Female Athletes Need to Beware of The Triad

Female Athletes Need to Beware of The Triad

During my hour-long morning walks, I encounter an impressive collegiate (RPI) female endurance runner. Early in my walk, she flies by me.  Towards the end of my walk, she flies by me again while making it look effortless.  She obviously has natural talent and trains very hard, but I can’t help but wonder what her diet is like.  If she does not follow a whole food plant based (WFPB) diet, might she benefit from viewing the film “The Game Changers” when it is released. Perhaps it will convince her that her performance will improve with a transition to a WFPB diet.

In thinking about this potential scenario, I realized that if lean female athletes transition to a WFPB diet without the help of someone knowledgeable in WFPB diets, they are putting themselves at risk for some serious health issues. In particular, a condition called “The Female Athlete Triad”.

What is The Female Athlete Triad?

The female athlete triad is made up of three medical conditions that are becoming increasingly common in active teen girls:

• Energy imbalance with or without an eating disorder
• Menstrual disturbances
• Decreased bone mineral density with or without osteoporosis

Why Might a WFPB Diet Cause Problems for Some Female Athletes?

A highly trained woman who diligently adds many nutritious, low-calorie fruits and vegetables to her diet may end up consuming fewer daily calories than she burns up every day. This can lead to amenorrhea (an abnormal absence of menstruation) and women can experience significant reductions in estradiol, the primary form of the female hormone estrogen.  Low estradiol levels leads to bone loss and increased risk of bone fractures.  Ordinarily, weight bearing exercises like running helps to strengthen bones, but women runners with weakened bones due to amenorrhea are actually at a higher risk for running-induced fractures!

Low body weight alone is not enough to explain the loss of menstrual periods. For amenorrhea to occur, a lean woman has to regularly consume fewer calories than she burns.

For Lean Female Athletes, Calories Are Friends  

To avoid getting into trouble, lean female WFPB athletes must make sure they consume enough calories.  Unlike most of us, they don’t have to worry as much about overconsuming calorically-dense whole plant foods. Athletes in heavy training may actually need to eat more nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocados, smoothies and whole grain breads.  These foods are tasty and filling – so you’d think this wouldn’t be too difficult to do.  But some athletes attribute any performance gains solely to increased leanness and are reluctant to add calorically-dense whole plant foods back to their diet.

But the science seems to point to improved recovery time between workouts as a major benefit provided to athletes consuming a WFPB diet. For female athletes who want this benefit, it is imperative that they eat the right fuel, but also to eat enough of it.

For an example of one female athlete who did plant-based nutrition right – check out Dotsie Bausch’s TED Talk.

Stay Healthy and Strong!