[TOrunner]

All fruits and vegetables are alkaline-forming in the body. So, on a day-to-day basis, the most important thing is to consume more fruits and vegetables while reducing your consumption of acid-forming foods such as meat, dairy, refined sugars, and processed/packaged foods. Not only will this greatly enhance your running performance but it will also tremendously improve your health!

If you are still skeptical about following a more vegetarian diet then the following landmark study conducted at the Institute of Sports Medicine in Mainz, Germany may be helpful.

The researchers investigated whether or not a vegan diet, compared to a typical western diet, would be adequate in providing the necessary nutrients in 55 high level runners (ie. 1000 km in 20 days). Both groups of runners (vegan vs. western diet) consumed 4500 calories/day with a 60:30:10 carbohydrate: fat: protein split. Not surprisingly (at least for me) was that the runners following the vegan diet showed higher levels of all vitamins and minerals, fiber, and polyunsaturated fats compared to the western diet group, and in fact exceeded official recommendations!

Another reason for consuming more fruits and vegetables as a runner is that long duration exercise and extreme environments/conditions causes a significant reduction in the body’s antioxidant defense system. A study out of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed significant reductions in major antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, retinol, ß-carotene, and other carotenoids as a result of prolonged running in the heat.

Since fruits and vegetables are the most abundant sources of antioxidants it is imperative to consume them on a consistent basis. Remember, antioxidants are molecules that disarm body damaging free radicals. Therefore, the greater the level of antioxidants in your body, the better off you’ll be in the long run (see pages 55-66 for more details).

Other examples of the benefits of a vegetarian diet for runners are found in the infamous Kenyan runners. It is well known that they are in a class of their own when it comes to distance running. Guess what they eat? They consume a relatively high-quality diet based on vegetable sources with maize and kidney beans as the staple foods! Their performances speak for themselves.

TOrunner

[richardsimkiss]

Each to their own... I'll carry on eating my meat thanks

[pedestrian]

I don't eat fruit.
I don't eat vegetables.
I simply don't like either.
Never have.
I've said it before: if my diet was severely lacking in essential nutrients, I wouldn't have been able to train as hard or for as long as I have done in the last 30-odd years.

As for the Kenyans? Yeah, they have a diet that's very good for runners. But much of their athletic ability comes about through their relatively hard lifestyle from a very young age. They go to school and back on foot, often twice each day. Many of them then come home to help parents work their farms etc. And all of this is done at altitude. Thus, the Kenyan kids who then decide to go on to become runners, have a tremendous advantage over their counterparts throughout the rest of the world.

[scr8pe]

Originally Posted by richardsimkiss

Each to their own... I'll carry on eating my meat thanks

I'm with you on this Rich

[Trinity]

I've been vegetarian for 25 years... and wouldn't like to argue with carnivores, but I believe it's better, so long as you make sure you find enough protein from elsewhere.

For me really it's about personal choice and I choose not to eat pieces of animal, particularly when they mostly are bred, reared, and kept so cruelly before being brutally murdered.

[richardsimkiss]

What about the poor veggies? grown 'en mass' living a very uneventful life before being brutally murdered purely for our nutritional benefit?

lol, nah I'm just kidding, I can see and respect where you're coming from Trin, but personally I can accept that these animals are bred for food. Where possible I always try to make sure I buy free range or quality meat in the hope that the animal has had a slightly better quality of life.

It's like cars and household waste (actually moreso with household waste), the problems they cause certainly aren't desireable but it's a case of whether or not we're happy to live with the consequences.

[almost_no_specifics]

I am an omnivore, and I'd be offended if anyone thought I was replacing fruit and veg with meat. I eat very little meat anyway, and I do understand where vegetarians are coming from. I also try to buy meat from humanely bred animals. I don't see being vegetarian as unnatural, but equally eating meat is totally natural. I'd like to think that the little bit of meat in my diet, if having any ill-effects (and let's face it, I'm no elite, so I doubt it makes a huge difference), is greatly made up for the fact that in comparison to most people, I drink far less alcohol and I sleep well. I don't get ill very often, and generally am in very good health. So whatever I'm doing can't be so bad.

[kiwifruit]

My diet has become closer and closer to vegetarian as i've gotten into running. I eat meat about 2 or 3 times a week now instead of daily (or more) before i began running, a few months ago.
I eat loads of fruit and veges, love them! Before i eat anything i have a piece of fruit, speeds through the system "paving the way" for the following meal

[TOrunner]

Hey guys,

I can agree where some of you carnivores are coming from. I'm not saying that you have to give up meat but the key (in the long run) to better health, energy, and performance is about eating more fruits and vegetables.

I find it funny that our society is brainwashed into believing that to be healthy and strong we need to meat.

I would simply like to direct your attention to some of the world's largest and strongest animals: the gorilla, the elephant, the giraffe, the rhinocerose. These animals only eat leaves!

Something to think about.

[Grant]

I can see where vegetarians are coming from, but as Richard said, each to their own.

I eat meat, but love eat fruit and veg too. I generally get my five a day.

I think the main thing is trying to eat a healthy variety of food.