Diet for Marathon Runners - Vegetarian

• People become vegetarians for many reasons. A well-planned vegetarian diet can provide all of the nutrients you need, as well as being enjoyable and interesting.

• An unplanned vegetarian diet, for example just leaving the meat out of your meal, can lead to nutritional deficiencies and impair sporting performance.

• Lean red meat is a great source of many nutrients including iron and zinc and is low in fat.

• Low-fat dairy products are a great source of calcium and other nutrients.

Nutritional considerations for vegetarians

• When you are vegetarian you need to consider the nutrients you are excluding from your diet and plan to get these from another source:

• Eat plenty of protein foods that make good red meat substitutions (eg: poultry, eggs, fish, milk, soy products, beans, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, seeds, breads and cereals).

• Ensure you are getting enough iron from non-meat sources.

• If you are excluding dairy products from your diet ensure you are getting sufficient calcium. Remember that calcium from non-dairy sources is not as easily absorbed by the body.

Vegetarian meat substitutes

• Legumes – lentils, peas, beans

• Soy foods – soy beans, soy milk, soy yoghurt, tofu, tempeh

• Nuts – Brazil nuts, walnuts, peanuts, almonds

• Seeds – sesame, sunflower, pumpkin seeds

• Milk products – milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice cream

• Eggs