{"id":3661,"date":"2023-05-12T15:59:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T08:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/what-is-the-gladiator-diet-and-how-do-vegetarian-athletes-stack-up\/"},"modified":"2023-05-12T15:59:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T08:59:54","slug":"what-is-the-gladiator-diet-and-how-do-vegetarian-athletes-stack-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=3661","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Gladiator Diet and How Do Vegetarian Athletes Stack Up?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>I compare the diets of the Roman gladiator \u201cbarley men\u201d and army troopers to the modern Spartans of today.<\/p>\n<p>The remains of dozens of Roman gladiators were recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/289536103_Roman_Gladiators-The_osseous_evidence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">discovered<\/a> in a mass grave in ancient Ephesus (Turkey). The clue to their identities was the rather distinct types of mortal injuries the researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/16289900\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a>, like being speared in the head with a trident, as you can see at 0:15 in my video <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-gladiator-diet-how-vegetarian-athletes-stack-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The Gladiator Diet: How Vegetarian Athletes Stack Up<\/strong><\/a>. Just by <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/16289900\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">examining<\/a> the skeletons, the researchers were able to reconstruct the deathblows, show just how muscular and buff the gladiators really were, and even try to reconstruct their diet \u201cof barley and beans.\u201d You can <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25333366\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">look<\/a> at carbon isotopes and see what kinds of plants they ate. Nitrogen isotopes reflect intake of animal protein, for example, and looking at the sulphur in their bones and the amount of strontium led commentators to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24137094\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">submit<\/a> that the best athletes in ancient Rome ate largely plant-based diets.<\/p>\n<p>The legionnaires, the Roman army troopers famed for their fighting abilities, also ate a similar kind of diet, suggesting the \u201cbest fighters in the ancient world were essentially vegetarian.\u201d So, if the so-called perfect fighting machines, the great sports heroes of their day, were eating mostly grains and beans, what does that <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/9164255\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tell<\/a> us about sports nutrition and the preferred diets of elite athletes? \u201cThe diet of most Greeks and Romans was basically vegetarian,\u201d centered on grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans, so maybe the gladiators\u2019 diets weren\u2019t that remarkable. Ancient Greek philosopher Plato <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/book\/10.1007\/978-1-4899-6004-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pushed<\/a> plants, for instance, preferring plant foods for their health and efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>The Roman gladiators were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0733521008000283?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">known<\/a> as the \u201cbarley men.\u201d Did they eat barley because it \u201cgave them strength and stamina,\u201d or just because barley was a common, \u201cbasic food\u201d people <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/5330203\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ate<\/a> at the time\u2014not necessarily for performance, but because it was cheap?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/5547429\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">look<\/a> at the modern Spartans, the Tarahumara Indians, who run races where they kick a ball for 75 miles just for the fun of it. They run all day, all night, and all the next day for \u201cas much as 150 miles and more\u201d if they\u2019re feeling in the mood. What do they get if they win? \u201cInterestingly, a traditional prize of victory is said to be a special popularity with the women (although how much of a reward that would actually prove to be for a man who had been running for two days and a night is questionable, to say the least!).\u201d Though, maybe their endurance extends in other arenas, as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably not since the days of the ancient Spartans has a people achieved such a high state of physical conditioning.\u201d So, what do they eat? They <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/7234750\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eat<\/a> the same kind of 75 to 80 percent starch diet, based on beans, corn, and squash, and have the cholesterol levels to prove it, with total cholesterol levels down at 136 mg\/dL, which is essentially heart attack-proof. They don\u2019t have special genetics, either, because data <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/7200320\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">show<\/a> that if you feed them enough egg yolks, their cholesterol levels creep right up, as you can see at 2:52 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-gladiator-diet-how-vegetarian-athletes-stack-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>video<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-91349\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1050\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-960x525.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-1024x560.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-1536x840.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-1200x656.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-720x394.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-52-540x295.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Modern day Olympic runners <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22634972\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eat<\/a> similarly. What are they eating in Kenya? They\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/15657475\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">following<\/a> a 99 percent vegetarian diet centered mostly on various starches. But, as in all of these cases, is their remarkable physical prowess because of their diets or in spite of them? Or, does their athleticism have nothing to do with what they\u2019re eating? You don\u2019t know until you put it to the test.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn spite of the well-documented health benefits of vegetarian diets, less is <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27854281\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">known<\/a> regarding the effects of these diets on athletic performance.\u201d Researchers compared elite vegetarian and omnivore endurance athletes for aerobic fitness and strength by comparing oxygen utilization on the treadmill and quad strength with leg extensions. The vegetarians beat out their omnivore counterparts for cardiorespiratory fitness, but their strength didn\u2019t differ. This suggests, at the very least, \u201cthat vegetarian diets do not compromise performance outcomes and may facilitate aerobic capacity in athletes.\u201d But, this was a cross-sectional study. Is it possible the vegetarian athletes were just more fit because they trained harder? The National Runners\u2019 Health Study <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/9356539\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">looked<\/a> at thousands of runners, and, as you can see at 4:06 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-gladiator-diet-how-vegetarian-athletes-stack-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>video<\/strong><\/a>, vegetarian runners were <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/9356539\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recorded<\/a> running significantly more on a weekly basis. Maybe that explains their superior fitness, though perhaps their superior fitness explains their greater distances.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-91351\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1050\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-960x525.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-1024x560.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-1536x840.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-1200x656.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-720x394.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-06-540x295.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Other cross-sectional studies have <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/3747485\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> no differences in physical fitness between vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes, while another one <a href=\"http:\/\/medind.nic.in\/jau\/t06\/jaut06p27.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> even worse performance among vegetarian athletes, but there could have been socioeconomic or other confounding factors. That\u2019s why we <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/26568522\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">need<\/a> interventional studies to put different diets to the test and then compare physical performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_social_bottom_trigger\"\/>  <\/div>\n<p><script>\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n            if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n            n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n            t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n            s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1582627921973608');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I compare the diets of the Roman gladiator \u201cbarley men\u201d and army troopers to the modern Spartans of today. The remains of dozens of Roman gladiators were recently discovered in a mass grave in ancient Ephesus (Turkey). The clue to their identities was the rather distinct types of mortal injuries the researchers found, like being &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}