Can a Plant-Based Diet Benefit Your Athletic Performance?

For years plant-based and vegetarian diets have been too quickly dismissed; something that hurts the body rather than doing it any good, makes it impossible to get adequate protein, or means that you’ll never enjoy a tasty meal ever again. But the tides are certainly turning on plant-based diets, from promising scientific studies to tasty new innovations in plant-based meats, more and more people are deciding to cut meat for more than just ethical reasons.

RELATED: How to Add More Protein to Your Diet

In fact, according to a recent study published in The Permanente Journal, research now suggests that plant-based diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that could actually lower body mass index, blood pressure, HbA1C, and cholesterol levels — and they may even reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates.

The study also suggests that physicians across the country should consider recommending a majority plant-based diet to all their patients, but especially those who suffer from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, or obesity.

But what does that mean for individuals or athletes who train or work out on the regular? Well, as it turns out, sticking to a plant-based diet every day (or at least a few days out of the week) may actually increase even perfectly healthy and active individuals.

Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet for Athletic Performance

Below, we spoke to a handful of high-level athletes and trainers to get their insights into whether or not a plant-based diet could actually benefit your athletic performance. From NBA players to nutrition professors and wellness coaches, here’s exactly how these wellness professionals feel about ditching meat in favor of plants, and how it could actually level up your athletic performance while making getting — and staying — fit easier than you might have once thought.

1. Shed Excess Body Weight — Without Counting Calories

“A plant-based diet is rich in nutrients and naturally calorically low depending on the types and amounts of foods consumed,” explains Trista Best, registered dietitian at Balance One Supplements, environmental health specialist, and adjunct nutrition professor. “This can be beneficial for most individuals, but athletes and those focused on physical performance can benefit as well. First, the low caloric content can help to reduce potential excess body weight that may be impacting performance and athleticism.”

2. Expect to Build Muscles and Strength Easier

According to Nurudeen Tijani, plant-based athlete, nutritionist, wellness coach, and founder of TitaniumPhysique, a plant-based diet is a high carbohydrate diet — but that’s actually a good thing. “During sports or intense physical activity, the body burns carbohydrates for fuel,” Tijani explains. “Complex carbs rich in dietary fiber means more energy to perform harder during physical activities.”

3. Recover Faster From Physical Activity

Recreation sports, lifting weights, or cardiovascular training build strength, but also inflame joints and tendons in the body. “A whole-food plant-based diet improves performance because it is rich in macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber,” says Tijani.

4. Counteract Inflammation That Causes Pain

According to Tijani, a plant-based diet can help decrease or eliminate weight training muscle pain, joint pain, and reverse chronic diseases like arthritis. Arthritis is inflammation that creates pain in the joints. Additionally, a plant-based diet can help optimize the long-term health of the kidneys, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract.

RELATED: Best Vegan Protein Powders

5. Increase Energy and Overall Stamina

"Switching to a healthy vegan diet or at least eating more plant food will improve your health and fitness due to the increase in vitamins, minerals, and an increase in quality of calories and macronutrients,” says vegan certified personal trainer and yoga instructor Justine Swenson. “Food is fuel and when you are feeding [your body] whole foods from the earth you are providing it with all of the energy and healing nourishment it needs to thrive.” You may even find with the increase in nutrients you will have less muscle soreness and/or recover more quickly from workouts. 

6. Influx of Antioxidants and Cellular Healing

Free radicals are produced naturally in the body as a byproduct of metabolism or by exposure to environmental toxins and create oxidative stress, leading to cellular damage. “Eating plants gives you amazing antioxidants which help neutralize free radicals,” explains physical therapist and trainer Lara Heimann. “Free radicals in an athlete can impair performance and recovery and animal products have no antioxidants — these powerhouses are only found in plants.”

Heimman also noted that a plant-based diet, low in cholesterol and saturated fat, improves blood thickness which allows more oxygen to be carried to the muscles, improving performance and recovery. “Eating plants helps your body perform for you so you can level up your athletic potential!”

7. Forget About Overall Aches and Pains Slowing You Down

“I strongly believe that shifting the protein in my diet to plant-based meat is allowing me to extend my career and maintain a high level of performance,” says NBA player and Beyond Meat ambassador, Chris Paul. “I now have a Beyond Burger after every game to aid with recovery times and inflammation — it’s a game-changer, literally.”

“Usually when I’m training I wake up with a lot of muscle soreness. But I got up in the middle of the night and I wasn’t aching, I was feeling good,” Paul explains. “The next thing you know, I was able to go the entire summer without putting ice on my knees—and that was just because I stopped having so much inflammation in my body due to the plant-based diet which includes Beyond Meat.”

You Might Also Dig:

• Best Foods to Eat for Every Vitamin Deficiency
  What You Should Eat Before and After a Workout
  Best Protein and Energy Bars