Bourtos et al. [2020] study had 56 participants of female physically active vegans and omnivores aged between 18-35, both groups completed muscular strength [leg press and chest press] and submaximal endurance cycling testing set at 70% of their peak maximal power.
Study overview
Vegan diets have become extremely popular in recent years and now with Athletes taking a vegan approach to their diet we will review some recent research to see if a vegan diet will have similar benefits to an omnivore diet.
Results overview
The vegan group had been on a vegan diet for at least 2.4 years whereas, the omnivores were meat eaters for their entire life. Vo2 max amongst the vegan group was significantly higher compered to the omnivores. There was no significant differences amongst both groups in muscular strength testing [no group shown to be stronger]
Discussion
It isn’t the first time physically active vegans have shown to have a better vo2 max compared to those of an omnivore diet. It is suggested that vo2 max may be higher in vegans because of a higher carbohydrate intake. Evidence has suggested that higher carbohydrate intake may be associated to greater endruance performance and this could be due to higher muscle glycogen storage. Other potential mechanisms that potentially suggest better endurance performance in vegans could be due to favourable oxidative stress and inflammation profiles.
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