Switching to a vegan diet “has no beneficial nor negative effect” on strength performance, given calorie intake and carbohydrate content remain the same.
This is according to a new study published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and conducted by researchers at the German Sport University Cologne and IST Hochschule of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf.
As noted by the study’s abstract, over the past few years the number of people who have avoided animal products has been rising steadily, with “more and more healthy active people and performance-orientated athletes giving up animal products for various reasons, such as for an improved performance or faster regeneration.”
However, “the data in this context are limited.” With this in mind, this study “aimed to obtain initial findings on the influence of a diet change to veganism on the performance of strength-trained individuals.”
For the study omnivores documented their dietary food intakes over 16 weeks. Every four weeks, the strength performance was tested via a leg press and bench press. In the first 8 weeks, the participants maintained their omnivorous diet, followed by 8 weeks of a vegan dietary phase.
“There was no difference in the absolute and relative strength performance for the leg and bench press after changing to a vegan diet”, states the study. “For the total calorie intake and carbohydrates, only a small treatment effect, but no time effect, was observed. However, for the protein intake, a time and group effect were detected.”
In addition, the relative protein intake decreased significantly and was lower than the current recommendations for athletes.
Researchers conclude that “The results demonstrate that a change to a vegan diet has no beneficial nor negative effect on the strength performance when the total calorie intake and carbohydrate content are covered in the first 8 weeks.”
More information on this study can be found by clicking here, and its full abstract can be found below.
Abstract
Over the past few years, the number of people who have avoided animal products has been rising steadily. A plant-based diet is associated with a healthier lifestyle and has positive effects on various diseases. More and more healthy active people and performance-orientated athletes are giving up animal products for various reasons, such as for an improved performance or faster regeneration. However, the data in this context are limited. This study aimed to obtain initial findings on the influence of a diet change to veganism on the performance of strength-trained individuals. For this study, a total of 15 omnivorous individuals were recruited. They documented their dietary food intakes over 16 weeks. Every four weeks, the strength performance was tested via a leg press and bench press. In the first 8 weeks, the participants maintained their omnivorous diet, followed by 8 weeks of a vegan dietary phase. In total, 10 subjects participated successfully, and their data were part of the statistical analyses. There was no difference in the absolute and relative strength performance for the leg and bench press after changing to a vegan diet. For the total calorie intake and carbohydrates, only a small treatment effect, but no time effect, was observed. However, for the protein intake, a time and group effect were detected. In addition, the relative protein intake decreased significantly and was lower than the current recommendations for athletes. The results demonstrate that a change to a vegan diet has no beneficial nor negative effect on the strength performance when the total calorie intake and carbohydrate content are covered in the first 8 weeks.
