GLOBAL HEALTH: Plant-based diet - Effects on overall health and athletic performance

Written by:

Monique Pontes Acioli Lins de Lima

Student

Florida International University

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Curiosity

High-endurance athletes participate in significant training sessions requiring lots of energy. Although, according to the Journal of the American Nutrition Association, by merely engaging in these sessions, athletes are susceptible to many health issues related to the heart as they are constantly forcing the muscle. It is indeed known that exercise is beneficial for overall health, but it can bring adverse effects when performed with high intensity. Consequently, high-level athletes must monitor every part of their bodies, especially what they eat.

Why focus on a specific diet?

Many high-level athletes have adopted veganism to improve performance and overall health. Among those are number one ATP player Novak Djokovic, former number one WTA player Venus Williams, and so on. As we all know, nutrition is a significant part of an athlete’s capabilities to perform as it affects muscle operation, energy, body composition, etc. Eating habits play a role in more things than you imagined in your body. To accomplish any improvement, athletes must consider every micro and macronutrient being over or under-consumed in their diet.

Veganism has been a growing diet option adopted by many individuals in the last few years. But what does it mean for athletes? Do they need to avoid animal-based food for performance improvement altogether? Is it beneficial? What are the drawbacks?

What are the benefits of Plant-based diets?

A significant performance factor is protein intake which is widely found in animal products. Although, an issue that has been discussed surrounding the subject of animal-based food is its high-fat content. There is a considerable need to fuel high-level athletes with more significant amounts of protein than a regular person would consume. Still, many studies have concluded that it could potentially lead to cardiovascular disease in the long term if not monitored closely. Moreover, the “Plant-Based Diets for Cardiovascular Safety and Performance in Endurance Sports” presented a study comparing coronary plaques in endurance athletes and sedentary individuals. They discovered that athletes demonstrated higher levels of plaque than sedentary individuals. Thus, they concluded that athletes were at higher risk of cardiovascular or atherosclerosis disease due to excessive protein needed to fuel high-achieving athletes. Either avoiding or reducing the amount of meat will help individuals prevent potential infections in the future.

Also, athletes must always be cautious about immune-related diseases as it could potentially force them to miss daily training. As mentioned above, animal products can contain harmful levels of fat, which could also affect the athlete’s immune system. This idea is presented by “Fueling the Vegan Athlete,” which mentions that overconsumption of food high in fat could also affect the immune system, causing athletes to fall behind on conditioning. Additionally, the article said that carotenoids and other colored plants could enhance immune function, helping the athlete be healthy to attend practice.

Another point that athletes desire to accomplish is the amount of fat that their body consists of, and depending on the sport, a leaner body mass helps the athletes succeed. Is it common knowledge that plant-based food consists of lower levels of fat and high levels of fiber which contributes to lower body fat levels. A study mentioned in “Plant-Based Diets for Cardiovascular Safety and Performance in Endurance Sports” article found that “the use of a low-fat vegan diet for 14 weeks increased postprandial energy expenditure by 16%” This is important because athletes highly depend on the breakdown of food, enzyme synthesis, nutrient uptake, etc. to maintain the energy balance to perform well.

What is the negative side of the plant-based diet?

Every specific diet should be well planned by fulfilling all nutrient requirements. Purely plant-based diets mainly comprise legumes, grains, oilseeds, and nuts. According to the article “Benefits of a plant-based diet and considerations for the athlete,” these specific foods contain factors that could provide a potential downside regarding food absorption in one’s organism: “Tannins create complexes with proteins, starch, and digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract decreasing the absorption,” “Phytate limits intestinal absorption of divalent cations by chelating minerals” and the fiber if over-consumed by an individual. Also, because the protein in plant-based foods lacks some essential amino acids for the functioning of one’s system, the individual should consume a wider variety and amount of plant-related protein.

Additionally, to successfully maintain a vegan or vegetarian, consideration should be taken for nutrient adequacy. There are debates surrounding the concern for the sufficiency of protein and other nutrients such as B12, calcium, iron, zinc, etc. To supply every nutrient adequately, a well-balanced diet should be created with the possible addition of extra supplementation. These are the reasons why, according to Vegan Diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers.

• Vitamin B12: Only found in animal food

• Zinc: not readily absorbed (plant-based products)

• Iron: bioavailability in plant-based foods

• Calcium: highly present in dairy products

Does it actually improve athletic performance?

Table composed by SWAP‑MEAT Athlete article

WFPB -> Whole Foods Plant-Based:

PBMA -> Plant-Based Meat Alternative

Although, the ultimate question that researchers did not yet conclude is whether a plant-based diet directly improves performance. In order to acquire a better understanding of the subject, researchers have conducted many studies that analyze muscle strength, speed, VO2 max, etc. For example, a study presented in the “SWAP‑MEAT Athlete” article examined and compared the effects of plant-based, plant-based meat alternatives and animal-based diets on endurance athletes’ performance over a period of time. Individuals were required to consume “two servings of diet-specific protein sources were required each day,” such as quinoa, lentils, and beans (Plant-based), Beyond Meat, Impossible Food, or Gardein (Plant-based Meat Alternative), and poultry and red meat (animal-based). It was concluded that there were no significant differences in performance. As shown in the table above, they measured this by recording individuals’ 12- minute run and vo2 max for runners and machine composite, push-ups, pull-ups, and others for resistance athletes. However, it was also analyzed and concluded that plant-based diets contributed to increased carbohydrate intake, yielding the restoration of glycogen stores. Low intake of carbohydrates can “[put] them at risk for an overly rapid depletion of glycogen from the muscle and liver and early fatigue,” therefore causing poor conditioning.

Conclusion

A plant-based diet can yield several benefits for the high-performance athlete. Although, scholars have not yet concluded that eliminating animal-based products entirely can provide greater benefits to high-performance conditioning. On the other hand, overall long-term health advantages have been scientifically analyzed such as cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases prevention. Many individuals in the last few years opted to change their eating habits for other purposes such as religion, environmental issues, chronic diseases, etc.