Of course, the energy athletes need depends on their body, performance goals and training regime, which means that energy intake differs between sports. However, more athletes are extolling the virtues of plant-based eating, and researchers want to know whether they perform better because of their vegan diets, but this is hard to prove.
A number of studies suggest that plant-based diets can help people lose weight and become leaner while improving stamina, but most of their findings have been in average people – not professional athletes. Andrew Shepherd, performance nutrition lead at Loughborough University, says: “At this stage there isn’t a strong evidence base for a vegan diet being healthier than an omnivorous diet.”
However, as more athletes successfully swap meat for plants, the field of research is widening, and more benefits of veganism are being tested. For example, it’s possible that a plant-based diet might give athletes an edge because it...