Abstract
Muscular adaptations can be triggered by exercise and diet. As vegan and vegetarian diets differ in nutrient composition compared to an omnivorous diet, a change in dietary regimen might alter physiological responses to physical exercise and influence physical performance. Mitochondria abundance, muscle capillary density, hemoglobin concentration, endothelial function, functional heart morphology and availability of carbohydrates affect endurance performance and can be influenced by diet. Based on these factors, a vegan and vegetarian diet possesses potentially advantageous properties for endurance performance. Properties of the contractile elements, muscle protein synthesis, the neuromuscular system and phosphagen availability affect strength performance and can also be influenced by diet. However, a vegan and vegetarian diet possesses potentially disadvantageous properties for strength performance. Current research has failed to demonstrate consistent differences of performance between diets but a trend towards improved performance after vegetarian and vegan diets for both endurance and strength exercise has been shown. Importantly, diet alters molecular signaling via leucine, creatine, DHA and EPA that directly modulates skeletal muscle adaptation. By changing the gut microbiome, diet can modulate signaling through the production of SFCA.
Highlights
In recent years, vegetarian and vegan diets and their impact on health and performance have been brought into focus of scientific research
These results suggest that long-term vegetarian and vegan diets do not have a detrimental effect on endurance performance, but may have the potential to improve endurance performance when performing exercise intensities relying on higher carbohydrate usage
Increased significantly compared to baseline with no differences between groups. These findings lead to the conclusion that a vegetarian and vegan diet can be sufficient for strength improvement, but are inferior to a meat-containing diet regarding an increase in fat-free mass and skeletal muscle mass
Summary
Vegetarian and vegan diets and their impact on health and performance have been brought into focus of scientific research. It is well known that nutrition influences exercise performance [1]. While the relationship of nutrition in general, and on aspects of performance and adaptation to exercise is well established [2], research on vegetarian and vegan diets and their impact on performance and training adaptation is scarce. The purpose of this review is firstly to summarize the published research on vegetarian and vegan diets with a special emphasis on strength- and endurance-related exercise performance. We aim to highlight the potential impact of those diets on systemic and molecular muscle adaptations through training. Research on general aspects and properties of endurance and strength performance as well as research that focused on the adaptation of molecular mechanisms affected by those diets was included
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
