As many of us have probably experienced in lockdown, there are only so many episodes of A Place in the Sun, Bargain Hunt or Homes Under the Hammer you can watch in one day. So, I started to flick through various other channels, and I came across a documentary by Jermaine Jenas – ex Spurs Footballer – on ‘Football Going Vegan’. As a die-hard member of the University of Plymouth Football Club and a general football fanatic, I find anything that is remotely related to the subject enjoyable. As it turns out, a documentary on football and veganism transpired to be quite the eye-opener. Who would have thought it, ay?
Rhiannon Lambert, a nutritionist featured in the programme, utters how veganism as a diet, culture and way of life has become “incredibly popular,” with numbers “(sic.) quadrupling from 2014-2018”. Chris Smalling, English footballer burdened by injuries throughout his career, featured in Jenas’ documentary, and he saw signs of improvement on his tendonitis issues after transitioning to veganism. Smalling said that cutting out red meat caused the pain and symptoms of his injury to vanish.
In my quest to find out why veganism has had such an exponential growth over recent years, not only in general, but also in sport, I logged onto the world wide web and started digging.
‘The Game Changers’, a documentary some vegan-curious and UFC lovers may have heard of, covers UFC Fighter, James Wilks’ journey in researching plant-based diets as a solution to accelerate the recovery of his knee injury. St. Louis Rams/Cardinals former team physician Dr. James Loomis features in the film, and has interesting insider information on the culture around diets of the American Footballers:
“… their perception was that the protein is what sustains their energy… The actual energy for exercise comes mainly from carbohydrates in the form of glycogen that we store in our muscles. And when we sacrifice those carbohydrate calories for protein calories in our diet… you will develop really chronic carbohydrate or glycogen depletion.”
This can lead to chronic fatigue and loss of stamina, something that would diminish performance and possibly answers many questions about an athlete’s poor form. Dotsie Bausch, eight-time USA cycling champion, and Derrick Morgan, a former American Footballer, were interviewed in the documentary and both expressed the importance of recovery in sport. Recovery is one of the main elements which separates good athletes from great ones; “If you can do more work and more repair, you’re gonna be the better athlete,” says Bausch.
Morgan attempted to change to a vegan diet in order to reduce inflammation and the recovery times for injuries he sustained on the pitch. Immediately, he started to see signs of recovery.
“6 months after being on the diet, all of my markers were down, my blood pressure, my cholesterol, but the main thing I was looking at was the inflammation marker in your blood and mine was almost obsolete, it wasn’t there anymore.”
This information was, personally, groundbreaking. I had always thought the motives of veganism were for the betterment of environmental issues and animal welfare. This evidence shows that it can also be really healthy for us not only as human beings but as athletes as well.
An Informed Decision
As a Plymouth University sportsperson, I have experienced the frustration of having to watch your teammates play when you cannot join them due to injury. Thus, I selected sports clubs whose members are prone to injury to provide their viewpoint on the concept of veganism aiding rest and recovery, and how it could help student athletes. I also received a response from the chairperson of the Vegetarian and Vegan society, alongside the VP of Activities, Verity Lemm, and lecturer in food quality and nutrition, Victor Kuri.
The general consensus arising from the question ‘do you think veganism is something that your club considers to be important?’ was that sports clubs encourage a healthy diet but not a one set-menu. However, a concern from our VP of Activities, is that “veganism is not high on the agenda for many of our clubs.” Nonetheless, she does mention that some clubs are taking part in ‘meat free Mondays’. These are uplifting signs that people are testing the waters, and so they are not completely reluctant on the concept of veganism.
The Secretary of UPRFC (Women) came up with quite the intuitive response to my question on why athletes may prefer an omnivorous diet as opposed to a vegan diet. She addressed the stigma of a vegan diet having deficiencies in proteins that you gain from animal based products. But she added that:
“It’s important for athletes to be fully educated on this, to then make an informed choice and to ensure ways in which their vegan diet can be developed to ensure healthy requirements are met.”
The Secretary of the Adventure and Expo (A&E) Society believes that athletes can perform to the best of their abilities under a well-structured, vegan diet plan. “I think with the right approach”, they said, “and the right information, a vegan diet can be accessible and good for you”, before recommending an article from the British Dietetic Association supporting this. The BDA states that they are working with the Vegan Society to help provide information for a balanced and well-planned vegan diet, as it can be done, and a vegan diet “can support healthy living in people of all ages”.
The Secretary of UPRFC (Men) followed a plant-base diet due to his intolerance of whey (a protein found in dairy). He claims there was no difference in his performance on the pitch, thus suggesting that the supposed ‘lack of proteins’ will not dampen your ability as an athlete. Could the stigma of lack of protein in a vegan diet be a fad?
“ A vegan diet could offer potential performance benefits due to the antioxidant (polyphenols), micronutrient (vitamin C, E) and carbohydrate-rich foods typical of plant-based diets assisting training and enhancing recovery.”
Rogerson, 2017 – Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
Vital information like this could cement the role of vegan diets in the sporting world. Could this change Plymouth University athletes’ perspective on veganism? A response from the University of Plymouth Pole Dancing Club (UPPDC) Chairperson said, “I do believe that hearing of benefits like these may convince a number of athletes to consider veganism”. Yet, they believe there needs to be more research into the topic, as aligned with the views of all the other questioned societies. A key point made by the Vegetarian and Vegan (V&V) Chairperson was that veganism is “not a one size fits all solution”, but it is a solution that is hopefully part of our collective future, “and hopefully athletes’ too”.
However, the University of Plymouth’s own Victor Kuri, lecturer in food quality and nutrition, noted the importance of research and debate of the topic at universities saying:
“I have not found convincing evidence with regards to vegan diets as a solution. It may or may not be the case for some specific individuals… Universities should continue to provide spaces and opportunities where ideas can be explored, and debate is promoted.”
Final Say
The final question I asked the participants is this: “Do you think, as an ever-evolving University and student hub, it would be possible to implement a campaign to get the sports societies more involved with veganism and should we?”
I received substantially positive feedback from the VP of Activities, Verity Lemm, who said that, “Our sporting community is very proactive and enjoy supporting campaigns to raise awareness,” and that it is a campaign she would support and promote.
The Secretary of UPRFC (W) believes it could rid the stigma surrounding veganism, whilst the A&E Secretary claims it is a win-win to promote healthy and sustainable eating. UPPDC Chairperson also thinks societies would be a great way to give it some endorsement. Therefore, it could be good for societies to encourage their members to look into different diets, to accommodate diverse ways of eating/consuming, and to give veganism a go. The Chairperson of the V&V Society came up with an example of “inviting a guest speaker that is a vegan athlete to explain the benefits of a plant-based diet in sports”, which would be “incredibly beneficial to the veganism movement”, as well as the overall health of the student populous.
A credible and realistic proposal. Perhaps, instead of the BUCs players being served the repetitious chilli con carne from the SU van, once a month they could have a vegan ‘BUCs burrito’? Food for thought?
This change is definitely worth considering, and there is an extensive scope of ways to raise awareness on the subject surrounding health and dietary ideologies in order to enhance our sporting experience overall.
What is the most important factor brought to light in this article? The need to promote the exploration into diets, nutrition and health as athletes at the University of Plymouth? I think it is safe to say that we are all aware of the potentially unhealthy and damaging activities that go on in and around the university. To combat this, a vegan diet could help improve our well-being. Or is it more important to exhort the provision of information, in this case, by looking into the possibility of benefits of different diets, and how each can benefit the specific person/athlete, thus allowing each individual to make an informed choice, as highlighted by the Secretary of UPRFC (W), and Victor Kuri?
I will let the internet trolls take over now.
References:
The Game Changers (2018) Directed by L. Psihoyos. Available at: Netlfix (Accessed: 23 July 2020)
Football Going Vegan (2019) BBC Sport, 28 September 2019. Available at: BBC iPlayer (Accessed: 24 July 2020)
The British Dietetic Association (2017) British Dietetic Association confirms well-planned vegan diets can support healthy living in people of all ages. Available at: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/british-dietetic-association-confirms-well-planned-vegan-diets-can-support-healthy-living-in-people-of-all-ages.html (Accessed: 24 July 2020)
Rogerson, D. (2017) ‘Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers’, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14(36), pp. 1-15. Doi: 10.1186/s12970-017-0192-9
Further Reading
Campbell, T. and Campbell, T., 2005. The China Study. 1st ed. Dallas: BenBella Books.