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
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
