Eating vegan or vegetarian? Adjust your nutrition plan for sports performance

Ellen van Gijsel
April 08, 2019

Based on his personal blood values and DNA test, Dennis Spronk, World Cup Champion in Obstacle Run and lifestyle and nutrition coach, adjusted his nutrition plan. Dennis has always been into healthy food and sports. After all, your body only functions when you get enough fuel. The relationship between nutrition and sports performance, and especially how you can improve your performance with nutrition, has been a quest for Dennis. However, it has yielded him a lot. Read here how he approached this.

Dennis has followed many consultations with dieticians, nutritionists and scientists. At Bloodtesting.nl Dennis has tested his blood values through the Insidetracker program and has vloggedabout this during his preparation for the Obstacle Race World Championship in Iceland.

Tijdens deze periode is Dennis ook nog van een vleeseter naar een pure planteneter gegaan. De resultaten liegen er niet om. “Ik begon met beter te slapen, beter te herstellen na het sporten en dat is voor mij als sporter natuurlijk zeer interessant. Hoe minder ik hoef te rusten, hoe meer ik kan trainen!  Dan presteer ik alleen maar beter. Andere voordelen zijn een betere lichaamsgeur en minder blessures. Als ik nu een blessure krijg is het binnen no-time weer opgelost. Uiteindelijk herstel ik op alle gebieden veel sneller en ik voel me als herboren.”

At the time of the first blood tests, Dennis was still a meat eater and he subsequently switched to eating vegan. The most striking thing was that his iron values increased. Normally they say that vegetarians often have an iron deficiency, but in Dennis' case it was just the opposite. Dennis then changed his lifestyle drastically: no meat products and no milk or cheese products.

Dennis says: "I knew from the theory that if you drink milk the iron absorption is reduced and that this is also related to vitamin C. And because I no longer drink milk, the iron absorption started to increase. I was also drinking vegetable smoothies every day at the time and saw a spike in my iron levels in the blood tests. So I drastically cut down on the vegetable smoothies to make sure I didn't have too much iron in my blood. Because that also has the opposite effect. So I adjusted that and now I'm back in the green range, so I'm very happy with that."

Dennis is sowieso een man van meten en experimenteren als het gaat om optimalisatie van zijn leeftstijl en voeding. Na het programma Insidetracker heeft hij ook het DNA Expert test doorlopen om nog beter in kaart te brengen hoe zijn lichaam in elkaar zit en waar hij al dan niet goed op reageert.

Dennis: "Yes, I am an engineer by origin and I use that background to find out how my body works. The DNA tests showed that meat products are counterproductive for my sports performance, so that was a confirmation for me. There are specific foods, including plants, that promote sport and others that do not. The products that increase my personal performance I take more if I have a competition for example. I now know that these products improve my sporting performance if I take more of them than normal at that time."

And it works: two years ago Dennis was still a meat eater and finished 90th in the World Obstacle Run Championship in his age group, one year later and in the meantime he switched to vegan and finished 58th: quite an improvement!

Dennis: "the whole process that I went through this past year and also really felt that so much changed, that was really a gift to me."

 

With all the knowledge he gained, Dennis started his own lifestyle and nutrition coach: FreeYou. Dennis gives information to companies, workshops, trainings and 1-on-1 coaching, even Vegan cooking classes. You can ask Dennis how to translate the information from Insidetracker or DNA tests to nutrition and lifestyle through a consultation and he gives you the necessary support.

We may well conclude that with the insight gained from his blood and DNA, Dennis has experienced a fantastic improvement in his health and his sports performance!

Whether this dietary approach is also valid for you can be tested in your blood and DNA: after all, everyone reacts differently. And also which sport suits you best; some people are better swimmers, high jumpers or footballers and this knowledge is all hidden in your DNA. Turn your feelings into measurable performance, that's how you can reach your personal best.

Watch or listen here to the interview with Dennis at the National Health Fair in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.

How blood tests can help

Blood values and DNA testing is crucial to understanding how your health works. This gives you insight into your unique blood values and DNA and you can then work in a targeted manner to address or resolve any problems, preventative or otherwise, or in Dennis' case, how you can improve your sports performance by gaining insight into the unique workings of your body.

InsideTracker

The InsideTracker Ultimate blood value test measures the 41 most important biomarkers and examines which nutrition, supplements, lifestyle, sports and exercises you can use to improve your blood values. Insidetracker offers a total solution for vitality, nutrition and performance.
Insidetracker Ultimate temporarily from € 589 for € 299, - You still need to order your personal insidetracker app, but you get it for $ 70 instead of $ 119 if you have your blood values tested at Bloodtesting.nl. Results from your doctor can also be entered here for a nutrition plan.


DNA testing is much more than proving kinship or solving a crime. Your DNA can tell you everything about your health, your body weight, your susceptibility to certain diseases and your aptitude for sports and athletic performance.What DNA tests are there and when are they of interest to you? We will be happy to explain it to you via DNA Expert:

There are various DNA tests available; from justNutrition,Weight,Performance tomedication sensitivityandDNA Expert Total.

Dennis took the DNA-expert total , temporarily from € 1995for€995 in this package are all the DNA tests mentioned, you receive a book with a nutrition list of what products you gain or lose weight (DNA-Expert weight), what nutrients you need for optimal health (DNA-Expert nutrition) and what foods you should eat to improve your performance (DNA-Expert performance )

 

If you've done an InsideTracker blood test or a DNA-Expert saliva test and you'd like an explanation or coaching from either, you can hire Dennis for 25 euros per half hour. For more information about a consultation with Dennis click here