Written by Iron Vegan Education Team
As a plant-based athlete, you know the importance of proper nutrition for optimal results. Over the last 20 years, the sports nutrition category has continuously evolved to meet the needs of athletes. With increasing demands from athletes who want to perform better in and out of the gym, innovations in the world of body mechanics are a must. We’ve made it our mission to provide exemplary nutrition for plant-based athletes like you, and our new formulations follow this path.
More people are incorporating plant-based meals in their day-to-day life and thriving! Following a plant-based diet means to include foods that are mostly from plants like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oil, whole grains, lentils & legumes.
Increasing more plant-based eating and mindfulness can have profound impact on our health and wellness. The benefits of being plant based are endless. It encourages us to explore new foods and preparation methods! Meeting all our nutritional needs is important and it can be difficult since there are increasing demands from everyday life and feeling of stress and burn out are at an all-time high.
There are two main problems that we hear athletes are facing:
- You are stressed out (physically and mentally)
- You are burnt out and have trouble mustering energy to start the day and your workouts.
While it can be tempting to stay in routine and rely on coffee or a sweet treat to get you through your day, we think there is a better way. To address these challenges, we’ve got a few tips:
- Eat balanced meals: include plant protein (chickpeas, lentils, tofu etc.), carbohydrates (rice, whole grains, root vegetables), healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados) and a variety of fruits and vegetables in every meal
- Stay active: try to incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity to increase blood flow and oxygen throughout your body
- Practice mindfulness and meditation to keep stress levels down
- Incorporate Balanced Energy, Rebound Recovery and Superfoods & GreensTM into your daily routine
To address these challenges, we’ve got three new functional food blends. Broadening the scope of ingredients to include mushrooms like chaga, cordyceps, Reishi, and lion’s mane as well as support ingredients like holy basil, Ashwagandha, turmeric and maca. These blends were created to put your body and mind into an optimal self-state.
Balanced Energy can be taken anytime during the day to help increase energy. It’s designed to help increase energy levels and improve resistance to stress. The ingredient line-up includes organic cordyceps, organic Reishi, organic lion’s mane, astragalus, and maca.
It’s also important to put your body in an optimal level so you can perform at your best! If we continue to push the body without effective rest, then burnout will likely occur. This is where Rebound Recovery shines. With a holistic blend of support ingredients like L-theanine it helps promote relaxation and relieves inflammation.
Superfoods & GreensTM uses the power of functional food ingredients like organic mushrooms & sprouted grains/seeds, land & sea vegetables, plant-sourced digestive aids all providing a source of antioxidants!1 Sweetened with stevia and monk fruit, it comes in two flavours, Unflavoured and Pineapple Orange, making it convenient to add into your favourite smoothie, or with just water!1
Balanced Energy, Rebound Recovery and Superfoods & GreensTM are easy to take. Simply add a scoop to a shaker cup with water and consume once a day. They are the prefect addition to your routine!
References:
- Government of Canada. Product information. Accessed on June 15th, 2021 at http://health-products.canada.ca/lnhpd-bdpsnh/info.do?licence=80107729
- Government of Canada. Product information. Accessed on June 15th, 2021 at https://health-products.canada.ca/lnhpd-bdpsnh/info.do?licence=80105929
- Product information. Accessed on June 15th, 2021 at https://health-products.canada.ca/lnhpd-bdpsnh/info.do?licence=80106513
- Nagata, Akira et al. (2006). Supplemental Anti-fatigue Effects of Cordyceps Sinensis (Tochu-Kaso) Extract Powder During Three Stepwise Exercise of Human. J-stage, 55:S145-S152.
- Ito K, Nagato Y, Aoi N, et al. (1998). Effects of L-theanine on the release of alpha-brain waves in human volunteers. Agric. Chem. Soc. Jpn, 72(2): 153-157.