Vegan Sports Nutrition

Whatever your reason for going vegan, don’t let it hold you back from reaching your fitness goals! There’s never been a more diverse and high-quality offering of vegan protein powders, vegan protein bars and other 100% animal-free sports nutrition. Explore our range here at Holland & Barrett to discover which products can help you perform at your very best and support your recovery.

What is vegan protein?

If you’re new to sports nutrition or being vegan, you may be thinking: how can you have animal free and dairy free protein powder? Doesn’t it come from meat and dairy? Well plants have protein too! Think about it, cows and other farm animals predominantly eat plants and their bodies turn that into protein. So consuming vegan protein shakes and other products just cuts out the middle (cow) man.

What is vegan protein made of?

You probably already consume a lot of vegan protein through your diet. Spinach, chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, peanuts, spirulina, almonds and edamame beans are all good sources of vegan protein – and they’re packed with other nutrients too like vitamins, minerals and healthy fats.

When it comes to vegan protein powder, the most popular ingredients are soy protein, pea protein, hemp protein and rice protein. Soy, hemp and pea protein are considered ‘complete proteins’ which means that they contain all the essential amino acids (the one’s our bodes can’t make), just like meat and whey protein does. Incomplete plant proteins like rice protein can be mixed with others to make sure all the amino acids are in a finished product.

Why do we need protein?

Our bodies need protein to support many bodily functions.  It’s essential – and most of us get enough protein (0.75g of protein per kg of body weight) to support a relatively inactive lifestyle. However, once we start exercising, our bodies need more protein to rebuild our hard-working muscles and grow new ones. This is where protein powders and protein bars step in – helping us to fuel our bodies properly and smash our fitness goals.

There’s more vegan sports nutrition where that came from!

Vegan BCAAS

What are BCAAs? Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) can’t be made by our bodies but are key  when it comes to fuelling your body during your workout sessions. Leucine, isoleucine and valine make up approximately 1/3 of skeletal muscle in the human body and has been shown to help decrease muscle fatigue and build muscle after a workout.

Vegan creatine

Creatine is one of the most popular sports supplements out there, helping us to  gain muscle and increase physical performance. It is made by our bodies naturally, and as the only other natural source is animal products, vegans and vegetarians have to supplement if they want this muscle-supporting ingredient.

Vegan preworkout products

Want a boost before your workout so you can perform at your best? Our range of vegan preworkout supplements could be for you. They include a range of natural, effective ingredients to fill you with much-needed energy, with a range of great-tasting flavours to suit everybody’s tastes.