Why are so many runners VEGAN?

Because they want to be skinny fat so they don't look like they spend time at an xfit box.

Do you mean runners or do you mean joggers?

I can imagine idiot hobby joggers with their fanny packs stuffed with soy, barely slogging through a 4 hour marathon.

But runners? I find it hard to believe that there are many competitive runners who are vegan.

Danish Horse wrote:

to meat or not to meat wrote:

It was always my understanding that with increased mileage, your protein needs increase, too.

1. No

2. There's plenty of protein in a vegan diet

Athletes, cancer patients, burn victims...all need more protein than a sedentary individual. How can this be denied?

And you can get enough protein from a vegan diet, BUT you really need to know what you're doing. Can't be one of those cupcake and mountain dew vegans. You have to know your shit and play some tricks to get the proper level of bioavailability.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Do you mean runners or do you mean joggers?

I can imagine idiot hobby joggers with their fanny packs stuffed with soy, barely slogging through a 4 hour marathon.

But runners? I find it hard to believe that there are many competitive runners who are vegan.

I'd disagree with that, as disciplined diet or training is one of the last things I'd associate with hobby joggers.

I could definitely see some trendy BS diet where they only have to pay lip service, e.g. Chowing down chia seeds, protein drinks, eating pre-made energy bars, or making a beef/broccoli/coconut oil stir fry and saying they're paleo.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Do you mean runners or do you mean joggers?

I can imagine idiot hobby joggers with their fanny packs stuffed with soy, barely slogging through a 4 hour marathon.

But runners? I find it hard to believe that there are many competitive runners who are vegan.

There are a handful of top international ultra runners who are raw vegan and even fruitarian. There was an article in a running magazine in 2007 about a dozen or so qualifies for the Olympic Trials Marathon who were fruitarian.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

But runners? I find it hard to believe that there are many competitive runners who are vegan.

Why would you find that hard to believe?

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Danish Horse wrote:

1. No

2. There's plenty of protein in a vegan diet

Athletes, cancer patients, burn victims...all need more protein than a sedentary individual. How can this be denied?

And you can get enough protein from a vegan diet, BUT you really need to know what you're doing. Can't be one of those cupcake and mountain dew vegans. You have to know your shit and play some tricks to get the proper level of bioavailability.

That's a cop-out argument... you can't be one of those cupcake and mountain dew omnivores either. You have to know what you're doing.

Tyrannosaurus Rexing wrote:

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

But runners? I find it hard to believe that there are many competitive runners who are vegan.

Why would you find that hard to believe?

Veganism is a suboptimal nutrition strategy and runners require optimal nutrition.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Athletes, cancer patients, burn victims...all need more protein than a sedentary individual. How can this be denied?

I am not sure what cancer patients and burn victims have do with runners, but.... (and yes most sports nutrition experts agree you need more protein as a serious runner than a sedentary person, but really, you need more calories, and as you eat more calories, you almost always get more protein too.)

How about fist sandwich? wrote:And you can get enough protein from a vegan diet, BUT you really need to know what you're doing. Can't be one of those cupcake and mountain dew vegans. You have to know your shit and play some tricks to get the proper level of bioavailability.

Sure, you need to have some clues about nutrition, but nothing special. And I wouldn't say you'd need any "tricks". Just simply knowledge of high protein vegan foods and maybe some vegan protein supplements. Most athletes take supplements of some sort anyway, so I wouldn't describe that as a "trick".

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Tyrannosaurus Rexing wrote:

Why would you find that hard to believe?

Veganism is a suboptimal nutrition strategy and runners require optimal nutrition.

Incorrect. But I am glad you are so confident in your incorrect views.

Danish Horse wrote:

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Athletes, cancer patients, burn victims...all need more protein than a sedentary individual. How can this be denied?

And you can get enough protein from a vegan diet, BUT you really need to know what you're doing. Can't be one of those cupcake and mountain dew vegans. You have to know your shit and play some tricks to get the proper level of bioavailability.

That's a cop-out argument... you can't be one of those cupcake and mountain dew omnivores either. You have to know what you're doing.

An idiot omnivore can blindly eat at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries and might end up with T2DM and heart disease, but they will NOT end up with protein, fat, iron and B12 deficiencies.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

An idiot omnivore can blindly eat at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries and might end up with T2DM and heart disease, but they will NOT end up with protein, fat, iron and B12 deficiencies.

so? I am sure you have a point you are trying to make.

Tyrannosaurus Rexing wrote:

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Veganism is a suboptimal nutrition strategy and runners require optimal nutrition.

Incorrect. But I am glad you are so confident in your incorrect views.

Explain why adding some fatty fish and eggs would not improve a vegan diet.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Explain why adding some fatty fish and eggs would not improve a vegan diet.

Eggs are completely unnecessary (did not say useless, just not necessary. No single food is necessary).

Fish is probably something vegans would miss most (health-wise). But one could easily maintain reasonably high omega 3 blood levels with the right vegan diet, and possibly some vegan supplements. Vegans convert ALA to EPA/DHA at a higher rate than many in the population.

Fish is a healthy food. But never eating it, if you eat very well otherwise (and get your vegan n-3's), won't probably negatively effect you much, if at all.

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

An idiot omnivore can blindly eat at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries and might end up with T2DM and heart disease, but they will NOT end up with protein, fat, iron and B12 deficiencies.

A whole lot of omnivores are b12 deficient. Yes, a vegan can become so as well, but its not a vegan only issue.

Fat, protein, and iron can be found in sufficient levels in many fruits and vegetables.

Tyrannosaurus Rexing wrote:

How about fist sandwich? wrote:

Explain why adding some fatty fish and eggs would not improve a vegan diet.

Eggs are completely unnecessary (did not say useless, just not necessary. No single food is necessary).

Fish is probably something vegans would miss most (health-wise). But one could easily maintain reasonably high omega 3 blood levels with the right vegan diet, and possibly some vegan supplements. Vegans convert ALA to EPA/DHA at a higher rate than many in the population.

Fish is a healthy food. But never eating it, if you eat very well otherwise (and get your vegan n-3's), won't probably negatively effect you much, if at all.

Eggs are a great food. so many vitamins and protein and good cholesterol... better than fish(imho).

Being Vegan isn't hard, but it is expensive and requires more eating.... and requires a little more leg work finding ingredients to eat well. Rice and beans are a complete protein, but I think you have to eat a lot more of it to get the same protein as in animal meat.

My two cents. I've been a vegan runner (competitive) for a long, long time. All the protein arguments against veganism are garbage. Yes, you do have to know what you're doing, but that's true for pretty much any diet for an athlete. Deficiencies occur when you don't adhere to the needs of your training and your body, whatever the dietary preference is. Would I have been a few seconds faster had I been an omnivore? I have no idea. Maybe, maybe not. But I never made my living off my legs, and quite frankly, even if it DID have a negative impact, I'm ok with being a few seconds slower and not contributing to the cruelty of the animals-for- food industries, to say nothing of the negative environmental impact that a meat-centered diet has on the planet. Now, carry on flaming away with the People Eating Tasty Animals comments, et al. Really.. they're still incredibly clever.

How do vegans feel about eating insects?

I think this is a great global food solution. Cheap, easy on the environment, high in protein...

cheap protein please wrote:

How do vegans feel about eating insects?

I think this is a great global food solution. Cheap, easy on the environment, high in protein...

I certainly won't speak for all vegans, but I've definitely swallowed a few during runs over the years and I didn't break down into uncontrollable sobs and self-revoke my vegan badge. Everyone has their own "cut-off" point. You're right that insects (which are already a large part of some cultural food norms) are far better for the environment than factory farmed animals. In my book though, if they have a central nervous system, then they can feel pain, so I don't want to be a part of that. Plus.. ew. Global food solution, though? A better solution would be for first world eaters to cut down or eliminate meat from their diets, because in many cases (especially Europe), they monopolize land and water resources in third world countries (particularly West Africa) for the production of meat and dairy products, that could otherwise be used for human food production in these places where the citizens are the most underfed.