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Many successful cyclists follow a plant-based diet. And if you’ve been weighing your options about whether or not to go vegetarian or vegan, there’s now even more evidence that nixing meat from your diet can give your performance a boost—especially if you typically go longer distances.
According to a recent review published in the journal Nutrients, following a plant-based diet has been shown to improve both cardiovascular health and recovery time in endurance athletes. Plus, because this type of diet is usually higher in carbs than a meat-based diet, it could even prevent you from hitting that dreaded wall.
The review authors looked at data from 77 previous studies and found that adhering to a plant-based diet plays a key role in many aspects of training and performance, especially maintaining cardiovascular health. This is because the many antioxidants found in the diet help reduce inflammation, which adds up in the body when you’re constantly putting it under the stress of cycling long distances, like centuries, according to study co-author James Loomis, M.D., medical director for the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
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“Inflammation lies at the heart of many chronic diseases, like heart disease, because it can cause your arteries to become dysfunctional and your LDL [the bad type of cholesterol] to go up,” Loomis told Runner’s World.
In addition to preventing cardiovascular disease, following a plant-based diet can also help speed up recovery.
“A long [ride] or a tough workout can lead to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and stiffness in your tendons and ligaments,” Loomis said. “A diet rich in foods with nitric oxide—which is found in beets and other plant-based foods—helps improve blood flow, which helps you recover faster.”
And because grains, legumes, and root vegetables are all great sources of complex carbs, following a diet in which these foods are the main sources of protein will also ensure you’re getting enough carbs to fuel your long runs.
“When you’re training for longer distances, you need carbs to make sure your glycogen stores replete,” Loomis said.
However, it’s important to note that if you don’t regularly go long distances, you might not fully reap all of the above-mentioned benefits of going meat-free.
“Studies have shown that people who exercise the most have the same heart disease risk as people who exercise the least,” Loomis explained. This is because covering long distances, no matter your effort, causes that increased buildup of inflammation mentioned above.
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Plus, there’s no reason why you can’t get enough complex carbs in your diet if you are a meat eater and don’t think a plant-based diet is right for you. Whether you get your protein from animal sources or from plants, the most important thing is making sure you get enough of the nutrient.
According to the Institute of Medicine, you should consume at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound to help build and maintain muscle. But recent research has shown that runners who got even more—as much as 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, or .82 grams per pound—ran a 5K that was about 16 seconds faster than those who ate lower amounts.
Regardless, the science is strong for a plant-based diet being good for your heart, not to mention the added benefits it can have on your performance and recovery time. But if cutting out meat isn’t for you—or you’ve been advised by a professional not to—then don’t. In the end, a diet needs to work for you and your lifestyle.
