Better Endurance Exercise Performance on a Plant-Based Diet

Entirely plant-based diets were linked to superior endurance exercise performance, according to a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The authors recognized that, “In the general population, there is a popular belief that a vegan diet may be associated with a lower exercise performance due to the lack of certain nutrients in vegan individuals.” Their findings, it seems, “contradict the popular belief of the general population.”

In order to examine differences in strength and endurance between people eating omnivorous versus entirely plant-based diets, Canadian researchers studied 56 healthy young physically active women who consumed or avoided animal products for at least two years. Both groups had comparable physical activity levels, body fat percentages, lean body mass, and muscle strength. However, stark differences were presented when endurance was measured. People eating entirely plant-based diets averaged a 7% higher estimated VO2max, a measurement “generally considered the best indicator of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance,” according to the University of Virginia School of Medicine. This was also the first study to show that plant-based diets may be linked to better submaximal endurance performance since participants eating only plants cycled 39% longer, on average, than those who ate animal products.

A number of mechanisms could explain these findings. For one, participants eating plant-based diets consumed more carbohydrates, a critical fuel source for endurance performance. Other explanations relate to improved stress and inflammatory profiles in people whose diets are built around plants. Either way, the authors concluded that “healthcare professionals should not discourage a vegan diet and may even want to consider it as an option during the implementation of an exercise training program” since, compared to omnivorous diets, such eating patterns “could be even more effective for endurance performance.”

Reference:

Boutros GH, Landry-Duval MA, Garzon M, Karelis AD. Is a vegan diet detrimental to endurance and muscle strength?. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2020;74(11):1550-1555. doi:10.1038/s41430-020-0639-y