Leipzig's team doctor advises footballers against a purely vegan diet

The RB Leipzig team doctor has advised football professionals against a purely vegan diet. In an interview with the "Leipziger Volkszeitung", Percy Marshall said that in his opinion it was not advisable for a professional to live vegan and thus exclusively from plant-based foods.

"But most of the time, professionals who go completely vegan diets realize after a year and a half that they're blaming themselves on some micronutrient levels from this extreme form of eating," Marshall said.

If an athlete has a support staff around them that can influence such deficits, this can work. "In general, one can say that there is no substitute for a flexible, balanced and healthy diet."

According to Marshall, the cup winner no longer has a vegan professional, but some players do have vegan days. Marshall explained that a vegan diet can be helpful over a period of time as you age.

“We know that a plant-rich diet can reduce inflammation levels in the body. In the case of many older athletes, this means that in the late autumn of their career, when their joints crunch and are affected, they can benefit enormously from such an adjustment to their diet," said the doctor.