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The Vegetarian Athlete
January 15, 2008 | 21 Comments
A vegetarian athlete. Is that an oxymoron? Far from it.
Athlete: An individual participating in a sporting event in a professional or amateur capacity. In today’s parlance, the sport in question is not confined to track & field but could be anything involving physical activity.
Vegetarian: An individual living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with or without the use of dairy products and eggs. (definition from The Vegetarian Society)
For many, training for and taking part in sporting events is a way of keeping fit. After all, how long can we watch our thumb muscles get stronger at the expense of the rest of the body? In this series “The Vegetarian Athlete“, we are going to discuss the nutrition and fitness aspects of being vegetarian/vegan and active.
[The irony, of course, is that we were far more active while we were not blogging 
]
We like to be vegetarian because the taste appeals to us. Regardless of whether your motivators are religious, environmental, ethical, health, or taste, journey with us as we explore personalities, experiences, complete meals, food combining, strength vs endurance, proteins, carbs, misconceptions, and some history to boot.
Creating a balanced vegetarian diet is far easier today than when the challenge was presented to our intrepid troglodyte ancestors. But does it meet the needs of an athlete? Ten time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis makes his point as emphatically as he did on the track:
“My best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet”.
Strictly speaking, a vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or slaughter by-products and hence is also termed Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian. Subtract eggs to become a Lacto-Vegetarian, and further remove dairy products to be classified Vegan. We commonly hear terms such as “eggitarian” to mean someone who is primarily vegetarian but also consumes eggs. This misconception is a manifestation of associating a direct link between “Vegetarian” and “Vegetables”.
Both endurance and strength athletes need to replenish adequate amounts of protein and carbohydrates. Protein builds, maintains, and repairs muscle tissue, while carbohydrates are a quick energy source. Numerous evidence based studies over several decades have shown that the protein and carb requirements can be met by a vegetarian diet. Some even argue that a vegetarian diet, when carefully chosen, is superior for athletes.
Omnivores too can benefit from an induction of more plant-based nutrients in their diet.
- Jai
Next post: Protein requirements and sources
Filed Under: fitness, NUTRITION, Vegetarian Athlete, vegetarian recipes
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21 Comments
Great Jai!
.
I congratulate you to bring this topic to light.
I am really happy to read this article. Good that you initiated this, and hope to read much more further about this, I really wish that people will try to be vegeterian
Keep posting…
-Pooja
-a Lecto vegeterian :yes:.
(P.S. – I like this when you said “The irony, of course, is that we were far more active while we were not blogging” , funny but true :laugh: )
Hmmmmmmmm let me think. I think my hubby would surely be glad to read this post, n I think I will give him the pleasure of reading this
N I am thanking you way in advance non his behalf. I keep nagging him on being a veggie (though jokingly)
Nice topic, looking forward to read more about it
if you happen to read/know/use about whey protein, hoping you will mention that too
Hello Bee and Jai – I am a vegetarian and thought a lot about this when I was training for a half-marathon last year. I do believe that the term vegetarian athlete is not an oxymoron, and look forward to reading your research and thoughts on the topic. Thank you!
Awesome series. I would love to learn more abt this
Considering the regular dose of protiens and carbs I consume daily, I ought to be an athelete!!
Will watch out for the next in this series.
Will wait for the next post….just recently found out that I am severely protein deficient
hno:
Aap ki aagnya sar aankhon par :bow:
that’s a great post J and B! incidentally, I also wrote about a health topic today – food and cholesterol:) I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading this series of yours!
Well said! I have also been toying with the idea of raw food (perhaps more rich in anti-oxidants since we haven’t messed with it!) and ‘the 100-mile diet’ (ie food that hasn’t been shipped from god-knows-where) as ways to aid recovery from moderate intensity exercise.
Chompin’ at the bit
Smita
still looking for ‘the vegetarian with protein deficiency’, no luck yet
good to do away with such myths
Absolutely! I ran my second marathon on a (lacto-ovo) vegetarian diet, with no problems whatsoever! When I ran my first marathon, everyone was so worried about me getting enough protien (I’d been a vegetarian for 13 years) that I briefly added poultry to my diet just to be sure. Totally unnecessary, I think. Runners, especially, need carbs much more than they need meat!
Looking forward to future posts in this series.
Wow..I will look forward to this category. Then I can show it to one friend of V…whenever V is down, that guy says its bcos V does not like to eat chicken :huh:
Good series bee n Jai. Would love to read more on this. Whenever I say that “I am a Vegan” the first reaction (mostly in office) is..’does tat mean tat u never eat meat mae? ooo..religion la..u pray to god is it? uh..what does it mean rest of them pray to demons? :hammer: never mind la..this is how it is sometimes here
I remember once one of my colleague asked me ‘eh..how can u ah..resist eating meat le..? my mouth waters ma..u never in life felt u must eat meat?…interesting ah…My answer was : ya la..some people are like tat what to do..we never touch meat in our life what… (no ? after what)..hahahaahah… :rofl: :laugh: :rofl:…I enjoy answering such questions now, after I got used to it. When I was new to Singapore it was just
hno:
Yes indeed they are compatible- I was in my best shape for a couple years in my 20′s when I was a strict lacto-ovo vegetarian and doing weight and aerobic training regularly. I personally think there’s a reason why legumes and grains complement each others’ amino acids so well.
Great intro and looking forward to the rest of the series. Thats a term (vegetarian athlete) and concept that needs to be bandied about more – it seems everyone in this country is so OBSESSED with protein and they think the only kind of real protein comes from animal flesh .
You know on a sort of tangent – I was talking about vegetarianism with someone (having been a lifelong vege by choice, i find myself explaining my choice of lifestyle/diet to random people all the time) and its effects on a person, beyond just your physical health. If the adage – you are what you eat – holds true (I don’t know if thats a real saying, but I’ve heard it used several times), then I wonder, does being vegetarian make one more, say, gentler, in certain respects? I know that probably comes across like a judgemental, inflammatory thing to say, but trust me, isn’t meant to be. What I’m trying to get at with my verbose segway is – has anyone heard of a murderer being a vegetarian? Just a curious thought!
hitler was vegetarian. so was nathuram godse. in india, for centuries, vegetarians from the upper caste have tortured and murdered people for being of the ‘lower’ or ‘untouchable’ caste, using the excuse that they were lowly or unclean and defiled spaces used by the upper castes because they were not vegetarian. among those in india who burn their wives for dowry, there is no dearth of vegetarians. – b.
great writeup, jai. one of the things i really enjoy about your blog is the amount of research and thinking that goes into each posting, whether it is on egg substitutes or vegetarian athlete. i always go away learning something from your website. thanks for all the extra effort you put into your writings and for all the great recipes.
I went to a gym to engage a personal trainer and said one of the things I want is the bloke to be a vegetarian at the very least. I was met by some very funny stares – which meant – excuse me – why should the trainer be vegetarian – I said he needs to have adhered to the philosophy I subscribe (and prescribe) to. I still havent found one though – if I get one I will let you know. Later …
That concept has not been an oxymoron in Indian cricket – I remember Kris Srikkanth being berated for not performing because he wasn’t a “beef eater”!
Not that says much of the Indian cricketers or their fitness levels…. :rolleyes: …some of them can’t even be described as athletes , let alone professional :tongue:
I did a lot of research when I was recovering and realised that I needed to build up my protein levels and at the same time couldnt digest meat and fiber very well, if at all – what I found was an eye opener and shattered many myths we hear all the time.
Back to topic – the series sounds very interesting and I will be waiting for the next instalment! Thanks
Excellent topic, we are not completely vegeterians, eat chicken,fish once in 2 weeks or so. I have a daughter who is an athelete though she cannot be classified as a Vegeterian athelete, for the better part of the week where we do survive on vegetables this series would greatly benefit us.
Oops didnt mean to be anonymous on my Kris Srikanth comment…its me Miri