Research
Macro partitioning
Plant-based diets can support athletic performance and muscular strength comparable to omnivorous diets when well-planned.
If you are an athlete, you can maintain performance on a plant-based diet. Ensure you eat a variety of plant proteins (legumes, grains, nuts, seeds) throughout the day to get all essential amino acids. You do not need to combine specific proteins at every meal, just eat a varied diet.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
We found that participants were able to maintain athletic performance on both an omnivorous diet and the 2 plant-based diets. These findings also mirror prior studies that observed no significant differences in athletic performance between plant-based and omnivorous diets.
Why this rating
Based on a small crossover pilot study (n=24) and prior studies.
Source
Health Benefits of a Plant-Based Dietary Pattern and Implementation in Healthcare and Clinical Practice
Matthew J. Landry et al. · American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine · 2024
DOI 10.1177/15598276241237766
narrative_reviewCited 44×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Adopting a predominantly plant-based dietary pattern improves cardiovascular health markers, including LDL cholesterol, fasting insulin, and body weight, compared to an omnivorous diet.Good
- Plant-based diets influence the gut microbiome to reduce production of Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a biomarker associated with increased cardiovascular risk.Good
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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