GB Duathlete, Lisa Gawthorne, encourages athletes to become vegan from the benefits she saw in her training
“I’m a big believer in that you can be plant strong, if you’re eating the right products.”
Lisa Gawthorne represents Great Britain in Duathlon. She got into this athletic event at a very low point during her running career. Gawthorne was just a runner for years until she had a knee injury in 2016, which was a fat pad impingement. After her operation, rehab was challenging for her due to not even being able to run from one side of the room to the other.
However, Gawthorne’s recovery was very much bike centred and that’s how she “fell in love” with the bike, through indoor training.
“The bike helped me massively, it was a distraction from running because there was a big gap that need to be filled from a physical and mental point of view.”
Gawthorne has been vegan for years now and states “it was one of the best things I’ve done.”
It has affected her training tremendously. She explains she has quicker recovery from small injuries and has better sleep because she is not digesting animal products. She can feel, she is fitter, faster and stronger because she is fuelling her body with the right products. Gawthorne said: “If you look at my 5K PB’s throughout the years, you can definitely see a drastic change. I feel more cleansed physically and mentally.”
Scientific evidence does show that diets high in unrefined plant-based foods leads to better health outcomes. Because these diets are rich in nutrients which improves health aspects such as the immune system and cardiovascular health. Studies show, vegan diets lower your risk of high blood pressure by anything between 33 to 75 per cent compared to meat and dairy eaters.
Gawthorne, emphasises the benefits applying to athletes’ mental health too. Plant-based diets improves the brain function due to not consuming animal products, affecting your digestive system.
“Sport is good for your mental health, however pressure especially in athletics can take a toll on your mental health. So, diet is essential, because at the end of the day, what you’re putting in your body is going to have a either a negative or positive impact on your performance.”
She added: “I’m an animal lover. That’s my best argument for veganism. But so are some meat eaters, so that’s not enough. Trying to push the health point of view is better and then touch on environmental impacts.” Gawthorne hopes to continue to be a good example of a vegan athlete, who gets the same amount as protein but from a plant-based foods. She is excited for 2022 as she has already pre-qualified for both European and World Duathlon Champions this year and has launched her “vegan mallows” on her online vegan store.
