Tom Brady have all incorporated plant-based diets into their day to day lifestyles in order to improve the overall state and health of their bodies. According to Transparent Labs, athletes are at risk to develop increased oxidative stress due to constant high levels of physical performance. This can lead to the formation of free radicals, which, in turn, can cause long-term damage to the body and increase the overall risk of developing disease.
By switching to a vegan diet, one would focus on eating more fruits and vegetables rather than animal products and dairy. Majority of fruits and vegetables contain large quantities of antioxidants – blueberries, cranberries, beans, and Russet potatoes to name a few. By maintaining a diet that revolves around plants, the amount of oxidative stress that your body produces through high levels of physical exercise will significantly decrease, and the overall amount of stress-induced damage done to your body will be greatly lessened.
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When you are an athlete preparing for an important match, every pound and every meal counts.
“When eating excessive calories, this can lead to visceral fat and extra body weight,” says doctor and bodybuilder at Medichecks Emil Hodzovic. “You can’t afford to carry around additional weight especially around the abdomen, as this impacts performance and strength.”
According to Hodzovic, switching to a vegan diet could help you shed off any unwanted weight and keep fat off of your body.
“A healthy vegan diet could have an edge over those eating the average animal-based diet diet,” says Hodzovic.. “This is due to the increased intake of vegetables and the variety of less calorie-dense nutrient-rich food.”
In summary, switching to a vegan diet can help you eat healthier and more refreshing meals while at the same time keeping off any unnecessary pounds.
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Do doctors recommend a vegan diet for someone who is active and exercises frequently? Many doctors say that yes, it is very much doable to maintain a vegan diet while being physically active! Transparent Labs reports that upholding a vegan diet can result in less stress/damage to the body and speedier recoveries after strenuous exercises. While there are downsides to a strictly vegan diet such as iron deficiency and vitamin deficiencies, being vegan while also being an athlete or simply exercising regularly is most definitely possible.
As someone who has personally been vegan for about six months now and exercises at least three times a week, a plant based diet has been the best thing that I ever could have done for my body, and I highly recommend it for anyone considering making the switch.
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