by Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian
Here’s a synopsis of some update I made to the article, Weightlifting for Vegans.
I added some studies on protein. Here’s a summary:
Six studies have compared strength or muscle synthesis or growth between omnivores and 1) vegans, 2) vegetarians with a large number of vegans, or 3) omnivores placed on a vegan diet. The protein intakes of the vegan diets have ranged from 1.1 to 2.4 g/kg of body weight per day. None of the studies found any significant differences between the groups. There seems to be little reason to believe that vegans following strength training programs are at a disadvantage compared to meat-eaters, other things being equal. It’s unclear what level of protein is ideal for vegan weightlifters; it depends on their training program and goals. Experimenting with different protein intakes is the best way for an individual to know what works best for them.
The creatine section was updated with a meta-analysis by Kaviani et al. (2020), which found:
- Vegetarians have lower concentrations of creatine in serum, plasma, red blood cells, and muscle, but not in the brain, than omnivores.
- Creatine supplementation in vegetarians is effective for increasing muscle creatine levels to an extent that vegetarians may achieve higher levels than omnivores. In other words, lower baseline levels in vegetarians seem to allow for “super compensation” of creatine or phosphocreatine levels from supplementation.
- Despite the increased response in creative levels, only one study has shown creatine supplementation to result in greater muscle and performance gains than omnivores, Burke (2003), described here. However, it was also the only study where creatine supplementation lasted longer than a few days or where a resistance training program was part of the protocol.
Finally, some athletes report that their recovery time is quicker after they adopt a vegan diet. One study measured post-training soreness:
Njeim et al. (Canada, 2024) tested soreness between omnivore and vegan women, who were 26.8 ± 4.1 years old, non-exercisers, and apparently healthy. Forty-eight hours after a bout of resistance, eccentric exercises, three of six muscles exhibited less soreness among the vegans compared to the omnivores.
References can be found in the article’s bibliography.
