Endurance sport without a healthy diet does not work in the long term. And what about endurance sports without meat? Are vegetarianism and cycling compatible? "Yes, they actually go very well together," says Wolfgang Fessler, nutritionist and owner of the Fessler Mühle sports and rehabilitation centre in Sersheim, Baden-Württemberg.
After all, the phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables not only strengthen the immune system, vegetarians also usually consume a lot of carbohydrates via potatoes, pasta and rice. "This is good for endurance athletes," says Fessler. "You just have to choose your food carefully to avoid deficiency symptoms." These can occur in particular with protein, L-carnitine, iron and vitamin B12 - nutrients that are mainly found in (red) meat. Vegetarian foods can also provide a sufficient intake of these substances, but you need to know how much of each substance is contained in the food and combine them in such a way that the body can absorb the respective nutrient better or obtain it in higher concentrations.
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