Hello synthetic and All, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19166134 Abstract
Vegetarians form a non-homogenous group consisting of semivegetarians (plant food, dairy products, eggs and fish), lacto-ovo vegetarians (plant food, dairy products, eggs) and vegans (plant food only).
According to pure vegetarian ideologists, people consuming vegetarian diet have better health and live longer than nonvegetarians, because persons consuming milk, dairy products, meat, eggs and fish are at health risk.
In fact the most healthy people in Europe are inhabitants of Iceland, Switzerland and Scandinavia, consuming great amounts of food of animal origin. Meta-analysis of several prospective studies showed no significant differences in the mortality caused by colorectal, stomach, lung, prostate or breast cancers and stroke between vegetarians and "health-conscious" nonvegetarians.
In vegetarians, a decrease of ischemic heart disease mortality was observed probably due to lower total serum cholesterol levels, lower prevalence of obesity and higher consumption of antioxidants.
Very probably, an ample consumption of fruits and vegetables and not the exclusion of meat make vegetarians healthful.
Now, the largest cohort study of diet and health on more than half million of persons, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, will bring new data on the relationships between diet, lifestyle and environmental factors and the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.
Vegetarianism is a form of food restriction; and in our overfed society, food restriction is a plus unless it results in a nutritional deficiency (Fig. 1, Tab. 2, Ref. 18).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...articles/PMC4831958/ Prevalence in running events and running performance of endurance runners following a vegetarian or vegan diet compared to non-vegetarian endurance runners: the NURMI Study
Background
Beneficial and detrimental effects of various vegetarian and vegan diets on the health status are well known. Considering the growing background numbers of vegetarians and vegans, the number of vegetarian and vegan runners is likely to rise, too. Therefore, the Nutrition and Running High Mileage (NURMI) Study was designed as a comparative study to investigate the prevalence of omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans in running events and to detect potential differences in running performance comparing these three subgroups.
Methods/design
The NURMI Study will be conducted in three steps following a cross-sectional design. Step 1 will determine epidemiological aspects of endurance runners (any distance) using a short standardized questionnaire. Step 2 will investigate dietary habits and running history from eligible participants (capable of running a half-marathon at least) using an extended standardized questionnaire. Step 3 will collect data after a running event on finishing time and final ranking as well as a post-race rating of perceived exertion, mood status, nutrient and fluid intake during the race.
Discussion
Our study will provide a major contribution to overcome the lack of data on the prevalence and running performance of vegetarian and vegan runners in endurance running events. We estimate the prevalence of vegetarians and vegans participating in a running event to be less compared to the respective proportion of vegetarians and vegans to the general population. Furthermore we will validate the subject’s self-assessment of their respective diet. This comparative study may identify possible effects of dietary behavior on running performance und may detect possible differences between the respective subgroups: omnivorous, vegetarian and vegan runners.
Cheers, Neal
+1 mph Faster