While doctors advise people, especially those with weight gain, to eat more vegetables, other foods are also essential. While vegetables are good and vital for our health, our bodies may find it hard to operate efficiently with them alone. Having said this, the question that will immediately linger in your mind is how vegetarians survive. How do they get those nutrients that cannot be found in plants? The main question that this article aims to cover is how vegetarians get carnosine.
Carnosine
Before we discuss ways vegetarians can use to obtain carnosine, let us first know its importance in our bodies. Carnosine is a dipeptide made of histidine and beta-alanine amino acids. The only foods rich in carnosine are animal tissues, which means you need to eat meat to get it. Since vegetarians do not eat meat, they must find alternative ways. Carnosine boosts energy, builds muscles, and acts as an anti-aging element. It is an essential element required for different functions of the body. But how or where would you get it if you are a vegan?
Beta-Alanine Supplements
Carnosine helps in building and strengthening muscles. Can you imagine being a vegetarian and an athlete? You might experience more health problems than others, and even your career might be at stake and the best decision you can make is to find an alternative to improve your muscles. Beta-alanine supplements might be your savior as they increase the level of carnosine in muscles. They aid your body in producing carnosine. This makes it essential to take supplements to strengthen the muscles and increase their endurance.
Histidine-Rich foods
If you are a vegetarian, you need to take food rich in histidine to increase your carnosine levels. Although plant foods have smaller amounts of histidine, they are better than none. Filling your diet with foods rich in histidine can significantly boost carnosine levels. Eat foods like buckwheat and soy products to increase carnosine levels. Being a vegetarian requires you to love these foods more to improve your performance, especially if you are an athlete.
Balanced Diet
Proper diet is the key to every healthy human. Poor eating decisions cost your health and happiness. If you are a vegetarian, consider eating protein-rich food because some protein molecules combine with beta-alanine absorbed from plant foods to make carnosine. This makes your muscles strong and enhances your energy for your daily activities.
Exercise
When combined with a healthy diet, exercise can work wonders in your body. Engaging in regular high-intensity physical activities can help naturally produce more carnosine. This is because exercise helps the muscles to stimulate more carnosine. So, if you are a vegetarian, exercising often can boost your carnosine level to equal that of others.
In conclusion, carnosine is essential for our bodies regardless of whether you are vegetarian. However, being a vegetarian makes it hard to attain the proper levels of carnosine, and that is why you should take extra steps to boost its production. You can take supplements that boost its creation as long as they are under the doctor’s instructions. You may also consider taking intensive exercises, eating a balanced diet, and foods rich in histidine.