MENS HEALTH
article written by - Parusha Lewis

Go from string bean to broad bean

Read the MH Veggie’s guide to bulking up
Meat vs Plant protein

So you think muscle is all about meat-eating? Wrong. Carl Lewis, the Olympic champion was a vegan, Bill Pearl, four time Mr Universe and bodybuilder, and Stan Price, world-record holder in bench press were vegetarians too.

Daily needs
A strength athlete requires 1.6 –1.7g of protein/kg body weight and an endurance athlete requires 1.2 –1.4g of protein/kg body weight. So if you’re 90kg/14stone 17lbs you’ll only need 108g – 153g of protein a day, which is easily achievable through eating the correct vegetables and grains. “The world of plants is a wonderful thing, and can provide us with all our dietary requirements,” says Tara Holt, Holistic Medical Nutritionist at The Hale Clinic and The London Road Clinic, Sherborne.

Perfect protein
“To get a complete protein takes a little effort,” says Tara. “A complete protein is one that provides your body with essential amino acids in the right ratio to one another. Lentils, beans, brown rice or chickpeas on their own don’t provide this but if you put a combination of these on a plate, you will then have a complete protein.”

The pros and cons
“A diet too high in any protein can cause health problems as the body has to deal with the by-products and acidity of the protein,” says Tara. An excess of animal protein can cause many health problems (osteoporosis, kidney dysfunction, increased risk of heart attack and cancers) but a vegetarian diet may prevent many of these conditions. Plant proteins have no cholesterol or unsaturated fat and are high in vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and antioxidants). “Vegetarian food is easier to digest and provides fibre which keeps the digestive system moving well,” says Tara.