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

DNA, edestin more closely resembles human protein than any other in the plant kingdom. The branch-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine are also plentiful in hemp protein. Essential for the repair and building of lean muscle tissue, these branch-chain amino acids are also an integral part of maintaining a healthy metabolic rate.
    Hemp protein by itself is complete, but there is still room for improvement. Because it is relatively low in the essential amino acid tryptophan, hemp protein is nicely complemented by rice protein. Prominent in rice protein, tryptophan helps the body fabricate serotonin. With more readily available serotonin in the system, mood will be elevated, resulting in fewer sugar and starch cravings.
    Relatively hard to find in the plant kingdom, the amino acid lysine is exceptionally high in yellow pea protein. An essential amino acid, lysine is critical in the body’s production of enzymes, antibodies, and hormones. The body’s ability to maintain correct nitrogen balance and absorb calcium is also reliant on the presence of lysine in the diet. During times of augmented stress, eating lysine-rich foods will help maintain lean muscle tissue.
    The combination of hemp, yellow pea, and rice protein is not only complete, it is complementary and synergistic, structured better than any single protein source can ever be. However, because pea protein and rice protein can be difficult to find, the recipes below call simply for hemp protein and ground flaxseed. If you simply follow the 12-Week Meal Plan, you will reap the rewards a variety of properly combined proteins deliver. But if you are able to source these proteins, by all means include them in your smoothies. Add 10 grams (4 teaspoons) of pea protein and 5 grams (2 teaspoons) of rice protein along with the hemp protein.
     
    Maca In my Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer formula, I include maca. (I discuss its benefits in detail on page 154.) A root vegetable related to the turnip, maca is an adrenal tonic. Although maca is not an essential part of the Thrive Diet, it is of particular use when feeling depleted, to help speed the rate at which the adrenals can be rebuilt after bouts of high stress. Aside from its myriad nutrients (trace amounts of 31 minerals), maca supplies the body with a non-stimulating form of energy. Maca delivers energy by means of hormonal regulation and adrenal nourishment, not stimulation. As the diet improves, maca’s energy-inducing properties become increasingly apparent.
     
    The principles of the Thrive Diet, of course, are ones of nourishment that extend to the adrenals; maca can speed the process at which they regenerate. Including maca in a smoothie is also a sensible way to help rebuild the adrenal glands after the use of a stimulant such as yerba maté during times of production stress. When I have to perform at a particularly high level, whether for a key workout, race, or the completion of a major project, I sometimes drink yerba maté. It works. I get more energy, but at the expense of my adrenals. Without fail, during these times and immediately afterward, I make sure to have a daily dose of maca to speed the regeneration process. Several of my exercise-specific recipes (pages 122-129) have the option of including yerba maté; if you do, take maca afterward.
     
    Add: 2.5 grams (1 tsp) of gelatinized maca.
     
     
    Chlorella Chlorella is another highly beneficial food that I add to my smoothies. (I discuss chlorella in detail on page 150.) A fresh water algae, chlorella possesses many detoxifying properties that can help speed the rate at which the body rids itself of toxins. The Thrive Diet is one of cleansing; consuming chlorella daily will speed the rate at which that takes place. Toxins are constantly being taken into our bodies with the air we breathe and the food we eat, and the more toxins within our body, the more stress placed on our system as a whole.
     
     
    Add: 2.5 grams (1 tsp) chlorella.
     
     
    Probiotics Probiotics are the “good” bacteria in our intestines (see the Glossary for a more detailed description). As mentioned in Chapter 1, if nutrient-rich whole foods are not primary in your diet, cravings and overeating will develop. If they persist even once you adhere to a nutrient-rich diet, the problem might be absorption. Once food has been digested in the stomach, it passes into the intestine, where the vitamins and minerals are absorbed for utilization. If good bacteria are