{"id":9583,"date":"2020-12-01T12:08:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T12:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/?p=9583"},"modified":"2024-11-26T10:35:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T10:35:49","slug":"the-abc-of-vegan-supplements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/the-abc-of-vegan-supplements\/","title":{"rendered":"The ABC of Vegan Supplements"},"content":{"rendered":"

If I could add a kilo to my squat for every person who’s been concerned about my health, as a vegan, I’d be a very happy squatter today.<\/p>\n

The knee-jerk conclusion seems to be that if you’re not eating animal flesh you’ll inevitably end up deficient in so many essential nutrients. Yet, when asked, no one seems to know what these nutrients actually are.<\/p>\n

Of course, as a vegan, your dietary profile will probably be different from that of an omnivore.<\/p>\n

Specifically, our diets tend to contain less saturated fat and cholesterol and more dietary fibre [1<\/a>], which is great. On average it’s a very healthy diet [2<\/strong><\/a>] with some surprising benefits [3<\/strong><\/a>]. We should however make sure that we get enough of some specific micronutrients[^2].<\/p>\n

But more than just meeting the recommended levels, as vegan athletes we want to go above and beyond.<\/p>\n

Let’s see how we can do so easily by supplementing our diet. These are the supplements I’d recommend to most vegan athletes.<\/p>\n

A for Amino Acids<\/h3>\n

First out are the essential amino acids \u2013 the building blocks of protein. We use amino acids to create a number of substances in our bodies; muscle protein being one of high importance to many lifters out there.<\/p>\n

It’s important to remember that there’s no problem, whatsoever, getting enough protein on a vegan diet and even hit well above the recommended levels.<\/p>\n

To reach a higher protein count though (~2 g per kilo lean body weight) it’s simply very convenient to turn to supplementation, no matter if you’re a vegan or omnivore.<\/p>\n

For this, there’s pure EAA and BCAA but some of their amino acids are usually sourced from human hair or duck feathers, so we’ll turn to full protein supplements for a vegan option.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

B for Beta-Alanine<\/h3>\n

Beta-alanine will make you more endurant, enabling you to lift another rep or sprint an extra couple of metres.<\/p>\n

While this is not huge in itself, the effects of that extra energy in training has been proven to increase muscle growth [4<\/a><\/strong>], improve muscle endurance [5<\/strong><\/a>], and reduce muscle fatigue [6<\/a>].<\/p>\n

I personally felt a significant improvement from beta-alanine when doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu and that, together with the clear scientific evidence, makes beta-alanine something I’d definitely recommend trying out.<\/p>\n

I’d recommend just getting a plain bag of beta alanine<\/strong><\/a> and taking 4 grams per day, mixed with water.<\/p>\n

C is for Creatine<\/h3>\n

I have written extensively about Creatine<\/strong><\/a> for vegan athletes before but here are the main reasons you should supplement it:<\/p>\n