Going Vegan for the Gain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vegan Diets in Bodybuilders during Different Preparation Phases.

Numerous athletes compete at a high level without consuming animal products; although a well-planned vegan diet might be appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, a few elements need to be addressed to build a balanced plant-based diet for an athlete, particularly in bodybuilding, in which muscle growth should be maximised, as athletes are judged on their aesthetics. In this observational study, nutritional intakes were compared in a cohort of natural omnivorous and vegan bodybuilders, during two different phases of preparation. To this end, 18 male and female bodybuilders (8 vegans and 10 omnivores) completed a food diary for 5 days during the bulking and cutting phases of their preparation. A mixed-model analysis was used to compare macro- and micronutrient intakes between the groups in the two phases. Both vegans and omnivores behaved similarly regarding energy, carbohydrate, and fat intakes, but vegans decreased their protein intake during the cutting phase. Our results suggest that vegan bodybuilders may find difficulties in reaching protein needs while undergoing a caloric deficit, and they might benefit from nutritional professionals' assistance to bridge the gap between the assumed proteins and those needed to maintain muscle mass through better nutrition and supplementation planning.

Which are the Nutritional Supplements Used by Beach-Volleyball Athletes? A Cross-Sectional Study at the Italian National Championship.

Beach volleyball is an intermittent team sport played under high temperature and humidity. Given that some nutritional supplements can enhance sports performance, this study aimed to evaluate the quantity and the heterogeneity of the nutritional supplementation practices of amateur (n = 69) and professional (n = 19) beach volley athletes competing in the Italian National Championship; an online form was used to collect data about the supplementation habits. The latent class analysis was used to find sub-groups characterised by different habits regarding supplements consumption. The most frequently used supplements (more than once a week) are vitamins B and C (39.2% of athletes), protein (46.8%), and caffeine (36.9%). The latent class analysis revealed three different sub-groups of athletes: the first class (56.7%) included athletes who were used to take very few supplements, the second class (17.0%) was characterised by higher consumption of supplements and the third class (26.2%) was in the middle between the others two. Groups were characterised not only by the quantity but also by the category of supplements used. Our results highlighted a high heterogeneity in supplementation habits. A pragmatic approach to supplements and sports foods is needed in the face of the evidence that some products can usefully contribute to enhancing performance.