ATTN: VEGANS/VEGITARIAN RUNNERS

I became vegetarian in 1974 after finding the book, "diet and salad", by Norman Walker. I stopped eating meat and tried the diet for a few months. My race times were shooting down by minutes at a time. My weekly mileage went from 30 to 132. I could run and run and not get tired.

A couple of times I ate some meat but could then feel the toxins in my body and it took a few days to get rid of them. Also the heaviness in my legs. And the meat did not taste good. I had been eating much better foods and lost any interest in it. Also consider that meat is full of growth hormones and other simulants and hormones that are NOT so good for you.

I have not had any meat since 1974 and would not even think of eating it. There are many better things to eat, even in starving situations.

As to "protein" or iron, some people will believe anything they see on tv or read in a magazine. As long as you are eating a healthy natural foods diet you don't need to worry about those things.

But on a meat/dairy diet you do. The intake of animal protein is very directly correlated with high rates of osteoporosis and cancer. For example, animal protein drives the calcium out of your body. So no matter how much calcium you take, the animal protein drives it out again.

No wonder the highest meat eating countries also have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

For anyone concerned about "iron", you can toss some purslane in a blender with water and drink this each morning. Purslane is higher in iron than almost anything except parsley and is very tasty and nutritious.

How rare is a menstruating male?

I'd like to take a moment to apologize for my bad joke. Sorry. There's a post about this somewhere, but watch out if you're constantly pissing blood.

Actually, humans are frugivores. We were meant to eat mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. That's it. A mostly raw diet is best, since cooking food takes its nutritional value and energy away. Also, dairy products are bad for you. It's been said that they are worse than second-hand smoke.

I also highly recommend the book "The Detox Miracle Sourcebook." It explains everything you need and how you can get it from a completely vegan diet. Humans cannot even digest cow's milk. That was meant for cows. We lose the ability to digest our mothers' breast milk after the age of 2 years. Dairy products and starches are very mucus-forming and can clog up your lungs. Once you start a diet like this, it's actually not that bad. You get loads of energy, and the toxins are removed from your system, which can help with that burning sensation in your legs during a race. I am 18 years old and have been on this diet for about 3 weeks. There are actually some pretty good recipes you can get from a vegan diet. Some of my favorites are the veggie sandwich (using millet bread or sprouted grains bread), and seasoned popcorn. I used to never eat vegetables, but now that I do I have more energy and my lungs are clearing up since I got rid of dairy products. I actually started this diet while suffering a stress fracture, but now I am pretty confident I can come back strong, and I hope to make the Footlocker Nationals this year as a senior in high school. Good luck to everyone with their vegetarian/vegan diets. The main reason I do this is because meat and dairy products are UNHEALTHY.

I've got a team mate that is a strict vegitarian. He also wont eat any food with high fructose corn syrup(surprisingly that has eliminated nearly all bagels from any bagel shop) or partialy hydrogenated oils in it, and also wont eat anything that is high in sodium. And literaly 3 or 4 times a week he has to stop durring the run and crap (sometimes more than once in a single run). And he, along with most of the team, craps right before the run. Then imediatly after the run, he's back on the can. Cant even last an hour away from a bathroom. Not only is he always craping, but it takes him forever. Every single day we have to wait for him becasue he's the last out of the bathroom, regardless of how early he got there. When he has to stop durring the run, he usually tells us to just go ahead, because the wait would be 20 mintues. He recently got one of our guys to switch to his diet, and the new guy now has the exact same issues, but didnt before. I'm just saying, that can't be right for your body.

It's cool to see the vegetarian running crowd surface. I'm a vegetarian (and I say part-time vegan because most of my diet is vegan, however I'm not technically one because I will allow myself eggs once in awhile and I don't stress if there's dairy in the food I'm served at other peoples' houses). I've done some school studies on nutrition and a whole course on vegetarian and vegan nutrition.

I think as a vegetarian or vegan athlete, you need to pay closer attention to your nutrition. It's easy to just eat a lot of breads and pastas and find a decrease in energy because you're not getting the nutrients you need.

An interesting read for athletes is Brendan Brazier's book: Thrive (or the newest version called The Thrive Diet). He is a Vegan Ironman Triathlete who has through his own research and trial and error learned a lot about nutrition. His book talks a lot about decreasing nutritional stress and getting those essential nutrients that we as athletes need. He doesn't preach veganism and his book is interesting and useful no matter what your current diet is.

Another good one is The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. It doesn't talk as much about the athlete's nutrition but an amazing book with some very impressive research.

I love being a vegetarian. I feel great - much better than I ever did as an omnivore - and I get frequent comments on how healthy I look. Vegetarianism sure doesn't slow me down and, like others have mentioned, I feel less weighed down and very energetic.

I think it's pretty clear. Maybe you have your own agenda that keeps you from "understanding." If not, you might want to Google "factory farming." Or how about "environment." No, vegetarians and vegans don't all think it's a healthier diet. I'm a vegetarian and I know the optimal human diet includes meat. I know, to some extent, I'm compromising my health by this choice I've made. I consider it a moral imperative, like not driving a Hummer, or not killing people. A lot of us are thinking beyond our own needs or desires. Quaint, isn't it.

I've been vegetarian for several years, and am vegan about 5 days a week. Several points:

1. The single most important thing is to eat foods that are minimally processed. This means fresh vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and trail mix, whole grain breads, pasta, rice.

2. Eat a seasonal variety of produce to maximize flavor and nutrition, and to minimize price. Fruit is tasty, but has much lower levels of vitamins and minerals than vegetables.

3. Whole grains are really, really good. Variety helps with total nutrition too - try whole wheat breads and pasta, brown rice, thick-cut oatmeal, stone ground corn chips, rye crackers, etc.

4. Don't overdue the beans, especially soy products! That's where most of the digestive issues come from (although there are a few months of transition if you've eaten processed foods all of your life). If you eat whole grains and nuts, you don't even need beans daily. Protein is only an issue if you eat nothing but white bread, potato chips and fruit.

5. Fat from plant sources is fine, and adds a good bit of nutrition. Olives, avocados, nut butters, squash.

6. When having home-cooked vegan meals, it's almost impossible to overeat. Restaurants are another story, because they're usually so fatty and processed.

7. Ethiopian restaurants are the best!

8. It's essentially free if you buy grains and beans in bulk. Once cooked, less than $.30 per pound of food.

Also, about 8-10% of the U.S. population is vegetarian, and there are two main reasons that people give.

* 2/3 are vegetarian due to a direct belief that it's wrong to kill and eat animals.

* 1/3 are vegetarian due to more ecological reasons - the planet actually produces enough food for everyone to eat if we were all vegetarian, but in reality, more than half of it is fed to livestock for meat production.

I fall more in the latter camp, although there's some mixing between the two, because it really is inhumane the way that animals are raised in feedlots.

Ethiopian restaurants are the best!

Amen.

Zat0pek wrote:

Humans are omnivores, simple as that.

Not really. People do all sorts of things that aren't natural. Especially with their diets. Aside from the highly processed stuff that humans don't really eat, it's highly unnatural for humans to consume dairy past infancy. What, do you think we were meant to breast-feed from cows?

I'm a vegetarian, and mainly because it is so much better for the environment to eat lower on the food chain. I agree 100% with sure's post. Humans are meant to eat meat (that's why we have canine teeth), and it's probably healthier for the individual to include meat in the diet. But I think Tex's reasoning is slightly off, as there is plenty of food in the world (much of it gets wasted), but that doesn't mean that producing meat doesn't take a lot of energy and water, or that decreasing meat consumption wouldn't have a PROFOUND effect on environmental health.

I've never had problems with anemia, to my knowledge. I've had anemia-like symptoms, but that has more to do with not getting nearly enough sleep. Speaking of which...

i'm a vegetarian - i don't take any supplements and every single blood test I've taken reveals that all of the relevant levels are in the normal (good) range

i run about 70-80 mpw and work a full time job

Zatopek - I am a vegetarian for a couple of reasons

1) animal rights - i hate the idea that we raise animals in pens to be slaughtered... it was different when we hunted, animals were free and led a life and died as part of the food chain... i can't stand the thought of animals being raised in pens specifically for the slaughter AND

i couldn't look at an animal and kill it for food and if you can't do that then I don't think you should be eating them

2) the planet - plain and simple, the environmental damage done from raising plants to eat is much less than from raising livestock

3) i tend to overeat - i'm better off not eating fatty meat

i do eat eggs, milk, butter - vegans - wow, i respect you but it has to be tough!

It works for me and some part of me wishes others would think about animals more before they tear into meat but I realize it probably wouldn't work for everyone.

thedisease wrote:

I know that this isn't a common diet for runner's, but I was curious if anyone here was and what hardships if any they have encountered?

I have been this way for 5 years (VEGAN) and I just found out that I was anemic last track season (went over old blood tests I hadn't looked at) I opened in the 14:30's which was my soph PR. I don't know how substantial that was to me not peaking I beleive my training was proper (80 - 85 lydiard based), but I lost a lot of gears when I got onto the track. The season really degressed and I was having pretty good workouts?

I am just asking for any feedback on the situation anything will help. THANX.

Just add some meat to your diet. Beef or chicken cooked in an iron pot or frying pan should help.

I have been a vegetarian for 10 years now and a vegan for 8. I have not really "trained" in those years, as I have had other physical limitations. Despite that I ran 3:11 for a marathon on less than 60 miles per week as a 50 year old (also 18:36, 38:30 and 1:25 for a 1/2 at altitude). Not a bad time all things considered.

I went vegetarian for health reasons originally, but now see the reasoning of the ethical treatment of animals agruments as being something I support. Factory farming has changed the chemical make-up of the animals you eat. Anti-biotic laced meat has made prescribed anti-biotics less effective.

My wife and I have taught a class on transitioning to vegeterianism in the Denver area for several years. One thing you have to remember is that just because you do not eat meat (or animal products) does not mean you are eating a healthy diet. You could eat nothing but peanut butter and potato chips and be vegan. But you certainly would not be healthy.

We hosted Mark Reinfeld, the head chef for The Blossoming Lotus restaurant on Kauaii last night. He and his wife whipped together Ginger and Lavendar enfused carrot soup (uncooked), Macademia Nut encrusted tofu steaks, Saffron Basmati Rice Pilaf and finished with no-bake chocolate cookies. The food all tasted wonderful, was very healthy and extremely nutrious.

To be successfully healthy with a vegetarian/vegan diet, you need to be prepared to spend time in food preparation. It can be not only fun, but quite delicious.

Glenn

I don't think eating meat has the effect on iron levels as many people seem to believe. I had much lower iron and more problems keeping iron levels high when I was eating meat. I do eat a lot of beans now and there is quite a bit of iron in beans. I still need to supplement once in awhile but generally vegetarianism has helped my health including iron levels.

Humans were clearly not meant to eat meat. All it is is dead muscle cells and dead blood cells. That cannot do anything for you. If you compare fruit to meat, meat has zero energy, while fruit has the highest energy on the food chain. The reason that vegetables have so much more vitamin content is because vegetables are builders; they help with the muscular/skeletal building, while fruits are the cleaners who take all the toxins out of your cells and clean your lymph system. I've noticed on a vegan diet, my pee is never yellow, it is always crystal clear, and I feel great. You might experience some weird symptoms at first that have to do with the cleaning process, but if you keep eating healthy, you will get beyond that and experience great energy and health.

I have been vegetarian for 19 years now and can't imagine going back. I have good blood work done every year or so to make sure that things look good, but I have only once had any issues with iron. That was in the days before I ran. I was giving blood as often as I could (every two months) even though I was under the weight limit (I lied about my weight). In the end, I was unable to make up the loss. As long as I am not in this trap, however, I'm fine.

I do eat quite healthfully, but I am not obsessed with what I eat, and I've still been in very healthy ranges in terms of protein and iron. I do supplement just to be careful. I eat a lot of peanut butter, nuts, tofu, vegetables, pasta, breads, rice, etc. Oh, and cookies. I wish that weren't the case, but so it goes.

I've been able to train at a relatively high level (generally 70-100 mpw) while finishing a Ph.D. and teaching, so I really do not feel that being a vegetarian has had any negative impact on my health. In fact, I'd say it helps me out a lot. I have often wanted to go vegan, but I'm unwilling to give it the planning and careful thought I would need to give it if I wanted to stay healthy. And I admit that I'm unwilling to give up my habit of eating out.

I went vegetarian for moral reasons, but I have definitely felt good about staying vegetarian for moral, ecological, and health reasons.