Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

needs. Constant impact activity, such as running, reduces iron levels more dramatically than other types of exercise because of the more strenuous hemolysis. With each foot strike, a small amount of blood is released from the damaged capillaries. In time, this will lead to anemia if the runner doesn’t pay close attention to her diet. Iron is also lost through sweat.
     
    I always keep raw pumpkin seeds on hand, sprinkling them on many of my meals.
     

sesame seeds
     
    Sesame seeds are an excellent, easily absorbable source of calcium. Calcium is in part responsible for muscle contractions—of particular concern to athletes. They will need to ensure that they maintain correct levels of calcium in the body. Calcium plays another important role in the formation and maintenance of bones and teeth. Athletes and people living in a warm climate will need extra amounts of dietary calcium since it is excreted in sweat.
     
    I use a coffee grinder to grind sesame seeds into a flour, then store it in the refrigerator, for up to three months. I sprinkle the flour on salads, cereal, pasta, and soups. Several of the Thrive Diet recipes call for sesame seed flour, to increase calcium content. When baking (whether a Thrive Diet pizza crust, for example, or a non-Thrive Diet recipe), try substituting sesame seed flour for up to one-quarter of the amount of regular, glutinous flour called for in the recipe. If the recipe calls for non-glutinous flour, the whole amount can be replaced with sesame seed flour. Since sesame seed flour is slightly more bitter than most flours, you may want to experiment, gradually increasing the amount each time.
     

sunflower seeds
     
    Made up of about 22 percent protein, sunflower seeds offer a good amount of dietary substance. Rich in trace minerals and several vitamins important for good health, sunflower seeds are a food worthy of regular consumption. Sunflower seeds are quite high in vitamin E and are antioxidant-rich.
     

pseudograins
     
    As I noted earlier, pseudograins are actually seeds, though they are commonly referred to as grains. Pseudograins don’t contain gluten, which makes them easily digestible, alkaline-forming, and suitable for celiacs, who are gluten-intolerant.
     

amaranth
     
    With its nutty flavor and packed with nutrition, amaranth is one of my favorites pseudograins. Amaranth is quite high in calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins A and C. Composed of about 17 percent protein, amaranth is particularly rich in lysine, an elusive essential amino acid. Lysine is important for the absorption of calcium from the digestive tract, but it can be difficult to find in plant-based foods, which qualifies amaranth as a worthy addition to a diet for optimum nutrition. In addition, ounce for ounce, amaranth has twice the calcium of cow’s milk.
     
    Amaranth consists of about 8 percent fatty acids, found mostly in its germ. Within those fats is a valuable form of vitamin E known as tocotrienol, a powerful antioxidant. With about a 90 percent digestion rate, amaranth is easy on the digestive system and as such is considered a high net-gain food.
     
    With about three times the fiber of wheat flour and almost five times the iron, amaranth flour is a good addition to recipes for baked foods—its inclusion is an easy way to boost nutritional value. But because of its strong, sweet flavor, it is best used as a secondary flour, combined with a primary flours such as spelt or kamut. Amaranth flour also has a gummy texture. Combining it with fluffier grain or seed flours, such as spelt or buckwheat, is a good way to offset this.
     
    Preparation: Cook like rice, at a 1:3 amaranth-to-water ratio, for about 25 minutes. It can also be sprouted (see page 202) or popped (see page 209).
     

buckwheat
     
    Despite its name, buckwheat is not wheat, nor is it even in the wheat family. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, buckwheat is related to rhubarb. Containing eight essential amino acids, including high amounts of the often elusive tryptophan, buckwheat is considered a good-quality source of protein. Since tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin (serotonin is formed from tryptophan), having an adequate amount of tryptophan in your diet is important to help enhance your mood and mental clarity. Buckwheat is very high in manganese and quite high in vitamins B and E; it also provides calcium.
     
    When buying, be sure to select the unroasted form. Roasted buckwheat, also known as kasha,