Professor Timaree Hagenburger (vegan): Peaking With Plant-Based Sports Nutrition, Part 3 of 3

In order to provide students a broader perspective on personal health and care for the environment, Professor Hagenburger cofounded a certificate of proficiency in “Plant-Based Nutrition & Sustainable Agriculture” program in 2017 at Cosumnes River College. “And so, they go from the ground to the greenhouse. The students get the 360-degree version of the whole process, from why to eat the food, and then how to grow the food, and then how to make the food.”

“The potassium in fruits and vegetables comes with citrate and bicarbonate precursors. They will help protect the bones and help those osteoblasts build that bone tissue. We also see that calcium can be found in green leafy vegetables, as long as we're consuming the low oxalate vegetables. And with B12, it's not made in animals or in plants. It's actually made by bacteria, so that's actually the one supplement I recommend everybody take. And so magnesium, again from nuts and seeds and legumes and green leafy vegetables.”

“Another issue is caffeine. And it can make our body get rid of extra calcium in the urine. Now, alcohol is something else that some people use, but that can make it difficult for our bones to achieve the bone mass, the peak bone mass, as well as maintaining it. There's a lot of sodium in the processed animal products that can undermine bone health as well.”

Having a peaceful mind is one of the important things that help athletes to achieve their best, and their mental state is also affected by the foods they eat. “There are studies that show, depending on how you feed people and especially the processed food, the animal-heavy fast food, it can actually make people depressed. It can affect their mood. Another area that it affects is the gut microbiome.”

“I think that people underestimate the power that they have in their knife and fork and spoon to really impact the quality of their life. Once people start to make those changes, they will realize how good they could feel. Every move, every bite towards more plant-based is a gift to every cell in your body.”