Kenyan Marathon Athletes are over 90+ percent Vegan, over 96+ percent Vegetarian.
Scientific Study reveals Diet of the top Kalenjin Marathon endurance runners.
SOURCE: Fully confirmed peer-reviewed scientific journal: The British Journal of Nutrition (2002), 88, 711–717 DOI: 10.1079/BJN2002728 - "Food and Macronutrient Intake of Male adolescent Kalenjin Runners in Kenya" - Center for African Studies, Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, Dept of Medical Sciences, Nutrition Unit, Uppsala Sweden
(CLICK THE IMAGE TO READ THE GRAPH IN A LARGER VIEW)
This is Study #1 of 2 fully authenticated scientific dietary analyses made down to the gram of the Kenyan kalenjin runners' diet. The 2nd study is consistent and also re-affirms this study's results. It is not the case that 1 study found one result and another study found another completely different result. Both studies found the same thing, with very little variance: the kenyan athletes are eating a nearly entirely plant-based 96% to 99% vegetarian diet.
Study #1 from the British Journal of Nutrition showed a nutrient intake that calculated to approximately a 96% Vegetarian diet. The 2nd Study revealed an even more plant-based diet, close to a 99%-Vegetarian diet for the Kenyan elite runners and super-athletes. Therefore, this chart, based on the 1st study, is actually even a bit generous in showing only a 96% Vegetarian diet, the 2nd scientific analysis actually showed that their diet is even more plant-based with an even more minuscule amount of meat than even this one. This study is laxly allowing for 4% meat, (a Kenyan diet 96% Vegetarian), but the 2nd study is actually confirming that the amount of meat is even less, less than 1% (a Kenyan athletes' diet that is over 99% Vegetarian).
IMPORTANT NOTE!: It is extremely important to note, that some lay-person's articles, written by journalists in magazines and on blogs and so forth, have sometimes falsely left the reader with erroneous impressions. For example, one un-scientific article reported that kenyans were eating meat "4-times a week" but failed to mention the portion (which is very tiny), leaving the reader with the false impression that kenyan runners are gorging on large steaks of roasted goat or mainly beef, perhaps for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and for 4 out of the 7 days a week when this is not the case at all.
Although the statement '4 times-per week' is true, the author is failing to mention that they are eating such tiny servings that if you averaged the amount they are eating in an entire week over every meal, the kenyan elite runners would be eating a portion of meat the size of barely 4-pennies (4 US 1-cent coins) in weight. The layperson's running-enthusiast type magazine article is incorrectly leaving the reader with the impression that the Kenyans are eating 16 oz 'big juicy steaks' for 4 days out of the 7 days a week, for a total of 4 pounds of steak a week, which is factually incorrect. They may also leave the impression that some meat is being eaten at ALL of the 3 meals of the day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for a total of 3 x 4 = 12 instances out of the possible 21 meals in a week, which is also incorrect. What the science actually reveals is that the kenyans are only eating meat at 2 or 4 meals a week. It does not mean they are eating meat 4 "days" a week, it's only 4 "meals" or instances, per week.
This means that it is not 4 out of 7 or a 57% meat diet, as these less scientifically qualified runner magazine journalists might portray. The actual scientific data show that it is 2 or 4 meals out of 21 potential meals, or only 19 to 9%.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner are 3 meals per day, and at 7 days a week this equates to 21 meals in a week. So as far as food FREQUENCY, 4 meals out of 21 possible meals in a week calculates to a ratio of just 19% and 2 meals per week calculates to a frequency of 9%. In other words, these runners enthusiast magazine articles may be mistakenly leaving the impression that the Kenyans are eating a diet of 6o% meat, in frequency, whereas the actual scientific dietary data measured is actually showing that the Kenyans are eating meat at a frequency of only 19% and as low as just 9%, in number of times.
This already would be 81% to 91% vegetarian, in terms of food frequency. Not a 60% meat diet. And the weight of the meat is extremely small. If one is imagining large fork-fuls and large slabs of steaks at those 2 to 4 instances per week, that would be incorrect. The size of the already small amount of meat they are eating at those 4 times is about the weight of 3 tablespoons of water.
This is the weight of the 'steak' that they are eating - about the same weight a 3 tablespoons of water.
Meanwhile they are eating more than a pound and a half of plants, in the form of greens, vegetables, a green vegetable similar to kale, cabbage, wheat, corn, grains and beans. They are devouring over a pound of carbs (500 grams) right next to it in the form of a huge bowl of grain. This is a dish called ugali which is composed out of corn. 90% of the Kenyan kalenjin diet is totally vegan, all plants. Corn, greens, and beans, 90%. Add to that about 6% consumption of milk. Milk, although not vegan since it is an animal product, is still Vegetarian, specifically "lacto-vegetarian". That now comes to 96%. That calculates, in this study, to a remaining portion of less than 4% meat. This is a far cry from the visions of carcasses of roasted goat or steaks of beef being heaved upon plates by the supposed Kenyan runners in articles such as published by RunnersWorld, RunnersConnect, or Active.com.
When checked down to the gram-level using actual peer-reviewed science, it turns out the size of the 'steak' they are eating is only about the weight of 3 tablespoons of water, and the findings show the best runners on earth are eating Grain and carbs by the pound-load. The Corn in the ugali also contains protein. The beans contain protein as well. Even the Kale-like green contains protein. There is no shortage of protein. Infact, for athletic fitness, this high-carb,virtually meatless, 96 to 99% vegetarian diet is working optimally and producing, along with other factors, the best athletes in the world.
A note about the milk. The difference between vegetarian and vegan is that vegetarian includes milk, and a vegan diet does not. However, the Kenyan elite distance runners are already virtually 90% + vegan. And the majority of the remaining 10% of "Animal Products" is not meat, it's mostly simply milk. From 6% to 9% of the 10% of "Animal Products" is simply milk, not animal meat. The milk is mainly put in tea. And tea and coffee are drunk often in lieu of water. Yes, when the kenyan marathon runners get thirsty, many of them do not even drink water, the item most runners might think is the purest form of re-hydration, but instead the kenyans are re-hydrating with tea with milk in it. Milk is still "Vegetarian". So this remains a high-percentage plant-based vegetarian diet.
However, having observed this, it turns out that the milk is not such an important dietary factor as previously anticipated. Some authors have been putting over-emphasis on this milk for all kinds of reasons ranging from "protein" to fats to other crucial nutrients, however if that is seen stated somewhere, by some author, that too is not predominantly the case. It turns out the plant portion of the diet is already supplying a good deal of protein, there is no shortage. And there is no need for the type of fat in the milk, in fact, that type is saturated fat which is damaging to the heart, and is even better if left off.
In other words, a vegan diet (with B12) would probably also serve just as well. Milk is not providing the secret key to performance here, and in fact it was found to be less important than expected.
Another incorrect report found in lower-level magazines is one (incorrectly) stating that "Most of the fat the Kenyans are eating is Saturated fat(false)". Here are the figures for Fat ingestion analysis:
Total Grams of (BAD) Saturated fat consumed: 6.9grams
Total Grams of (GOOD) Monounsaturated fat consumed: 20.3
Total Grams of (GOOD) Polyunsaturated fat consumed: 13.5
One must wonder, on what planet is 6.9 greater than 13.5 and 20.3? The author who wrote that the Kenyans are eating mostly saturated fat is trying to say that 6.9 is larger than 20.3. This is obviously incorrect. And the accurate statement is that the type of fat the kenyan athletes are ingesting most, is a vegan fat, a heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fat, the kind in the plants (MUFAs, same as in olive oil). And the 2nd most prevalent fat they are ingesting is polyunsaturated fat (this is Omega6 PUFAs), and this is leading to some of the fastest marathon times on earth. And indeed the Least eaten type of fat is saturated fat. Saturated fat is the artery-clogging, heart-damaging fat found in a large part in meat and also some from the milk. This heart-damaging fat is coming in large part from that 10% of Animal Products made up of the meat and the whole-fat milk. And consistent with the results of the study, the saturated fat is the least ingested because the amount of meat turns out to be extremely low, less than 4% and the amount of milk turns out to be low as well, at 6%. These two components making up the 10% of non-vegan foods, and these two items being the source of the less-helpful kind of fat (as well as these two items being the sole source of any and all dietary cholesterol ingested. Plants have No cholesterol. None. And this is why plant-based vegan diets are often successfully used by physicians to lower people's cholesterol.)
Thus, as can be seen in the bar-chart, the diet that is producing, with other factors, some of the top athletes on earth, is a 90+% vegan, 96% vegetarian, for the most part plant-based diet.
#
KEYS:
5K 10K race 7 seven 22 countries study cholesterol active.com ancel keys anthony-colpo atkins authority-nutrition bacon badwater best diet for a marathon primal blueprint marks-daily-apple robb wolf Tarahumara Indians Tim-Noakes track samantha chang examiner soy crossfit reebok Spartan Race Triathlon Tribe ultra-marathon unprocessed western states 100 mile squaw perlmutter grain-brain weston a price foundation wheat-belly runnersconnect dan lieberman harvard barefoot running professor rift valley long-distance fastest iten, kenya mo farah wilson kipsang paula ratcliffe ian kiprono Simon Biwott
No comments:
Post a Comment