Beefed-up Body Without The Beef
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The Globe and Mail has a story about vegan athletes. It says:
“Forget the weak, scrawny stereotype. A plant-based diet cooked up by a Canadian triathlete is attracting converts who want a fit, beefed-up body without eating meat or dairy”
The story then features some of the reasons why vegan athletes may perform well:
Besides avoiding the risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes associated with meat and dairy, a vegan diet is alkalizing, he says, which minimizes muscle inflammation and lactic acid build-up. Vegan athletes are thus able to reduce their recovery time, allowing them to train harder.
Personally, I think some of the claims about alkalinity are a bit dubious, but as a vegan gym rat myself (newly converted to gym rat status), I agree that vegans probably have an edge. As a general trend, vegans are strong-willed which is an asset in athletic training. When the going gets tough we don’t give up, we work a little harder.
But more importantly, why does the article feature a picture of Wolverine?
I wondered about the Wolverine picture, too, until I read the first paragraph, which is about Hugh Jackman’s near-vegan diet. I presume they chose that pic because it’s a photo of Jackman looking particularly buff.
Nice to see an article like that in a major newspaper. The last two paragraphs bothered me a little bit though. It’s like obligatory for these articles to warn of the dangers of veganism.
She also warns that some people may not perform well on a vegan diet, depending on their body type, genetics and activity level.
“Definitely, definitely, it can be beneficial if it’s used properly and for the right person,” she says. But “is it for everyone? No, nothing is for everyone.”
Maybe I’m just unaware of some people veganism won’t work for, but I know the official position of Dietitians of Canada and the American Dietetic Association is that a vegan diet is suitable for all people in any stage of life.
The only people I can think of where veganism could be difficult are those with soy allergies or something along those lines.
Andrew, I’m a recent convert to veganism with a soy allergy and so far I’ve had no problems whatsoever when cooking for myself, although obviously eating out can be more tricky. There are such a range of sources of vegan protein, I think soy is only the most convenient and well known rather than the most nutritionally necessary (quinoa is a complete protein, for example, plus all the easily combined ones like nuts, beans and grains). I guess people who are prone to anemia or B12 deficiencies would have to be very careful with diet and supplementation but I don’t know that it would be impossible by any means for even them to eat vegan.
I wonder if it’s just that some dietitians still view veganism as kind of radical and that’s why they throw in these lines about it not being for everyone, despite the evidence.
The comment about alkalinity makes some sense to me, given that going vegan did reduce some of the inflammation I experienced with arthritis. Not all, however, by a long shot, and I have no idea if it would actually speed recovery.