For the unprepared athlete, avoiding animal-based foods may lead to nutritional deficiencies that negatively impact on health, injury and performance. Sue Appelboom explores the importance of dietary planning and appropriate supplementation for vegetarians in order to support peak performance.
Awareness of the dietary risks that vegetarians face is paramount. These include inadequate intake of energy, protein, fatty acids and essential micronutrients. In this article vegetarians are defined as those who avoid animal tissue proteins – meat, poultry and fish – but may consume eggs (ovo-vegetarian) or dairy (lacto-vegetarian) or vegans who consume only plant foods. Reference nutrient intakes (RNIs) are USA recommendations for adults and are total intakes from all sources.