ArticlePDF Available

Abstract and Figures

Background/Aims: Humans consuming a vegetarian diet have a reduced relative risk in coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity and some cancers. Regular physical activity also assists in preventing, and reducing the severity of these conditions. An association between these two factors is being acknowledged with athletes adapting their diet to optimise physical performance. This study aimed to examine the evidence for the relationship between consuming a predominately vegetarian diet and improved physical performance. Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken using the SCOPUS database. No date parameters were set. The keywords; vegetarian* OR vegan* AND sport* OR athlete* OR training OR performance OR endurance’ were used. Included studies; (i) directly compared a vegetarian based diet to an omnivorous/mixed diet, (ii) directly assessed physical performance, not biomarkers of physical performance, (iii) did not use supplementation emulating a vegetarian diet. Reference lists were hand searched for additional studies. Results: Seven randomised controlled trials and one cross-sectional study met the inclusion criteria. No distinguished differences between vegetarian diets and omnivorous mixed diets were identified when physical performance was compared. Conclusions: Limited evidence is available to determine if consuming a predominately vegetarian diet will impact performance in athletes. Further research is warranted though the limited studies of this review did show no impact.
Content may be subject to copyright.
212
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2016, 26, 212 -220
http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0231
© 2016 Human Kinetics, Inc.
Vegetarian and Omnivorous Nutrition—
Comparing Physical Performance
Joel C. Craddock, Yasmine C. Probst, and Gregory E. Peoples
Humans consuming vegetarian-based diets are observed to have reduced relative risk for many chronic diseases.
Similarly, regular physical activity has also been shown to assist in preventing, and reducing the severity of
these conditions. Many people, including athletes, acknowledge these ndings and are adopting a vegetarian-
based diet to improve their health status. Furthermore, athletes are incorporating this approach with the specic
aim of optimizing physical performance. To examine the evidence for the relationship between consuming a
predominately vegetarian-based diet and improved physical performance, a systematic literature review was
performed using the SCOPUS database. No date parameters were set. The keywords vegetarian OR vegan
AND sport OR athlete OR training OR performance OR endurance were used to identify relevant literature.
Included studies (i) directly compared a vegetarian-based diet to an omnivorous/mixed diet, (ii) directly assessed
physical performance, not biomarkers of physical performance, and (iii) did not use supplementation emulating
a vegetarian diet. Reference lists were hand searched for additional studies. Seven randomized controlled trials
and one cross-sectional study met the inclusion criteria. No distinguished differences between vegetarian-based
diets and omnivorous mixed diets were identied when physical performance was compared. Consuming a
predominately vegetarian-based diet did not improve nor hinder performance in athletes. However, with only
8 studies identied, with substantial variability among the studies’ experimental designs, aims and outcomes,
further research is warranted.
Keywords: vegan, veganism, vegetarianism
A range of vegetarian diets exist, all of which are
typically plant-based and are often classied on the exclu-
sion or inclusion of animal, or animal derived products.
Vegan, pesco-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetar-
ian, and lacto-ovo-vegetarian (LOV) diets are examples of
vegetarian-based diets in which fruits, vegetables, grains,
nuts, seeds and legumes represent a high proportion of
dietary intake compared with meat and dairy products
(Venderley & Campbell, 2006). Table 1 provides an over-
view of common vegetarian diets. Reductions in coronary
heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity and
even some cancers have been observed in participants
following vegetarian-based diets (Barnard et al., 2015;
Olrich & Fraser., 2014; Ornish et al.,1998; Schmidt et
al.,1997). Diets of this nature are typically higher in oligo
and polysaccharides, ber, fruits, vegetables, antioxidants
and phytochemicals while lower in saturated fat and
cholesterol compared with omnivorous diets (Venderley
& Campbell, 2006). Some athletes have adopted a veg-
etarian diet to acquire the health benets associated, but
also believe the diet may assist in achieving appropriate
carbohydrate intake, weight management and other per-
formance enhancing advantages (Fuhrman & Ferreri,
2010). Physical performance is a broad term, however,
in the context of this review will include; strength, speed,
endurance and power, while excluding other traditional
components such as balance and exibility.
Although mechanisms linking a diet high in plant-
based foods to improved physical performance are lim-
ited, there are three plausible theories described in the lit-
erature. Firstly, it has been hypothesized that a vegetarian
diet may enhance an athlete’s performance due to the high
carbohydrate intake leading to improved glycogen stores
in the body (Barr & Rideout 2004; Ferreira et al., 2006).
Secondly, the increased phytochemicals and antioxidants
consumed in vegetarian-based diets may also help reduce
oxidative stress associated with prolonged exercise and
improve general immunity (Trapp et al., 2010). Thirdly,
it is widely accepted that intramuscular acidity can limit
high-intensity exercise (Carr et al., 2011). A relationship
has been established linking oral supplements, namely
sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate, to altered blood
alkalosis levels. When ingested these buffers have been
shown to have an ergogenic effect on high-intensity acute
exercise (Carr et al., 2011). Conversely, ingested acidic
supplements can be ergolytic. Evidence suggests consum-
ing a vegetarian diet may have an alkaline effect on acid-
base levels compared with nonvegetarians due to the high
The authors are with the School of Medicine, University of
Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia. Address author correspon-
dence to Joel Craddock at jcc256@uowmail.edu.au.
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
Vegetarian-Based Nutrition and Physical Performance 213
fruit and vegetable intake, while being lower in animal
based proteins (Hietavala et al., 2015; Deriemaeker et al.,
2010). Although a long-term vegetarian-based diet may
not have the same effect as an acute sodium bicarbonate
supplement, it is plausible, that a small ‘resetting’ change
in the homeostatic baseline may be approached when a
sustained vegetarian-based diet is followed, leading to a
potential increase in physical performance. Despite these
promising notions, there remains concern that a subopti-
mal vegetarian diet may increase risk for micronutrient
deciencies and reduce muscle creatine concentrations
leading to submaximal performance (Barr & Rideout,
2004). Studies connecting vegetarian diets to improved
health are well-established (Barnard et al., 2015; Olrich
& Fraser, 2014; Ornish et al.,1998; Schmidt et al.,1997);
however, the evidence for this phenomenon to be trans-
ferred to improved physical performance in athletes
is less clear. The aim of this study was to examine the
evidence for the relationship between consumption of a
vegetarian-based diet and improved physical performance
by conducting a systematic literature review. Due to a
vegetarian-based diet theoretically increasing muscle
glycogen, cell alkalinity, and immunity while reducing
oxidative stress, it was hypothesized that this diet may
improve physical performance in athletes.
Methods
Study Protocol
A systematic literature review (NHMRC, 2000) was
conducted in January 2015 using the SCOPUS database
with no date exclusions. The search used the following
keywords; vegetarian OR vegan AND sport OR athlete
OR training OR performance OR endurance in article,
keywords or abstract. A search for unpublished literature
was not performed though reference lists of the included
publications were examined for additional relevant stud-
ies. National Health Medical Research Council’s levels
of evidence were applied to the included studies.
Study Selection
Inclusion of studies met the following requirements. The
studies (i) directly compared a plant-based diet (e.g.,
ovo-vegetarian, LOV or vegan) to a typical omnivorous/
mixed diet, (ii) directly assessed physical performance,
not solely biomarkers of physical performance (immune
biomarkers were exempt from this inclusion criterion as
physical detection of immunity is difcult to measure).
The inclusion criterion was created to assess diet and its
effect on performance rather than other external factors
such as supplementation and lifestyle factors. It was
important for physical performance to be measured,
as biomarkers alone may not translate into effects on
physical performance. Studies that met the following
exclusion criteria were omitted: (i) studies with key words
pregnancy, nonhuman, high performance liquid chro-
matography (excluded within database search limits);
(ii) journal articles not published in English; (iii) studies
examining the relationship between diet and lifestyle fac-
tors on physical performance; (iv) published conference
papers, short surveys, letters, notes, editorials, articles in
press, book series, erratum and conference proceedings;
and (v) participants taking supplementation to emulate
a vegetarian diet.
Data extraction included information on the publica-
tion year, study design/quality, number of participants,
total sample size, population type, dropouts, intervention,
diet, study results/conclusions (Table 2). Study quality
Table 1 Classification of Dietary Patterns
Note. Adapted from “Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts,” by Lee & Sabate, 2014,
Nutrients, 6, p. 2133. Copyright 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Adapted with permission.
214 IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
Table 2 Body of Evidence—Summary Table of Included Journal Articles with American Diabetes Association Quality Rating Template
Results Included
Study
Study Design
(Level of
Evidence) Population Intervention Dietary Group Study Results/Conclusion
Anaerobic and Aerobic Performance
Baguet et al.
(2011) Pseudo RCT
(Level III-1*)
n = 20
Healthy, nonvegetarian
participants.
11 males, 9 females.
5 weeks, sprint
training program
-Mixed diet
-Vegetarian Diet
(*Both groups
supplemented with
creatine).
LOV
Energy 9321kJ (P= 13.13%,
CHO = 55.08%, F = 28.00%,
EtOH = 3.79%)
Mixed
Energy 9693kJ (P = 15.78%,
CHO = 54.55%, F = 26.02%,
EtOH = 3.67%)
No performance difference in repeated sprint
ability test between LOV diet and mixed diet.
Hietavala et
al. (2012) RCT
(Level II**)
n = 9
Healthy, recreationally
active men.
No mention of prior
eating habits.
Crossover design w/
16-day washout period
4-day vegetarian diet
4-day normal diet.
Low protein vegetarian diet
Energy 1046 kJ, (P = 10.1%,
CHO = 58.7%, Fat = 24.7%
(Limited grain and dairy)
Normal Diet
Energy 11687 kJ (P = 17.6%,
CHO = 49.8%, Fat = 28.1%)
Oxygen consumption was signicantly higher at
40, 60 and 80% of maximum oxygen capacity
(cycle ergometer). Suggestive of poorer exercise
economy in vegetarian diet. No further effect on
maximal aerobic performance.
Raben et al.
(1992)^^ RCT
(Level II**)
n = 8
Endurance trained male
athletes. Nonvegetarians
before study.
Crossover design
with 4-week washout
period, 6-week LOV
diet
6-week nonvegetarian
diet.
Both diets included:
57% E Carbohydrate, 14% E Protein,
29% E Lipids
LOV
Protein composition (16% animal
derived protein, 84% vegetable protein)
Mixed Western
Protein composition (67% animal
protein, 33% vegetable protein)
No difference in maximal oxygen uptake (graded
ergometer cycle or treadmill test) or maximal
voluntary contraction (measured with strain
gauge) between groups.
Hanne et al.
(1986)
Cross- sectional
cohort
(Level III-2***)
n = 98
49 vegan, lacto vegetarian
or LOV
49 nonvegetarians.
NA
Vegetarian-based
> 2 years
(vegan, lacto vegetarian or LOV)
Mixed—Nonvegetarian-based diet
No difference in anaerobic (Wingate anaerobic
test) or maximal oxygen uptake (cycle stress test)
performance.
(continued)
215
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
Strength and Power
Haub et al.
(2005)^ RCT
(Level II**)
n = 21
Healthy men aged 59–78
BMI 24–33 kg/m2.
12-week RT program
3 days/week
LOV
0.6 g/protein/kg/day from TVP Energy
9.37MJ (P= 1.17 g/kg/day,
CHO = 274 g/day, F = 85g/day)
LOV + Beef
0.6 g/protein/kg/day from beef Energy
9.09MJ (P= 1.10 g/kg/day,
CHO = 282 g/day, F = 73g/day)
No difference in strength (repetitions until
fatigue) or power gains (1 rep max) between a
LOV diet + soy or LOV diet +Beef. No differ-
ence between groups for upper body or lower
body power output.
Campbell et
al. (1999) Pseudo RCT
(Level III-1*)
n = 19
Sedentary men (51–69
years) overweight to
moderately obese aged
12-week resistance
training program
Group 1 (Mixed Diet)
Group 2 (LOV)
LOV (self-selected)
Energy ~10.3 MJ (52% E Carbohydrate,
13% E Protein, 34% E Lipid
No difference in strength (1 Rep Max) with RT
between groups for any of the exercises
performed.
Mixed—(habitual unrestricted)
(provided 50% of total dietary protein
from meat)
Energy ~8.6 MJ (50% E Carbohydrate,
16% E Protein, 32% E Lipid
Wells et al.
(2003)^ RCT
(Level II**)
n = 21
Healthy men aged 59–78
BMI 24–33 kg/m2
12-week RT program
3 days/week
LOV
0.6 g/protein/kg/day from TVP Energy
9.37MJ (P= 1.17 g/kg/day,
CHO = 274 g/day, F = 85 g/day)
LOV + Beef
0.6 g/protein/kg/day from beef Energy
9.09MJ (P= 1.10 g/kg/day, CHO = 282
g/day, F = 73 g/day)
No differences in strength (1 rep max) between
groups in all but one exercise. Vegetarian group
had a larger increase in strength for knee
extensions (p < .01).
Immune Parameters
Richter et al.
(1991) ^^ RCT
(Level II**)
8 endurance-trained male
athletes (4 cyclists, 1
runner, 1 rower, 2 mixed)
Nonvegetarians before
the study.
Crossover design
with 4-week washout
period, 6-week LOV
diet
6-week nonvegetarian
diet
Both Diets Included:
57% E Carbohydrate, 14% E Protein,
29% E Lipids
LOV
Protein composition (16% animal
derived protein, 84% vegetable protein)
Mixed western
Protein composition (67% animal pro-
tein, 33% vegetable protein)
No difference in composition or concentration
in in-vivo function of human blood mononuclear
cells between a meat rich mixed diet, or a LOV
diet.
Note. CHO = carbohydrate, F = fat, P = protein, EtOH = alcohol, E = energy, LOV = lacto-ovo vegetarian, RCT = randomized controlled trial, RT = resistance training, TVP = textured vegetable protein.
*Pseudo RCT, Level III-I—A study of test accuracy with: an independent, blinded comparison with a valid reference standard, among nonconsecutive patients with a dened clinical presentation.
**RCT Level II—A study of test accuracy with: an independent, blinded comparison with a valid reference standard, among consecutive patients with a dened clinical presentation.
***Level III-2—A comparative study with concurrent controls: Nonrandomized, experimental trial, cohort study, case-control study, interrupted time series with a control group.
^Same experiment/data set—assessed different parameters of physical activity.
^^Same experiment /data set—assessed different parameters of physical activity.
Table 2 (continued)
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
216 Craddock, Probst, & Peoples
was assessed using the quality criteria checklist of the
Evidence Analysis Manual (http://www.andeal.org/) of
the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2012). All eight
studies returned positive scores using the quality criteria
checklist of the Evidence Analysis Manual (data not
shown) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2012).
Results
The literature search identied 327 studies of which eight
articles met the inclusion criteria.
The eight included studies were varied with respect
to population, intervention period, diet composition,
and primary objectives including attribute of physical
performance (Table 2). For instance, several papers
examined muscular power and strength (Campbell et al.,
1999; Haub et al., 2005; Wells et al., 2003), four assessed
anaerobic and aerobic performance (Baguet et al., 2011;
Hanne et al., 1986; Hietavala et al., 2012; Raben et al.,
1992) while one investigated immune parameters (Richter
et al., 1991) in relation to a vegetarian-based diet. In addi-
tion, most papers used different physical testing and/or
biomarkers. The following sections are structured accord-
ing to the type of physical performance being analyzed,
although there was some cross over between studies.
Resistance (Strength/Power) Training
Three studies examined the difference between a LOV
diet and a typical beef-containing western diet and its
effect on Resistance Training (RT) in elderly men (Camp-
bell et al., 1999; Haub et al., 2005; Wells et al., 2003).
The studies were unied regarding muscular strength.
All three studies found no signicant difference in mus-
cular strength or power between the LOV groups and the
omnivorous groups except in Wells et al. (2003) where the
LOV group displayed a signicant increase in strength
for knee extensions (p < .01), yet both groups revealed
signicant improvements in muscular strength and power.
Campbell et al. (1999) did, however, report resistance
training induced changes in whole body composition
(p = .014) and an increase in mean type II muscle ber
area size between groups (p = .005). Similarly, Wells
et al. 2003, described hemoglobin and hematocrit were
signicantly increased in the meat group (p < .01) though
this did not affect strength testing.
Anaerobic and Aerobic Performance
Four studies were identied relating a vegetarian-based
diet to either anaerobic and/or aerobic performance.
Hietavala et al. (2012) revealed that a low protein veg-
etarian diet had no signicant effect on exercise time to
exhaustion, but oxygen consumption was signicantly
higher at 40%, 60% and 80% of maximum oxygen con-
sumption compared with a mixed diet (2.03 ± 0.25 vs.
1.82 ± 0.21 L/min, p = .035; 2.86 ± 0.36 vs. 2.52 ± 0.33
l/min, p < .001 and 4.03 ± 0.50 vs. 3.54 ± 0.58 L/min, p
< .001; respectively). Venous blood pH, strong ion differ-
ence, partial pressure of CO2, HCO3-, was also measured
with no signicant difference between diets. Comparably,
Baguet et al. (2011) found that anaerobic performance
improvement (repeated sprint ability test) was not differ-
ent between the diet groups. Hanne et al. (1986) assessed
both anaerobic and aerobic capacity between vegetarian
and nonvegetarian athletes. No signicant difference in
aerobic performance, as measured by predicted maximum
oxygen consumption and rating of perceived exertion
(RPE) was observed. Likewise, no signicant differences
between groups were measured using the Wingate test to
assess anaerobic performance (Table 2).
Raben et al. (1992) reported no signicant differ-
ences between a LOV diet and maximum oxygen con-
sumption, maximal voluntary contraction, endurance per-
formance or muscle glycogen concentrations compared
with a mixed diet (both diets controlled for carbohydrate
57%, protein 14% and fat 29%). A signicant decrease in
fasting serum testosterone was observed over the 6-week
intervention period in the vegetarian groups diet (median
21.1nmol-1 to 13.7nmol-1, p < .05), where no change was
observed in the mixed diet. This did not have an effect
on any physical performance parameters.
Immune Function
Richter et al. (1991) reported that the immune parameters;
blood mononuclear cells, and natural killer cells did not
differ between a vegetarian and mixed diet after aerobic
exercise. Similarly, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and
puried protein derivative (PPD; tuberculin) showed no
signicant differences between dietary groups.
Discussion
This review is the rst to explore an exclusive vegetarian-
based diet and its effects on physical performance using
a rigorous systematic approach. Earlier investigations
have focused on components of a vegetarian diet and
performance or supplementation emulating a vegetar-
ian diet and performance but none have examined the
diet holistically, the way individuals or athletes would
typically eat. Due to the limited evidence pool, and the
disparate outcomes of performance tested, evaluating the
association between a vegetarian-based diet and improved
physical performance in athletes was immeasurable. This
did not align with the primary hypothesis that a vegetar-
ian diet would improve physical performance in athletes.
Nieman (1998) similarly reviewed vegetarian diets
and possible links to improved physical performance.
Seventeen scientic papers were assessed by Nieman
before 1998, with neither a benecial nor a detrimental
effect reported. Of the eight papers, which were reviewed
in this investigation, all were unied with Neiman’s
ndings. The vegetarian-based diet did not improve nor
hinder physical performance. It is noteworthy to declare
that all references used in Nieman’s 1998 paper were
hand searched for inclusion in this systematic review.
No additional articles were included. Nieman’s study
was not extracted in the methodology, and therefore not
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
Vegetarian-Based Nutrition and Physical Performance 217
included in the results of the review. This occurred due
to the keywords used by Nieman (exercise, endurance,
athlete, carbohydrate, meat, iron, protein, creatine, veg-
etarian diet, humans) being broad with more focus on
food groups and macronutrients.
Due to limited studies and dissimilar performance
measurements, there may still be some merit to the
hypothesis forecasting a vegetarian-based diet increas-
ing performance due to increased muscle glycogen, cell
alkalinity and immunity, while reducing oxidative stress.
This is particularly true for reducing oxidative stress as
no trials were found on the subject.
Strength and Power
The three papers examining a LOV diet were unied,
identifying that both the control and LOV groups sig-
nicantly improved muscular strength and power equally
during the study period. All three studies used elderly men
as subjects concluding there was no difference between
LOV diets and omnivorous diets in resistance training
in elderly men. However, this may not be representative
of the larger population. Wider studies are required to
condently consolidate their ndings with the inclusion
of both genders, and a range of ages. In two out of the
three studies texturised vegetable protein was used fre-
quently in the LOV diets with breakfast patties, grillers,
chick[pea] patties and veggie dogs highly prominent
(Haub et al., 2005; Wells et al., 2003). Products such
as these often contain food color, pH modier, surface-
active substrates, emulsiers and surfactants (Asgar et al.,
2010). Ideally, the aim of this study was to investigate a
more whole food vegetarian-based diet. Research limit-
ing the use of texturised vegetable protein products is
warranted to more adequately align a plant-based dietary
intake, and its response to resistive training.
Figure 1 — The PRISMA owchart showing the initial and nal number of studies obtained.
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
218 Craddock, Probst, & Peoples
Anaerobic and Aerobic Performance
Four papers were identied analyzing a vegetarian diet
and its effect on endurance and/or aerobic performance.
These studies exhibited some heterogeneity with three of
the papers reporting on maximal aerobic capacity, two
papers reporting on anaerobic performance and one also
including isometric strength performance. No signicant
differences were observed between dietary intake and
physical performance.
As only four studies with small participant pools
were identied, it is imprudent to make a judgment on
the effect of a vegetarian diet regarding this type of physi-
cal performance. The studies were consistent, however,
revealing no signicant differences between dietary
groups in short, middle or endurance performance. This
should only serve as a preliminary statement with further
research required. This is particularly true with Baguet et
al. (2011) issuing both the vegetarian and nonvegetarian
groups 1 g/day of creatine monohydrate to reduce a cre-
atine deciency in the vegetarian diet group.1 Some stud-
ies, such as that of Bemben & Lamont (2005), have linked
creatine to improved anaerobic performance. Although
Baguet et al. (2011) were analyzing carnosine concen-
tration, the creatine supplementation may have skewed
the results, at least for the applicability of this review.
In the study by Baguet et al. (2011), baseline measure-
ments between vegetarians and nonvegetarians revealed
lower total creatine concentration (p < .05). If creatine
is implicated in improved performance, and vegetarians
have reduced concentrations to nonvegetarians, creatine
supplementation may be particularly inuential in per-
formance results. Supplementing with creatine eliminates
it as a variable, enabling the specic focus of carnosine;
which has been hypothesized to increase performance,
however, greatly limits the ndings to address the rela-
tionship between a vegetarian diet and performance in
short to middle distance athletes. From this study, it can
be supposed, that there is no difference in carnosine
concentrations between the two dietary groups (Baguet
et al., 2011), however, any links to physical performance
must be questioned due to the creatine supplementation.
Hietavala et al. (2012) interestingly found that although
there was no overall difference between the dietary
groups’ acid-base status or overall effect on maximum
oxygen capacity, cycling efciency decreased in the
LOV group. This would not be a desirable effect for any
athlete, which deserves to be explored further. Three of
the studies assessing anaerobic and aerobic performance
used short treatment periods of vegetarian consumption
(Baguet et al.; 5 weeks: Raben et al.; 6 weeks: Hietavala
et al.: 4 days). The only study which was included where
a vegetarian diet was adopted for an extended period of
time, was that of Hanne et al. (1986). The participants in
this study, were vegetarian for a minimum of two years.
This timeframe would be more suitable to assess meta-
bolic alterations. However, the sample size was small (39
vegetarians) and the investigation did not implement a
randomized controlled study design, but a cross sectional
assessment. A larger number of participants, longer treat-
ment times, studies without additional supplementation
and a greater number studies are needed to condently
make a conclusion about a vegetarian-based diet and its
effect on anaerobic an aerobic performance.
Immune Parameters and Performance
It has been suggested that due to the wealth of phyto-
chemicals, antioxidants and plethora of micronutrients
in vegetarian-based diets, immune function may be
improved in the vegetarian population (Nieman, 1988).
This was not observed in the single study identied
comparing immune status between the two dietary
groups (Richter et al., 1991). The treatment groups in
this particular study were subjected to a macro energy
controlled—57% Carbohydrate, 14% Protein, 29% Lipids
LOV (16% animal derived protein, 84% vegetable pro-
tein)—or mixed western diet (67% animal derived pro-
tein, 33% vegetable protein) for a total of 6 weeks. This
duration is perhaps lacking the duration for full effects
of a vegetarian/vegan diet to become apparent. A larger
body of research with an extended duration of vegetarian
consumption is needed before this can be concluded.
Mechanisms
Mechanisms other than those hypothesized to discrimi-
nate between a vegetarian-based diet and a mixed diet
were proposed in some of the studies. Raben et al. (1992)
for example hypothesized a decrease in sex serum tes-
tosterone due to a vegetarian-based diet. Raben et al.
suggested nonheme iron may not be absorbed as readily
as heme iron and increased ber intake may reduce the
bioavailability of some nutrients, causing implications
to a heavily training athlete. This was found not to be
the case as the study revealed low level sex serum hor-
mones in the vegetarian group but no changes in physical
performance.
Baguet et al. (2011) and Hietavala et al. (2012)
investigated the relationship between vegetarian-based
diets and their effect on acid-base balance. Hietavala
et al. (2012) found no signicant difference in venous
blood pH, strong ion difference or total concentration of
weak acids (Atot), suggesting a low protein, vegetarian-
based diet (Protein 10.1% ± 0.26, Carbohydrate 58.7%
± 2.4, Fat 24.7% ± 2.3) may not optimize acid-base
balance and thus improve physical performance. Baguet
et al. (2011) predominately focused on carnosine and
its buffering capacity. Lacto-ovo vegetarians revealed
lower total creatine concentration (p < .05) compared
with nonvegetarian participants, however, no difference
in performance was observed, again suggestive of a
vegetarian-based diet being ineffective at providing some
sort of buffering effect.
Limitations
A limitation with the body of evidence is that all of the
randomized controlled trials used extremely short peri-
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
Vegetarian-Based Nutrition and Physical Performance 219
ods of dietary intervention ranging from 4 days to 12
weeks. Changes in stored nutrient concentration could
take much longer than this period. For instance, a recent
study revealed that the most notable decline in vitamin
B-12 in vegan participants occurred between 24 months
and 60 months (Madry et al., 2012). The results from the
present literature review only offer understanding into
the short-term effects of a vegetarian-based diet, which
may be useful for acute purposes, such as leading into
a competition or race, however; does not address long-
term effects. This is signicant, as athletes following a
vegetarian-based diet would typically do so for extended
periods.
In addition, many of the included papers lacked infor-
mation on the standardization of dietary intake between
groups and/or lacked detail about dietary compliance.
Jeacocke and Burke (2010), note the possible impact poor
dietary control can have on the outcome of a study. This is
of particular interest in this review as the sample sizes were
small, thereby likely to exaggerate the results of inadequate
dietary standardization between groups.
While this systematic literature review has provided
new insights into the effects of vegetarian-based nutrition
and physical performance in athletes via a highly rigor-
ous and structured review, some improvements could be
made. The present SLR’s search criterion encompasses
dietary factors and effects on total physical performance.
Rened search parameters focusing on specic domains
of physical performance may uncover additional studies
within that domain. Furthermore, as limited research
was identied exploring vegetarian-based nutrition and
physical performance, including cross-sectional studies
comparing performance biomarkers may have increased
the strength of this review.
Conclusion
Currently, the evidence for consuming a predominately
vegetarian-based diet and improved athletic performance
is lacking. In the eight studies which were identied in
this review, however, the vegetarian-based diet did not
improve performance, nor did it hinder it. There appeared
to be no differences at least acutely between a vegetarian-
based diet and an omnivorous diet in muscular power,
muscular strength, anaerobic or aerobic performance.
Many limitations were identied within the body of
evidence including the total body of evidence being very
small (seven trials one cross-sectional analysis), the body
of evidence experimental outcomes varied signicantly,
typically short dietary treatment times were adminis-
tered (all but one study used treatments of 4 days to 12
weeks), resistance training focused only on elderly men
and supplementation was used in one of the trials. More
trials are needed to address the limitations and provide
stronger evidence toward vegetarian-based diets and their
effects on physical performance in athletes. It would
be recommended that future research meets high level
randomized controlled trial design with strict vegetarian-
based dietary intervention lasting 6 months or greater to
determine the association between a vegetarian-based
diet and physical performance.
Notes
1. Creatine monohydrate was used across both dietary groups
to eliminate it as a variable. As both groups supplemented with
creatine, it was included.
Acknowledgments
No funding has been received for the preparation of this manu-
script. The authors declare that there are no conicts of interest
that are directly relevant to the content of this review. The study
was designed by Joel Craddock and Yasmine Probst; data were
collected and analyzed by Joel Craddock; data interpretation
and manuscript preparation were undertaken by Joel Craddock,
Yasmine Probst and Greg Peoples. All authors approved the
nal version of the paper.
References
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (2012). Evidence Analysis
Manual: Steps in the Academy Evidence Analysis Process).
Available at http://www.andeal.org/ Accessed 10/12/2014.
Asgar, M.A., Fazilah, A., Huda, N., Bhat, R., & Karim, A.A.
(2010). Nonmeat protein alternatives as meat extenders
and meat analogs. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Sci-
ence and Food Safety, 9(5), 513–529. doi:10.1111/j.1541-
4337.2010.00124.x
Baguet, A., Everaert, I., De Naeyer, H., Reyngoudt, H., Stegen,
S., Beeckman, S., . . . Derave, W. (2011). Effects of sprint
training combined with vegetarian or mixed diet on muscle
carnosine content and buffering capacity. European Jour-
nal of Applied Physiology, 111(10), 2571–2580. PubMed
doi:10.1007/s00421-011-1877-4
Barnard, N.D., Levin, S.M., & Yokoyama, Y. (2015). Research:
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Changes in
Body Weight in Clinical Trials of Vegetarian Diets. Journal
of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115, 954–969.
PubMed doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.11.016
Barr, S.I., & Rideout, C.A. (2004). Nutritional considerations
for vegetarian athletes. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles
County, Calif.), 20(7-8), 696–703. PubMed doi:10.1016/j.
nut.2004.04.015
Bemben, M.G., & Lamont, H.S. (2005). Creatine supplemen-
tation and exercise performance: Recent ndings. Sports
Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 35(2), 107–125. PubMed
doi:10.2165/00007256-200535020-00002
Bloomer, R.J., & Goldfarb, A.H. (2004). Anaerobic exercise and
oxidative stress: A review. Canadian Journal of Applied
Physiology, 29(3), 245–263. PubMed doi:10.1139/h04-017
Campbell, W.W., Barton, M.L., Jr., Cyr-Campbell, D., Davey,
S.L., Beard, J.L., Parise, G., & Evans, W.J. (1999). Effects
of an omnivorous diet compared with a lactoovovegetarian
diet on resistance-training-induced changes in body com-
position and skeletal muscle in older men. The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70(6), 1032–1039. PubMed
IJSNEM Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016
220 Craddock, Probst, & Peoples
Carr, A.J., Hopkins, W.G., & Gore, C.J. (2011). Effects of Acute
Alkalosis and Acidosis on Performance, 41(10), 801–814.
Deriemaeker, P., Aerenhouts, D., Hebbelinck, M., & Clarys, P.
(2010). Nutrient based estimation of acid-base balance in
vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Plant Foods for Human
Nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 65(1), 77–82. PubMed
doi:10.1007/s11130-009-0149-5
Ferreira, L.G., Burini, R.C., & Maia, A.F. (2006). Vegetarian
diets and sports performance. Dietas Vegetarianas E Des-
empenho Esportivo, 19(4), 469–477.
Fuhrman, J., & Ferreri, D.M. (2010). Fueling the Vegetarian
(Vegan) Athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 9(4),
233–241. PubMed doi:10.1249/JSR.0b013e3181e93a6f
Hanne, N., Dlin, R., & Rotstein, A. (1986). Physical tness,
anthropometric and metabolic parameters in vegetarian
athletes. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness,
26(2), 180–185. PubMed
Haub, M.D., Wells, A.M., & Campbell, W.W. (2005). Beef
and soy-based food supplements differentially affect
serum lipoprotein-lipid proles because of changes in
carbohydrate intake and novel nutrient intake ratios in
older men who resistive-train. Metabolism: Clinical and
Experimental, 54(6), 769–774. PubMed doi:10.1016/j.
metabol.2005.01.019
Hietavala, E-M., Puurtinen, R., Kainulainen, H., & Mero, A.A.
(2012). Low-protein vegetarian diet does not have a short-
term effect on blood acid-base status but raises oxygen
consumption during submaximal cycling. Journal of the
International Society of Sports Nutrition, 9(50). PubMed
Hietavala, E., Stout, J.R., Hulmi, J.J., Suominen, H., Pitkänen,
H., Puurtinen, R., & Mero, A.A. (2015). Effect of diet
composition on acid-base balance in adolescents, young
adults and elderly at rest and during exercise. European
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 69(3), 399–404. PubMed
doi:10.1038/ejcn.2014.245
Jeacocke, N.A., & Burke, L.M. (2010). Methods to Standardize
Dietary Intake Before Performance Testing. International
Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 20(2),
87–103. PubMed
Lee, L.T., & Sabate, J. (2014). Beyond Meatless, the Health
Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist
Cohorts. Nutrients, 6(6), 2131–2147.
Madry, E., Lisowska, A., Grebowiec, P., & Walkowiak, J. (2012).
The impact of vegan diet on B-12 status in healthy omni-
vores: Five-year prospective study. Acta Scientiarum Polo-
norum. Technologia Alimentaria, 11(2), 209–212. PubMed
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009).
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-
analyses: the PRISMA statement. British Medical Journal,
332(7716), 332-336.
NHMRC. (2000) How to use the evidence: assessment and
application of scientic evidence, Handbook series on
preparing clinical practice guidelines. Retrieved from
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/
attachments/cp69.pdf
Nieman, D.C. (1988). Vegetarian dietary practices and endur-
ance performance. The American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 48(3, SUPPL.) 754–761. PubMed
Nieman, D.C. (1998). Physical tness and vegetarian diets: is
there a relation? The American Journal of Clinical Nutri-
tion, 70(3), 570–575. PubMed
Olrich, M.J., & Fraser, G.E. (2014). Vegetarian diets in the
Adventist Health Study 2: a review of initial published
ndings. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
100(1), 353S–358S. PubMed
Ornish, D., Scherwitz, L.W., Billings, J.H., Lance Gould, K.,
Merritt, T.A., Sparler, S., . . . Brand, R.J. (1998). Intensive
lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 280(23),
2001–2007. PubMed doi:10.1001/jama.280.23.2001
Raben, A., Kiens, B., Richter, E.A., Rasmussen, L.B., Sven-
strup, B., Micic, S., & Bennett, P. (1992). Serum sex
hormones and endurance performance after a lacto-ovo
vegetarian and a mixed diet. Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, 24(11), 1290–1297. PubMed
Richter, E.A., Kiens, B., Raben, A., Tvede, N., & Pedersen, B.K.
(1991). Immune parameters in male athletes after a lacto-
ovo vegetarian diet and a mixed western diet. Medicine and
Science in Sports and Exercise, 23(5), 517–521. PubMed
doi:10.1249/00005768-199105000-00002
Schmidt, T., Wijga, A., Von Zur Muhlen, A., Brabant, G., &
Wagner, T.O. (1997). Changes in cardiovascular risk fac-
tors and hormones during a comprehensive residential
three month kriya yoga training and vegetarian nutri-
tion. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum,
161(640), 158–162. PubMed
Trapp, D., Knez, W., & Sinclair, W. (2010). Could a vegetarian
diet reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress? A review
of the literature. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(12),
1261–1268. PubMed doi:10.1080/02640414.2010.507676
Venderley, A.M., & Campbell, W.W. (2006). Vegetarian
diets: Nutritional considerations for athletes. Sports
Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 36(4), 293–305. PubMed
doi:10.2165/00007256-200636040-00002
Wells, A.M., Haub, M.D., Fluckey, J., Williams, D.K., Chernoff,
R., & Campbell, W.W. (2003). Comparisons of vegetarian
and beef-containing diets on hematological indexes and
iron stores during a period of resistive training in older
men. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103(5),
594–601. PubMed doi:10.1053/jada.2003.50112
... En 2016, une revue systématique a synthétisé les connaissances sur le sujet (17) . Les conclusions de la revue étaient que les performances ne seraient ni améliorées ni péjorées par un régime « plant-based ». ...
... 7 études sur 8 étaient des études interventionnelles. Les essais randomisés contrôlés (RCT) inclus par Craddock et al. 2016 n'ont toutefois pas étudié des athlètes et/ou ne comptaient pas la performance parmi le critère d'analyse primaire, ce qui limite la portée des résultats. En effet, malgré les effets bénéfiques des régimes « plantbased » sur la santé chez la population générale, les effets de ces régimes pour soutenir la performance physique restent peu clairs alors que de nombreux sportifs s'orientent sur ce type d'approches et sollicitent les professionnels de santé sur ces questions (6,10) . ...
... La diversité des études et leur nombre restreint ont rendu difficile la réduction des critères d'inclusion. Ce constat avait été préalablement relevé chez Craddock et al. 2016, une revue de la littérature antérieure portant sur le même sujet. La méthodologie adoptée pour la revue systématique actuelle était quantitative, excluant ainsi tout critère qualitatif. ...
... Two studies examined the effect of vegetarian diets on physical performance. Craddock, Probst, and Peoples (2016) found that there was no overall difference "in muscular power, muscular strength, anaerobic or aerobic performance between omnivorous or vegetarian athletes" (p. 219). ...
... Health benefits included reduced risk of certain cancers (Cramer et al., 2017) and a better metabolic panel (Chiu et al., 2015). There were no differences in physical performance between omnivorous and vegetarian athletes (Craddock, Probst, & Peoples, 2016). This review of literature revealed a gap in the research concerning factors that influence people's choices regarding vegetarian vs. meat diets. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: There are various opinions of what eating healthy looks like, and it has become a frequent topic of discussion among young adults. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors determining the choice of vegetarian vs. meat-eating diet. Method: This study was a qualitative phenomenological study with a descriptive design that was conducted at a college in northern Indiana area using one-on-one interviews. The sample size was 16 individuals, 8 who use the vegetarian diet, and 8 who are meat-eaters. Pender’s health promotion model was used to guide this study. Results: There were 9 themes that emerged, of which 5 were vegan/vegetarian and 4 were meat-eaters. The vegetarian and vegan themes were limitation of the diet (1), health effects (2), confusion and stigma about diet (3), reasons for choosing this diet (4), and more conscious of what they eat (5). The meat-eating themes were choices (1), health effects (2), mocking and ridiculing (3), and workout (4). Conclusion: Overall, meat-eaters had more choices in their diet and vegetarians and vegans struggled with limitations. They discussed mocking or stigma about their diets as well as health effects. The need for further studies on this topic is evident from the literature review.
... Interventional studies that focus on plant-versus meatbased proteins or micronutrients and potential effects on the body and brain are lacking. A meta-analysis including seven RCTs and one cross-sectional studies on physical performance and dietary habits concluded that a vegetarian diet did not adversely influence physical performance compared to an omnivore diet 67 . An epidemiological study by Song et al. 11 estimated that statistically replacing 3% of animal protein, especially from red meat or eggs, with plant protein would significantly improve mortality rates. ...
Article
Full-text available
Western societies notice an increasing interest in plant-based eating patterns such as vegetarian and vegan, yet potential effects on the body and brain are a matter of debate. Therefore, we systematically reviewed existing human interventional studies on putative effects of a plant-based diet on the metabolism and cognition, and what is known about the underlying mechanisms. Using the search terms “plant-based OR vegan OR vegetarian AND diet AND intervention” in PubMed filtered for clinical trials in humans retrieved 205 studies out of which 27, plus an additional search extending the selection to another five studies, were eligible for inclusion based on three independent ratings. We found robust evidence for short- to moderate-term beneficial effects of plant-based diets versus conventional diets (duration ≤ 24 months) on weight status, energy metabolism and systemic inflammation in healthy participants, obese and type-2 diabetes patients. Initial experimental studies proposed novel microbiome-related pathways, by which plant-based diets modulate the gut microbiome towards a favorable diversity of bacteria species, yet a functional “bottom up” signaling of plant-based diet-induced microbial changes remains highly speculative. In addition, little is known, based on interventional studies about cognitive effects linked to plant-based diets. Thus, a causal impact of plant-based diets on cognitive functions, mental and neurological health and respective underlying mechanisms has yet to be demonstrated. In sum, the increasing interest for plant-based diets raises the opportunity for developing novel preventive and therapeutic strategies against obesity, eating disorders and related comorbidities. Still, putative effects of plant-based diets on brain health and cognitive functions as well as the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored and new studies need to address these questions.
Article
Full-text available
Vegetarians, those who avoid meat, and vegans, additionally avoiding dairy and eggs, represent 5% and 2%, respectively, of the US population. The aim of this review is to assess the effects of vegetarian diets, particularly strict vegetarian diets (i.e., vegans) on health and disease outcomes. We summarized available evidence from three prospective cohorts of Adventists in North America: Adventist Mortality Study, Adventist Health Study, and Adventist Health Study-2. Non-vegetarian diets were compared to vegetarian dietary patterns (i.e., vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian) on selected health outcomes. Vegetarian diets confer protection against cardiovascular diseases, cardiometabolic risk factors, some cancers and total mortality. Compared to lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets, vegan diets seem to offer additional protection for obesity, hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular mortality. Males experience greater health benefits than females. Limited prospective data is available on vegetarian diets and body weight change. Large randomized intervention trials on the effects of vegetarian diet patterns on neurological and cognitive functions, obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular outcomes are warranted to make meaningful recommendations.
Article
Full-text available
  The direct consumption of vegetable proteins in food products has been increasing over the years because of animal diseases, global shortage of animal protein, strong demand for wholesome and religious (halal) food, and economic reasons. The increasing importance of legume and oilseed proteins in the manufacturing of various functional food products is due to their high-protein contents. However, the greatest obstacle to utilizing these legumes and oilseeds is the presence of antinutrients; but these antinutrients can be successfully removed or inactivated by employing certain processing methods. In contrast, the potential negative impact of the antinutrients is partially balanced by the fact that they may have a health-promoting role. Legumes and oilseeds provide well-balanced amino acid profiles when consumed with cereals. Soybean proteins, wheat gluten, cottonseed proteins, and other plant proteins have been used for texturization. Texturized vegetable proteins can extend meat products while providing an economical, functional, and high-protein food ingredient or can be consumed directly as a meat analog. Meat analogs are successful because of their healthy image (cholesterol free), meat-like texture, and low cost. Mycoprotein is fungal in origin and is used as a high-protein, low-fat, health-promoting food ingredient. Mycoprotein has a good taste and texture. Texturized vegetable proteins and a number of mycoprotein products are accepted as halal foods. This article summarizes information regarding the molecular, nutritional, and functional properties of alternative protein sources to meat and presents current knowledge to encourage further research to optimize the beneficial effects of alternative protein sources.
Article
Full-text available
There are no long-term prospective studies assessing the impact of the vegan diet on vitamin B-12 (B-12) status. Many vegans take B-12 supplements irregularly or refuse to adopt them at all, considering them to be "unnatural" products. The use of B-12 fortified food may be an alternative. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the long-term effect of a vegan diet on serum B-12 concentrations in healthy omnivore adults, comparing the influence of natural products consumption and B-12 fortified food. A five year prospective study was carried out comprising 20 omnivore healthy adult subjects, who moved to strict vegan diet for 5 years. Ten volunteers followed vegan diet based entirely on natural products, while the remaining ten subjects consumed food fortified in B-12. In all subjects serum vitamin B-12 concentration was determined before and 6, 12, 24 and 60 months after the implementation of the diet. A significant decrease (p < 0.0002) of serum B-12 concentrations in the whole studied group was noted after 60 months of vegan diet. However, observed changes were in fact limited to the subgroup consuming exclusively natural products (p < 0.0001). Transition from omnivore to vegan diet is associated with the risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency. B-12 fortified products might constitute a valuable alternative in vegans refusing to take vitamin supplements.
Article
Full-text available
Current evidences show benefits of a vegetarian diet for human health. However, when a stricter vegetarian diet is adopted, health risks are confirmed. Vegetarian diets are characterized by a high intake of carbohydrates, fibers, magnesium, potassium, folate and antioxidants and may result in a low intake of amino acids, essential fatty acids, calcium, zinc, iron and cobalamin. Experimental human researches indicate that both vegetarians and non-vegetarians present similar aerobic capacity. Regarding muscular strength and power, researches are scarce but the existent ones do not report significant differences. Cardiovascular risk situations have been confirmed, due to the possible hyperhomocysteinemia given the low ingestion of cobalamin. Vegetarian diets do not contain creatine, resulting in lower muscle reserves of this nutrient among this population. Hormonal and metabolic changes are a possibility in response to vegetarian diets, as well as low levels of testosterone and androstenedione. The immune function does not seem to be affected. Thus, a vegetarian diet is compatible with daily exercising as long as it is well planned in order to avoid nutritional deficiencies.
Article
Full-text available
Oxidative stress is a natural physiological process that describes an imbalance between free radical production and the ability of the antioxidant defence system of the body to neutralize free radicals. Free radicals can be beneficial as they may promote wound healing and contribute to a healthy immune response. However, free radicals can have a detrimental impact when they interfere with the regulation of apoptosis and thus play a role in the promotion of some cancers and conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Antioxidants are molecules that reduce the damage associated with oxidative stress by counteracting free radicals. Regular exercise is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle, although it can increase oxidative stress. As a typical vegetarian diet comprises a wide range of antioxidant-rich foods, it is plausible that the consumption of these foods will result in an enhanced antioxidant system capable of reducing exercise-induced oxidative stress. In addition, a relationship between a vegetarian diet and lower risks of cardiovascular disease and some cancers has been established. This review explores the current available evidence linking exercise, vegetarians, antioxidants, and oxidative stress.
Article
The quality of vegetarian diets to meet nutritional needs and support peak performance among athletes continues to be questioned. Appropriately planned vegetarian diets can provide sufficient energy and an appropriate range of carbohydrate, fat and protein intakes to support performance and health. The acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges for carbohydrate, fat and protein of 45–65%, 20–35% and 10–35%, respectively, are appropriate for vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes alike, especially those who perform endurance events. Vegetarian athletes can meet their protein needs from predominantly or exclusively plant-based sources when a variety of these foods are consumed daily and energy intake is adequate. Muscle creatine stores are lower in vegetarians than non-vegetarians. Creatine supplementation provides ergogenic responses in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes, with limited data supporting greater ergogenic effects on lean body mass accretion and work performance for vegetarians. The potential adverse effect of a vegetarian diet on iron status is based on the bioavailability of iron from plant foods rather than the amount of total iron present in the diet. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes alike must consume sufficient iron to prevent deficiency, which will adversely affect performance. Other nutrients of concern for vegetarian athletes include zinc, vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), vitamin D (cholecalciferol) and calcium. The main sources of these nutrients are animal products; however, they can be found in many food sources suitable for vegetarians, including fortified soy milk and whole grain cereals. Vegetarians have higher antioxidant status for vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (tocopherol), and ß-carotene than omnivores, which might help reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress. Research is needed comparing antioxidant defences in vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes.
Article
In observational studies, vegetarians generally have lower body weights compared with omnivores. However, weight changes that occur when vegetarian diets are prescribed have not been well quantified. We estimated the effect on body weight when vegetarian diets are prescribed. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for articles through December 31, 2013. Additional articles were identified from reference lists. We included intervention trials in which participants were adults, interventions included vegetarian diets of ≥4 weeks' duration without energy intake limitations, and effects on body weight were reported. Two investigators independently extracted data using predetermined fields. Estimates of body weight change, comparing intervention groups to untreated control groups, were derived using a random effects model to estimate the weighted mean difference. To quantify effects on body weight of baseline weight, sex, age, study duration, study goals, type of diet, and study authorship, additional analyses examined within-group changes for all studies reporting variance data. We identified 15 trials (17 intervention groups), of which 4 included untreated controls. Prescription of vegetarian diets was associated with a mean weight change of -3.4 kg (95% CI -4.4 to -2.4; P<0.001) in an intention-to-treat analysis and -4.6 kg (95% CI -5.4 to -3.8; P<0.001) in a completer analysis (omitting missing post-intervention values). Greater weight loss was reported in studies with higher baseline weights, smaller proportions of female participants, older participants, or longer durations, and in studies in which weight loss was a goal. Using baseline data for missing values, I(2) equaled 52.3 (P=0.10), indicating moderate heterogeneity. When missing data were omitted, I(2) equaled 0 (P=0.65), indicating low heterogeneity. Studies are relatively few, with variable quality. The prescription of vegetarian diets reduces mean body weight, suggesting potential value for prevention and management of weight-related conditions. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Article
Ingestion of agents that modify blood buffering action may affect high-intensity performance. Here we present a meta-analysis of the effects of acute ingestion of three such agents - sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate and ammonium chloride - on performance and related physiological variables (blood bicarbonate, pH and lactate). A literature search yielded 59 useable studies with 188 observations of performance effects. To perform the mixed-model meta-analysis, all performance effects were converted into a percentage change in mean power and were weighted using standard errors derived from exact p-values, confidence limits (CLs) or estimated errors of measurement. The fixed effects in the meta-analytic model included the number of performance-test bouts (linear), test duration (log linear), blinding (yes/no), competitive status (athlete/nonathlete) and sex (male/female). Dose expressed as buffering mmoL/kg/body mass (BM) was included as a strictly proportional linear effect interacted with all effects except blinding. Probabilistic inferences were derived with reference to thresholds for small and moderate effects on performance of 0.5% and 1.5%, respectively. Publication bias was reduced by excluding study estimates with a standard error >2.7%. The remaining 38 studies and 137 estimates for sodium bicarbonate produced a possibly moderate performance enhancement of 1.7% (90% CL ± 2.0%) with a typical dose of 3.5 mmoL/kg/BM (∼0.3 g/kg/BM) in a single 1-minute sprint, following blinded consumption by male athletes. In the 16 studies and 45 estimates for sodium citrate, a typical dose of 1.5 mmoL/kg/BM (∼0.5 g/kg/BM) had an unclear effect on performance of 0.0% (±1.3%), while the five studies and six estimates for ammonium chloride produced a possibly moderate impairment of 1.6% (±1.9%) with a typical dose of 5.5 mmoL/kg/BM (∼0.3 g/kg/BM). Study and subject characteristics had the following modifying small effects on the enhancement of performance with sodium bicarbonate: an increase of 0.5% (±0.6%) with a 1 mmoL/kg/BM increase in dose; an increase of 0.6% (±0.4%) with five extra sprint bouts; a reduction of 0.6% (±0.9%) for each 10-fold increase in test duration (e.g. 1-10 minutes); reductions of 1.1% (±1.1%) with nonathletes and 0.7% (±1.4%) with females. Unexplained variation in effects between research settings was typically ±1.2%. The only noteworthy effects involving physiological variables were a small correlation between performance and pre-exercise increase in blood bicarbonate with sodium bicarbonate ingestion, and a very large correlation between the increase in blood bicarbonate and time between sodium citrate ingestion and exercise. The approximate equal and opposite effects of sodium bicarbonate and ammonium chloride are consistent with direct performance effects of pH, but sodium citrate appears to have some additional metabolic inhibitory effect. Important future research includes studies of sodium citrate ingestion several hours before exercise and quantification of gastrointestinal symptoms with sodium bicarbonate and citrate. Although individual responses may vary, we recommend ingestion of 0.3-0.5 g/kg/BM sodium bicarbonate to improve mean power by 1.7% (±2.0%) in high-intensity races of short duration.
Article
Carnosine is an abundant dipeptide in human skeletal muscle with proton buffering capacity. There is controversy as to whether training can increase muscle carnosine and thereby provide a mechanism for increased buffering capacity. This study investigated the effects of 5 weeks sprint training combined with a vegetarian or mixed diet on muscle carnosine, carnosine synthase mRNA expression and muscle buffering capacity. Twenty omnivorous subjects participated in a 5 week sprint training intervention (2-3 times per week). They were randomized into a vegetarian and mixed diet group. Measurements (before and after the intervention period) included carnosine content in soleus, gastrocnemius lateralis and tibialis anterior by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS), true-cut biopsy of the gastrocnemius lateralis to determine in vitro non-bicarbonate muscle buffering capacity, carnosine content (HPLC method) and carnosine synthase (CARNS) mRNA expression and 6 × 6 s repeated sprint ability (RSA) test. There was a significant diet × training interaction in soleus carnosine content, which was non-significantly increased (+11%) with mixed diet and non-significantly decreased (-9%) with vegetarian diet. Carnosine content in other muscles and gastrocnemius buffer capacity were not influenced by training. CARNS mRNA expression was independent of training, but decreased significantly in the vegetarian group. The performance during the RSA test improved by training, without difference between groups. We found a positive correlation (r = 0.517; p = 0.002) between an invasive and non-invasive method for muscle carnosine quantification. In conclusion, this study shows that 5 weeks sprint training has no effect on the muscle carnosine content and carnosine synthase mRNA.
Article
Vegetarian diets are associated with several health benefits, but whether a vegetarian or vegan diet is beneficial for athletic performance has not yet been defined. Based on the evidence in the literature that diets high in unrefined plant foods are associated with beneficial effects on overall health, lifespan, immune function, and cardiovascular health, such diets likely would promote improved athletic performance as well. In this article, we review the state of the literature on vegetarian diets and athletic performance, discuss prevention of potential micronutrient deficiencies that may occur in the vegan athlete, and provide strategies on meeting the enhanced caloric and protein needs of an athlete with a plant-based diet.