This article looks at the effects of a vegan diet on the heart
What’s the deal?
Vegan diets are increasingly popular and you might even be considering starting one in the new year. The jury is still out on the effects of a vegan diet on overall exercise performance, but what about effects on the heart specifically?
What did they do?
22 vegans were recruited alongside 30 non-vegans to compare diet, body composition and VO2 max. Their hearts were then analysed in terms of structure and function using echocardiography (a type of ultrasound which is similar to those used in pregnancy scans).
What happened?
Vegan hearts were thinner and had better pumping and relaxing function than non-vegan hearts. Vegans also weighed less on average, with a lower BMI and they also had better VO2 max values compared to the non-vegans in this study.
What can you tell me about the people?
Participants were predominantly runners, aged 30-32 years old on average and with similar heights. Participants had to be training at least 3 times a week to be included in the study. For vegans, their diet was verified by a dietician.
What else should I know?
The perfect experiment would be if all participants were analysed as non-vegans, then became vegans for a few years before re-analysis. Unfortunately, this is difficult to organise, so this study used two distinct groups of participants. Results should therefore be taken with a pinch of salt.
The pumping (beating) action of the heart is essential for delivering blood around the body, but the relaxing action in between beats is also critical for health and sports performance. A thinner heart with better pumping and relaxing function is frequently seen in elite endurance athletes.
What will I do differently?
Going vegan is not for me. I like the idea of introducing one or two vegetarian/vegan days a week though, so I’ll work on that in 2021. It’s also comforting that this study suggests going vegan does not have any negative impact on the heart and may even be beneficial.
Acknowledgements
This research was published in July 2020 by W Krol and colleagues from the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
This article highlights our personal take on their research, but there is so much more information available! Check it out here and see what you think!
Abstract Athlete 