Vegetarians Vs. Meat Eaters

If there is one topic that gets people in the sports nutrition arena hot under the collar, is the age old " vegetarian versus meat eater" debate. In particu- lar, the debate is focused on whether or not vegetarian diets are adequate and equivalent to diets that include meat when it comes to adding muscle mass. Outlining the entire debate of both sides of the fence is beyond the scope of this discussion. I am going to stick to the debate regarding how a veg- gie diet vs. a meat-containing diet in uences muscle mass, rather than the larger picture of whether or not vegetarian diets are inherently healthier than diets that contain meat and vice versa.

In a nutshell, strict vegetarians (vegans) maintain that meat is not essential
for building muscle and a diet that mixes complimentary foods such as
beans and rice is adequate.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians ( vegetarians that include milk products and eggs)
further maintain that the inclusion of milk and eggs, as highly bioavailable
complete proteins, is more than adequate for athletes trying to build mus-
cle and maintain peak performance.

Omnivores (omnivore meaning people who eat a wide variety of foods in-
cluding meat) argue that meats such as chicken, beef and others are by
nature more anabolic for a variety of reasons.

So who's right?

This debate has not been adequately looked at in the research but we do
have some data that supports the omnivore's position. For example, sev-
eral studies have found that meat-containing diets are superior for testos-
terone production than strict vegetarian diets.

As most people know, testosterone is an essential hormone for increasing
and maintaining muscle mass while keeping body fat low. It's also essential
for libido and mood in both sexes, but particularly important for men.

One study called,"E ects of an omnivorous diet compared with a lacto-ovo
vegetarian diet on resistance-training-induced changes in body composi-
tion and skeletal muscle in older men” looked directly at this debate.

The researchers wanted to nd out if an omnivorous (meat-containing)
diet was superior to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet on the retention of muscle
mass of older men put on a weight training routine.

Nineteen men aged 51 - 69 years old were enrolled in the study that ran
12 weeks. Nine men ate their normal meat containing (omnivorous) diet,
providing 50 percent of total dietary protein from meat sources such as
pork, chicken, sh and beef. Another 10 men followed a lacto-ovo type
vegetarian diet for the duration of the study, with both groups following a
weight training schedule.

Although the strength increases between groups were roughly the same,
the study found that the whole-body changes in skeletal muscle size dif-
fered signi cantly between groups. Whole-body muscle mass increased in
the omnivorous group, while it actually decreased in the lacto-ovo group.
Apparently, the meat eaters gained muscle over the 12 weeks while the
lacto-ovo eaters lost muscle mass. Ouch!

The authors concluded:

“...consumption of a meat-containing diet contributed to greater gains in fat-
free mass and skeletal muscle mass with resistance training in older men than
did an a lacto-ovo diet.”

Is this a slam dunk against the vegetarian diet as it relates to the claim that
it is just as good as a meat-containing diet for increasing muscle mass? No,
but it does lend some support to the idea that omnivorous diets have an
edge for producing optimal levels of anabolic (muscle building) hormones
and increases in muscle mass. More research is clearly needed to con rm
this, however.

There is still some debate over which of the two diets is healthier, however,
and that has to be factored into peoples’ choices as to which diet is best
suited for them.

One area in which vegetarian diets are de cient vs. omnivorous diets is
in muscle creatine stores. In the absence of supplementation, vegetar-
ians have been found to have lower total muscle creatine - which could
limit lean mass gains in response to training. The good news is that a re-
cent study con rmed that vegetarians on a resistance training program
responded well to creatine supplementation: their relative gains in work
performance, total creatine/phosphocreatine levels, and lean tissue mass
were even greater than the response for omnivores taking creatine, due to
lower starting creatine levels. The researchers concluded:

“...subjects with initially low levels of intramuscular Cr ( vegetarians) are more
responsive to supplementation.”

Other areas of concern for vegetarians are: iron status (the iron in plant
foods is less bioavailable than the iron in animal foods), zinc, vitamin B12
(cyanocobalamin), vitamin D (cholecalciferol) and calcium. The very high
ber intake associated with vegetarian diets may also, ironically, limit the
number of calories a vegetarian athlete can consume. This is the basis for
the Ornish Diet, which recommends a vegetarian or near- vegetarian diet
for weight loss, on the grounds that eating high ber plant foods automati-
cally limits calorie intake.

The take-home lesson is that vegetarians wanting to increase lean body
mass should make sure that important nutrients normally supplied by
meat and other animal protein sources are included using a combination
of appropriate foods and supplements.

It is not impossible to gain a signi cant amount of lean body mass on a
vegetarian diet: legendary bodybuilder Bill Pearl is perhaps the best known
example. Truth be known though, my bet would be in favor of the omnivo-
rous diet if optimal muscle mass is the goal.
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Foods You Should Avoid

Now that we’ve talked about the foods you should eat, let’s talk about the foods you should avoid at all costs. These are foods that can really screw up your weight loss efforts, and it’s best to avoid most of them completely, or carefully restrict them.

For the most part, you should feel free to enjoy the foods you love, just in lesser quantities. Unfortunately, many of the foods you love will contain these “forbidden foods”.

Because I believe in indulging on occasion in order to keep yourself happily sticking to your weight loss plan, I don’t exactly advocate cutting these foods out completely.

What I do suggest is that you limit these foods very carefully, indulging in them only when you are having a desperate craving for them and you feel like you might go overboard and binge if you don’t have them at that moment.

Sugar

Sugar, specifically white sugar, is a very bad substance. I highly recommend avoiding it as much as possible. While it’s unrealistic to expect you to never eat anything that contains white sugar again, you should try to avoid it whenever possible.

Sugar is believed to be a major instigator of diabetes. It causes blood sugar levels to rise rapidly, and then they can cause an over-production of insulin.

When you have too much insulin in your body, it can cause your cells to hold on to fat. It can also cause your liver to create extra fat from the calories you consume. Excess insulin can cause blood clots that lead to stroke and heart attack, raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, and can cause plaque to form in the arteries. It can also raise your blood pressure by causing your kidneys to retain salt.
If your body continuously produces too much insulin, it can lead to a condition known as insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can lead to severe obesity, and it can make it extremely difficult to lose weight.

Sugar is one of the worst substances you can eat, and I highly recommend avoiding it. Remember, sugar isn’t found only in cookies, cakes, and sodas. It can be found hiding in places you wouldn’t expect it. Sugar is often found in salad dressings, gravies, sauces, condiments, cereal, and even bread and breaded meats!

White Flour

White flour is another substance that causes blood sugar levels to rise very rapidly. White flour is used in most baked products, as well as various types of breading, and even as a thickener in many sauces.

Like sugar, it is a substance that causes very severe blood sugar spikes, which can then lead to crashes. White flour is one of the worst culprits, so I highly recommend avoiding it as much as possible.

White flour is found in so many different things, it will be difficult to avoid them all. If you’re a huge fan of baked goods, it will be almost impossible to avoid it altogether.

If you aren’t going to cut out white flour completely, I urge you to cut down sharply on your consumption of it. White flour is one of the worst things you can consume, and second only to sugar, in my opinion.

Switch to whole grain products whenever possible. Limit white flour products, and only indulge in them on rare occasions. I like to have cake on birthdays, but for the most part I try to avoid white flour completely.

Potatoes
know potatoes are delicious. In fact, they are one of my favorite foods. But they spike blood sugar. Potatoes are very high in carbohydrates, and they are “bad carbs” – the kind that raise blood sugar very quickly.

Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, don’t raise blood sugar so quickly. Even though they are technically “sweet”, they just don’t have quite such an extreme effect on blood sugar levels.

If you’re going to eat potatoes, I do suggest eating sweet potatoes rather than other types of potatoes. Not only will they not spike your blood sugar, but sweet potatoes are also very high in vitamins, while white potatoes have very little nutritional value.

White Rice

White rice is another major cause of blood sugar spikes. It is consumed around the world, and people believe that because Asian people eat a lot of white rice and seem to be so thin and healthy, that white rice must be healthy.

The problem is, they aren’t looking at the other factors involved in the health of so many Asians. Asians tend to get a lot more exercise than Western people. They eat far less meat and junk food. They consume a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables. And they eat a lot of healthy seafood.

Because white rice causes these extreme blood sugar spikes, you should substitute brown rice for white whenever possible. The blood sugar spikes are mitigated by the fiber, which is left intact on the outside of the grains in brown rice. In most cases, high-fiber ingredients won’t cause the type of blood sugar spikes seen in their refined counterparts.

There aren’t a whole lot of foods that I would suggest avoiding completely. Basically, if a food has little or no nutritional value, it’s not worth eating and should be avoided.

You can indulge in these foods on occasion, but I would keep it to no more often than once per week. That doesn’t mean you can have white rice once per week, potatoes once per week, sugar once per week, and white flour once per week! It means you should have ONE item per week that contains one or more of these items.

And remember to control your portion. Just because you can have these items only once per week does not mean you should eat an entire cake at one sitting!
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