How vegetarian food promotes faster recovery in athletes

Most athletes have a meat-heavy diet as they need to load up on protein to enhance recovery. Protein is responsible for building and repairing tissues and improving immune function, and meat is the number one go-to food for it.

Because of this, many are skeptical about whether it is beneficial for athletes to go vegetarian, even if meat is still considered as more protein-rich.

JP Alipio, first Filipino to finish the Dragon's Back Race in 2019 | Source: Sekaya/Buensalido PR and @jpalipio (IG)

During the virtual press con for Sekaya Raw Actives titled 'Prescribing Nature Series: Transforming your Life with Food,' hardcore athlete JP Alipio shared his personal experience on how going vegetarian has actually helped him recover faster from injury and eventually become the first Filipino to finish the Dragon's Back Race in 2019.

“About three years ago, I actually injured myself. I had a really bad injury. And it would take so much time to heal.

“Basically, I twisted my ankle and it took months to properly heal and to get myself back on track for my training.

“Essentially, I tried going full vegetarian during that time and it really worked. For me, it made my healing process much faster.”

For those who don't know yet, the Dragon's Back Race is considered to be one of the toughest mountain races in the world, a 315-kilometer 15,500-meter elevation gain and loss foot race across the Welsh Mountains.

And as mentioned, JP made history last year when he became the first Pinoy to achieve this feat, despite going on a vegetarian diet.

“During that race, every day we would run something like 80 kilometers, 3,000 meters of elevation gain and at the end of the day my body was not painful.

“I was pretty amazed because I was expecting to be sore the next day and I was okay. I was fine.

“And during the race, the organizers only fed us vegetarian food, actually vegan food.

“So, for five days we were just eating vegan food and it was basically cleaner and your body is able to recover much, much faster than if you were eating meat, processed food, which (would cause you to) have a lot of inflammation added to the inflammation from training or from running.

“So, having vegan food as part of my training really, really helped get me to that point where I was able to do the Dragon's Back race last year.”

Internal medicine doctor and certified functional medicine practitioner Dr. Oyie Balburias backed JP's claim that vegetarian food helped him recover faster from injury or training.

“Most plants have anti-inflammatory effects. Of course, with JP's rigorous training and events that he went through, our body undergoes damage.

“Of course, the body is also capable of repair. So, one of the mechanisms our bodies (uses to) address this is through inflammation

“Most plant bases are immune modulators or have anti-inflammatory effects. So, that's why his body recovers faster. There's a modulated response of the immune system.

Dr. Balburias also emphasized the importance of having a balanced nutrition for athletes like JP.

“Athletes get injured if they lack these phytonutrients and phytochemicals.

“Balanced nutrition is important because even plants have proteins, one of the essential micronutrients that we need in order to repair our body.

And finally, Dr. Balburias reminded everyone that food is indeed medicine.

“Everything that our body as a system needs--all of these substrates, micronutrients, macronutrients, phytonutrients, as well as different enzymes or even neurotransmitters--these are all formed through the metabolic substrates that we get from whole, real, unprocessed foods”

So there you have it, a testimonial from an accomplished athlete and an internal medicine doctor on how and why vegetarian food can promote faster recovery.

Just keep in mind that before trying out a specific diet or meal plan, it's always best to consult a licensed nutritionist so he or she can recommend what's best for you, given your current health status.

For more lifestyle content, head out to GMA's Lifestyle page.

You might also want to read about Ang Pinaka's list of the most famous diet plans.