Eating a Sustainable Diet as an Athlete
- Patrick Elliott, BSc, MPH
- Mar 21
- 8 min read
Sports nutrition isn’t necessarily designed to be environmentally sustainable—but this doesn’t mean that you can’t eat a sustainable diet as an athlete.
Introduction
The environmental impact of the food system is predicted to increase by 50–90% by 2050 if no changes are made (1), which is a massive issue as the existing food system already contributes to one-third of all global greenhouse gas emissions (2), uses almost half of ice-free land (3), uses 70% of global freshwater supplies (4), is a leading contributor to biodiversity loss (4), and contributes greatly to fertiliser overuse (4). It is therefore crucial that people shift towards sustainable diets in order to reduce the environmental pressure we place on the planet.
Sustainability isn’t likely to be at the top of an athlete's mind—I get that. And when it comes to eating, it makes sense that an athlete’s priority is fueling for performance. We have written previously about the importance of eating healthy as an athlete, noting that it is possible to eat healthily while eating for performance. In this article, we will showcase that it is equally possible to eat a sustainable diet as an athlete.
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability has many definitions. According to Wikipedia, it’s ‘...a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth for a long period of time’. Sustainability is often depicted as the intersection of three interconnected dimensions: environmental, economic, and social (Figure 1). These dimensions work together to ensure that natural resources are preserved, economies remain resilient, and societies thrive. Achieving sustainability requires a balance between these factors to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.
Figure 1. The three dimensions of sustainability, depicted in three different ways (5).
Sustainable and Healthy Diets
In short, sustainable and healthy diets are largely plant-based because plant-source foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, legumes) generally have a lower environmental impact than animal-source foods (e.g., beef, lamb, pork) (Figure 2). Of all animal-source foods, ruminant meats like beef and lamb and some dairy foods stand out as particularly environmentally intensive. In fact, red meat and dairy production alone accounted for about 57% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 (6). For a more in-depth discussion of sustainable and healthy diets, check out our previous article on how to eat to save the planet.
Figure 2. Greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of food product, from Our World in Data. As is very noticeable from the graph, beef and other animal-source foods tend to be the most emission-intensive, whereas plant-source foods are usually much more environmentally sustainable.
Eating a Sustainable Diet as an Athlete
Since sustainable diets are largely plant-based, you might wonder whether they provide sufficient protein and essential micronutrients for optimal physical performance. The good news is that it is indeed possible to eat a more plant-based and sustainable diet as an athlete and perform well, and there is mounting evidence for this (7,8,9). To give an insight into how this can be done in practice, let’s have a look at how to make an athlete’s diet more sustainable through an example.
For more on how plant protein can support muscle growth and strength gains, check out our previous article on this topic.
Case Study
For our example, let’s imagine we’re working with a professional footballer called Alejandro. He is 22 years old, he weighs 80 kilograms, and he trains 5 times per week with a match on the weekend. For an athlete like this, his daily nutrient needs can be seen in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Daily nutrient goals for Alejandro, from sports nutrition guidelines (10).
Check out our previous articles on carbohydrates, protein, caffeine, creatine, and beta-alanine to find out daily recommendations for athletes.
In Table 2 (below), we have an example of an athlete’s diet—built for performance, but also relatively healthy. This sample diet delivers 481 grams of carbohydrates per day and 145 grams of protein per day (which both meet sports nutrition recommendations for Alejandro, from Table 1).
Table 2. Sample diet for Alejandro.
In Table 3 (below), we have an example of a more sustainable diet for an athlete—also built for performance and health. This sample sustainable diet delivers 517 grams of carbohydrates per day and 138 grams of protein per day (which both meet sports nutrition recommendations for Alejandro, from Table 1).
Table 3. Sample sustainable diet for Alejandro, with changes highlighted in green.
Note: these are just example swaps that could be made to make the diet more sustainable.
The main changes that make the diet more environmentally sustainable are the addition of the fortified soy milk for some of the dairy milk, the beans for some of the chicken, and the lentils for the beef. In other words, to eat a more sustainable diet, plant protein foods should be prioritised.
Macronutrients
As can be seen in Figure 3 below, both of these diets meet the recommended amount of carbohydrates and protein for Alejandro; however, only the sustainable diet meets the fibre recommendation from the Institute of Medicine of 38 grams per day for males aged 19–50 years (11).
Figure 3. Macronutrient intakes of both sample diets for Alejandro. Note: the broken lines indicate recommended intake thresholds. The carbohydrate and protein recommendations are taken from Thomas et al. (10), and the fibre recommendation is taken from the Institute of Medicine (11). Nutrient data from foods was taken from Cronometer.com.
Micronutrients
As can be seen in Figure 4 below, both of these diets meet recommendations for a range of vitamins and minerals important for health and performance. However, neither diet meets the recommendation for vitamin D, which is commonly under-consumed globally (12), meaning that supplementing with vitamin D is something to consider whether you’re an athlete or not.
Figure 4. Micronutrient intakes of both sample diets for Alejandro. Note: the broken lines indicate recommended intake thresholds. Micronutrient recommendations are taken from the Dietary Reference Values set by the European Food Safety Authority (13). Nutrient data from foods was taken from Cronometer.com.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As can be seen in Figure 5 below, the changes we made to the ‘normal’ diet to make it more sustainable led to a massive 55% drop in greenhouse gas emissions from the diet.
Figure 5. Total greenhouse gas emissions of both sample diets for Alejandro (in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per day). Data was calculated from kilogram/carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per kilogram of food from Colombo et al. (14).
Summary
In order to fight global warming and environmental breakdown, and to promote optimal health, we must shift towards sustainable and healthy diets. It is absolutely possible to eat a sustainable diet as an athlete; however, it requires some knowledge in order for it to be nutritionally adequate. If you’re interested in eating a more sustainable diet, a good way to start is by making simple swaps (such as those from Table 3 above). If you want to learn more about sustainable diets, check out our article on how to eat to save the planet.
If you are interested in levelling up your football skills through supplemental football training, contact us at admin@training121.com to book in with our coaches for a session. And remember to sign up to our mailing list to be notified when a new blog article drops.
Thanks so much for reading!
Patrick Elliott, BSc, MPH
Health and Nutrition Science Communication Officer at Training121
Instagram: @just.health.info
Twitter/X: @PatrickElliott0
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Technical Terms
Greenhouse gas emissions: Greenhouse gas emissions refer to gases released into the atmosphere that trap heat from the sun, causing the Earth's temperature to rise. These gases act like a blanket around the planet, making it warmer. The most common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Human activities, like burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, cutting down trees, and farming, produce these gases. The more greenhouse gases we release, the more heat is trapped, leading to climate change, which can cause extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and other environmental problems.