Nutrition: Do cycling and vegetarianism mix?

31 comments
By Cycling Plus | Monday, Mar 14, 2011 4.00pm

Whether you’re a vegetarian or you just want to cut back on your meat intake, knowing how to get the right balance of nutrients from a meat-free diet can keep you at peak cycling performance.

Nigel Mitchell, head nutritionist for British Cycling, says that going meat-free should cause no detriment to your cycling as long as you make sensible food choices. “The only time I’ve ever worked with vegetarian athletes who've struggled to gain adequate food for fuelling their sport is when they've made bad decisions about what to eat," he says.

Mitchell says that getting enough iron and protein without eating meat is easy: “If you cut meat from your diet the best source of protein is still animal based, so dairy products and eggs, which are also high in iron. Include enough of these into your meals and you won’t suffer from protein deficiency.”

However, you can also get high quantities of quality protein from several plant based vegetarian foods too. “Soya protein and Quorn are particularly good,” says Mitchell. “Quorn contains mycoprotein, which is very high quality and is also a good source of dietary fibre.” Mycoprotein is also free from cholesterol, unlike meat proteins, and too much cholesterol can cause clogging of the arteries, putting you at risk of a heart attack.

“Quinoa, which is a sort of seed-grain, is another great option for any diet,” he says. “It’s regarded by many as a superfood, because it’s high in protein with a low GI and a good combination of essential fats.” This means the energy it provides will be released slowly over the course of your ride, sustaining you for longer.

“One potential drawback of cutting meat from your diet is that it'll have less creatine, an organic acid that occurs naturally in meat but not plants, and helps to transport energy to your cells,” says Mitchell. “However this is also produced inside the body so although levels might not be as high, not eating it shouldn’t have a detrimental effect.” And creatine supplements are available that can boost your levels if you’re worried they’re too low.

Christine Vardaros, professional cyclist with Baboco Cycling Team, has been vegetarian for the past 20 years and vegan for 10. She feels that a meat-free diet has in many ways helped her cycling performance. “Considering there’s complete protein in all plant foods,” she says, “I get more than enough protein from my meat-free diet to build and repair muscles.”

She also says that getting meat-free fuelling mid-ride isn’t a problem: “While my team-mates have sandwiches of meat and cheese offered up to them mid-race, my team make me special ones with jam.” In fact, Vardaros feels that vegetarianism has actually given her an advantage over her carnivorous team-mates. “On a meat-free diet I’m rarely sick, which gives me more days for training over my competitors," she says. "I also recover more quickly from hard rides and races, and feel more energetic on my bike rides.”

Vardaros puts this down to the fact that digestion of high protein animal flesh can be taxing on the body. “Complex animal proteins fight for the body’s energy and resources needed for recovery and optimal immune system,” she says, adding that because of its perceived benefits, “vegetarianism is catching on quickly in the pro peloton. Now it’s commonplace to see soya milk on the breakfast tables, even among the ProTour teams.”

So what meat-free fuelling tips does she have before a big event? “On race day, I eat mainly carbohydrates,” says Vardaros. “A big bowl of pasta or rice with a splash of olive oil and salt is a typical pre-race meal for the pros. Some of them add grated cheese for flavour, while I eat mine plain.”

Veggie winners

These pro cyclists have all been veggie at some point in their career: Sean Yates, Shane Sutton, Levi Leipheimer, Robert Millar, Maarten Tjallingii, Dave Zabriskie and Mark Cavendish.

Veggie superfoods

  • Peanut butter
  • Tofu
  • Chickpeas
  • Seeds – for example, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, linseeds
  • Houmous
  • Yoghurt
  • Almonds
  • Walnuts
  • Walnut oil
  • Flaxseed oil
  • Dried fruit – raisins, apricots, dates
  • Eggs
  • Broccoli
  • Lentils
  • Avocado
  • Sweet potato
  • Quinoa
  • Quorn

Recipe for success

Registered dietitian Renee McGregor, who is a veggie herself, suggests a tasty meat-free recipe for fuelling before a big event. “This is one of my favourite pre-race meals,” says Renee. “It’s pasta with roasted vegetables and toasted sunflower seeds – providing plenty of complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals including iron.”

Pasta:

Ingredients (serves 2):

  • 1 aubergine
  • 1 large courgette
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 250g mushrooms
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 50g sunflower seeds
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 150g pasta
  • 2 tsp stir-in pasta paste (tomato and black olive is one of Renee’s favourites)
  • Sprinkle of cheese

Instructions:

  • Cut up all the vegetables into big chunks and place into a roasting tin, leaving out the cherry tomatoes. Add the olive oil and roast in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 45 minutes.
  • About halfway through the cooking time of the vegetables, add the sunflower seeds and cherry tomatoes to the tin.
  • Put the pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and mix with the stir-in sauce.
  • Put pasta on plates and top with roasted vegetables and cheese.

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User Comments

There are 31 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 30 of 31 comments

  • If I hear the word "superfood" one more time I think I will scream.

  • superfood

  • how should i cut all the vegetables? it says big chunks so how should i cut the onions, courgettes, aubergine and 1 clove of garlic?

    help please

  • ... just smash it up with your fists. Or a hammer.

  • What happened to Stella McCartney's veggie Pro team? Did they get left behind or sink without trace? Casual cyclists may be able to get away with being vegetarian but not top cyclists or those that want to ride fast as meat is a very good source of protein which gives power and endurance. And before everyone says Robert Millar was vegetarian, yes he was, but think how much more successful he could have been had he eaten meat.

  • dilemma, did you even read the article?

    There have been many vegan and vegetarian athletes who were at the top of their game- Scott Jurek is a vegan, Dave Scott is (or was when he was competing)

  • I have been vegetarian for 11 years and I am onl 23. My condition is by far the best compared to all my friends who all eat meat, but they do not work out that much.

    In sports like running, cycling and speed hiking it has never been a problem for me!

  • The major problem with vegetarianism as a cyclist is that you can't claim to have ingested clenbuterol by eating a tomato....

  • You can if it's a beef tomato :-)

  • @tomob57

    I was a veggie for 11 years. Finally chucked it in about 8 years ago because I was kackered all the time and finding good protein sources the whole time was monotonous. Quorn has a truly awful taste. I'd rather eat minced lamb althought I don't. BTW is Quorn sponsoring this article? It took me 5 years to get back my full strength and stamina back and now I feel really really good. I don't huge amounts of meat, no red meat such as beef so no clenbuterol issues are likely; I just eat a healthy balanced diet of all food groups which is the important thing. I still eat a good vegetarain diet just that it includes meat now. These fad diets are useless in the long run, no pun intended.

  • Vegetarianism isn't a "fad diet." If you gave it a shot but couldn't pull it off, or didn't like it, that doesn't reflect what anyone else can find. Protein is very easy ... and I'm not talking about Quorn. Try actually cooking a little.

    Anyone who wants to eat more healthfully can go for (mostly) whole grains and legumes. Besides all the protein anyone needs, these are loaded with good carbs, too.

  • I love articles like this, not because they are informative or whatever, but because of the diatribe they provoke from either side...

    And cause they prompt true gems of humour offered (thank you @azusakid - that was on the tip of my tongue)...

    I am vegie, have been for 27 years now. I am not a world class athlete, and neither are my carnie brothers. My brothers and I are healthy, intelligent, strong, fit and happy and mostly we all eat a good diet rich in protein yaddah yaddah...

    Don't let Dilemna upset you though, he is an introspective chap, who cares not for epidemiology and has his story to tell. This story is probably spot on for him (apart from the bit where he claims 5 years to get to full strength though (what ever that means)... I assume that the last 5 years has seen many changes in Dilemna, his voice deepened, he grew hair in funny places and started to get strange dreams... Wow that meat has really paid off!

  • IMHO creatine is the key to fatigue in a lot of vegetarian diets, i added a pure supplement to my training regime and within 4 weeks i felt 200% better with more energy - its worth giving it a go, although i cut back to half the recom. 'maintenance' dose per week after being on it a while with no real side effects.

  • I'm not vegitarian as I do like my meat, although I probably eat less than I used to. However, to say you can't get enough protien from a veggie diet is utter b*ll*cks. I kept a very detailed food diary for a few months late last year, to get a better understanding of my calorie intake and carb/protien/fat balance (as well as fruit and veg intake).

    What surprised me was how difficult it coud be to under-eat on protien. In fact, if you're eating meat, it can be difficult to keep protien levels down to recommended levels (roughly 1g to 1.5 g per kg body weight depending on how active you are).

    There is protien in so many foods that you would be eating for carbs if you were cycling lots such as grains (i.e. oats, pasta, rice, bread) and pulses (lentils, beans, etc). Then you have nuts and seeds, which should be eaten for their good fats, but also have protien, and finally you have dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese, eggs). Even without the dairy (i.e. vegan diet) it would still be pretty easy to get the protien you need.

  • I'm a veggie and do approx 150 miles a week incl the odd MTB race.

    I balance my diet and drink a whey protein drink after big rides.

    Its suits me fine and I'm no slouch.

  • Another veggie here.

    The only real thing I have to add is although it is perfectly possible to have enough protein in the diet by balancing natural foods it is boring. I am 100kg, and need about 100g of protein in my diet every day or I get tired. I used to make sure I got that from natural sources, but this limited me to only high protein vegi food.

    I wanted a more varied diet, so just ate what I wanted, but added one protein shake a day (60g in it).

    I also supplement creatine.

    The difference is huge,

    without protein, I take days to recover from activity, with protein I can exercise 7 days a week.

    So it is not easy being vegi and active, but it is very achievable (especially if you cheat with protein supplements).

  • @azusakid - you made me laugh too :-)

    Poor old dilemna, erroneously blaming a veggie diet for being tired. There's nothing like ignorance, eh.

    More and more people are eating smaller meat portions or cutting it altogether. Check the Garmin team's approach to food, for instance, and I see DZ has gone vegan:

    http://www.pelotonmagazine.com/Feedzone/content/6/210/5-Minutes-With-Dave-Zabriskie

    I don't want to pointlessly knock eating meat, it's your choice and we should each be comfortable with the decisions we make. However, I find it odd how many meat eaters get defensive when someone says they're veggie or vegan. Why is that?

    Bear in mind that not all veggies are mad Animal Rights campaigners, they just have a different perspective and experiences from you. I never considered going vegetarian until my wife did. Nowadays I don't miss meat and feel I'm healthier for it. I can't quantify that and won't make any big claims for it but I'm happy with a non-meat diet. Surely that matters as well.

  • Did you know - Quorn contains egg! I think the public perception of it is quite misleading...

  • Vegitarian, keep it.

    I wonder how many go to the "green" veg counters and buy their un wrapped salads etc to save packaging, well.......

    I have seen people leave the toilet as we all have, go into the supermarket and start picking up the un packaged salads, bread etc, I will stick to things I know someone hasn't just touched after, well what have they touched, packaged food for me.

  • @Dr-Chars

    Ha! You probably aren't even a real doctor. Trying to be something you're not? Are you Gillian McKeith by any chance? You should go on the stage as you are a class act.

  • Hey @dilemna...

    I am a real Dr actually (rather than a medic who takes the title of Dr professionally), and since I work on neurogenic circuitry that underpins metabolic illness, cardiovascular disease and energy homeostasis you should probably climb back into your box right about now...

    Thanks for the suggestion that I am a class act too! I am regularly on stage since I am invited to lots of international conferences where I present the my well published work to medics/nutritionalists/surgeons and of course fellow Dr's... Anything to add?

  • @Dr-Chars,

    Thank you for your kind words. I skipped past dilemna's retort as I suspected (correctly, it appears) it would contain nothing constructive.

    Two further things:

    1. “If you cut meat from your diet the best source of protein is still animal based, so dairy products and eggs, which are also high in iron. Include enough of these into your meals and you won’t suffer from protein deficiency.”

    Crap grammar and, from what I've read elsewhere, not really accurate.

    2. “One potential drawback of cutting meat from your diet is that it'll have less creatine.... creatine supplements are available that can boost your levels if you’re worried they’re too low."

    How do you know if creatine levels are too low? I'm not convinced supplementing with creatine is necessary or even effective in endurance athletes compared to activities like weightlifting or track sprinting. Is the author addressing recreational cyclists (Bikeradar's main constituency) or another group?

  • The Dr-Chars and Simon E love in. How cosy.

    Charsey - if you consider Simon E is diplomatic then Stalin should have been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

  • LOL ;-)

  • Helloooo boys and girls.

    It's funny but some people get quite upset by other people who prefer to eat vegetables and avoid meat. And these people often seem to comment on other peoples lifestyles. It's as if they need the comfort of knowing that everyone does what they do.

    The fact is that seeds and beans (those things that vegetables grow from) are made up of all things that life needs to grow. They are just like little eggs. They have all the substances to grow tiny little plant lives. This includes lot's protein, an essential part of all living cells. It also includes, carbohydrate for lot's of energy because they can't use the sun yet. Essential oils and also lots of special chemicals to make sure everything goes well in their early little lives.

    And best of all -we can eat them!

    In fact lot's of animals, like tasty cows, tasty pigs and tasty sheep, all grow big and strong by eating vegetables and seed and beans!

    Some people like to eat these animals and some people prefer to avoid the 'middlemen'.

    But those people that eat the seed and beans and vegetables still grow big and strong just like the animals. It's amazing. Some people find this very hard to believe. But it's quite true.

    So enjoy your seeds, beans and vegetables or cows,pigs and sheep and as it's such a lovely day why not go and help build those leg muscles up by going on a nice long ride.

    Tom

  • A very good source of protein is mozzarella. You can get it almost anywhere and it is very easily digested. On my 1000-km-a-week bicycle journeys in Scandinavia I ate it almost every day. No protein shortage or anything.

  • Cycling without bacon? Sorry, does not compute.

  • RE: Creatine, I would use a guide that the body produces an average of 3g Creatine a day without any external supplementation. It's also worth noting that Red Meat sources contain significantly higher amounts of Creatine over other meat sources but this amount would still be relatively low overall.

    I guess if Creatine levels bother you and Red Meat consumption is low then supplementing 5g daily would be fine but some benefit from extra supplementation while others don't.

  • Personally I find the cake, coffee and smarties diet works best for me when cycling.

  • For me the issue is when I hear that a vege/vegan diet is more natural. I know quite a few vego/vegan peeps and everyone of them, bar none, take supplements as a must do/must have. (I notice that most who have posted here are also consumers of supplements) I'm at a loss as to how a diet, that is advertised and promoted as natural is underpinned by a cupboard full of multivitamins, creatine, amino acids and whey protein. Supplementation is required when you have a deficiency. If your diet leaves you deficient then its obviously not natural enough to give you what your body needs from food alone.

    There have been some amazing athletes who have been non-meat eaters. Genetics is a beautiful thing. I cant help but think about how much better they could have been if they ate what we are "designed" to eat! But thats just me:)

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