The Game Changers: more nuances, please

Last January, a report written by leading international researchers (EAT-Lancet) shook citizens of developed countries by reminding us that, in order to continue enjoying a healthy planet full of resources, we will have to drastically change our eating habits. The solution? Minimize our consumption of meat and animal products in favor of plant-based sources. In September, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) echoed this sentiment. If we want to slow down global warming, we must reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular by decreasing our use of renewable resources, but above all by optimizing the food system, from farm to fork.

In this urgent need for action, vegetarian and, more recently, vegan diets have never been so popular. Each is associated with numerous benefits: better health, increased energy, savings, etc. Some athletes even go so far as to claim loudly and proudly that the key to their success lies in their 100% plant-based diet. 

When we talk about performance, we listen

As soon as the subject of physical performance comes up, athletes of all levels sit up and take notice. We all have a deep desire to be more effective and, above all, to achieve a high level of performance. While some are willing to use unnatural and prohibited aids, others seek the best combination of healthy living and training.

Recently, I was asked to watch the sensational new documentary The Game Changers, available on Netflix. It tells the story of a combat athlete who, due to a nasty injury, is forced to slowly rehabilitate himself and takes a step back to reflect on his lifestyle, particularly his eating habits. He discovers the vast world of veganism, meets specialists, actors, and other athletes, and attempts to demonstrate that it is the best diet to follow in order to live longer and, above all, to perform better, be faster, and be stronger. 

It's the kind of documentary you often see on Netflix: faced with a true story, you feel empathy for the pseudo-journalist-athlete, then you leave with a bunch of arguments that always lean in the same direction. But where is the other side of the coin?

(Before getting into the critique, I would like to point out that I am a flexitarian and have no conflicts of interest to declare. As usual, I will try to remain as objective as possible.)

Unstable links and lack of nuance

The first thing that annoyed me was the link established between the diet of Greek gladiators, which was possibly more plant-based than meat-based, and their physical strength. Firstly, the article used to support this theory cannot be presented as having any real validity. But above all, no direct link can be established between the two, as other factors may have played a role, such as living conditions, the external environment, evolution, and lifestyle at that time. 

We are also introduced to numerous vegan Olympians who claim to be in peak condition since changing their diet. These claims are based solely on individual experiences and have no statistical significance.

It is important to keep in mind that nutrition is unfortunately at the top of the athletic performance pyramid. Does this mean that I can eat whatever I want? Not necessarily, because overall health depends on many more factors than performance or body weight. Someone of normal weight can still be in poor health if they do not eat properly. Instead, we need to put into perspective the belief that what we eat is responsible for our success. It is genetics and effort that will have the desired effect. So, while a good diet does not necessarily win us medals, a poor diet in the long term can prevent us from reaching our full potential. 

What's more, most of the articles featured in the film are observational studies, prospective or retrospective studies. The purpose of these studies is to qualify and observe what people eat over a long period of time and whether or not diseases develop. It is therefore difficult to establish causal links between a specific food and the development or non-development of certain diseases. 

See more broadly

How, then, can we explain that athletes who have recently become vegan claim to be faster, less tired, and, above all, to perform better? Perhaps we need to look at the phenomenon from a broader perspective before generalizing and jumping to conclusions.

The first thing that comes to mind when we become aware of our diet—and especially what we want to change—is everything that isn't working well. If, for example, we want to eat more plant-based foods, we then place a lot of importance on increasing our consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grain products, legumes, good sources of vegetable oil, nuts, and seeds—and we move away from ultra-processed foods. It is therefore a global change.

These foods have been recommended for years by all health professionals, regardless of the diet followed. They provide a good amount of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber, and have been proven to have positive effects on cardiovascular health, weight loss, and immune system improvement. As an indication, in 2013, less than 25% of Quebecers consumed enough fruits and vegetables, as recommended by Canada's Food Guide (Brassard D, 2018). 

In the documentary, a vegan diet is presented as the one that will lead to better health in various ways. But we need to pay attention to the overall quality of our diet before making such strong causal claims. For example, some studies have shown that a diet rich in dairy products, such as yogurt, may be beneficial for gut health, reducing type 2 diabetes, and managing body weight (Fernandez & Marette, 2017). The conclusions are mainly based on the fact that most people who consume a lot of yogurt also consume more fruit, leaving more room for minimally processed foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein.

Quality above all else

As with any new food trend, marketing capitalizes on it and food companies try to position themselves intelligently to maximize profits.

A vegan diet has the power to nourish us adequately, that's true. There are also many myths surrounding it. Vegans are no more likely to be anemic than meat eaters, and they are not necessarily deficient in vitamins and minerals. However, if you rush into this type of diet, which is more restrictive and limited, you are more likely to have difficulty meeting your nutritional needs.

In addition, the growing popularity of this diet has led to the emergence of many ultra-processed products that, simply by using the word "vegan," take on a healthy aura that can mislead consumers. Macaroni and cheese made with white pasta and no vegetables is a vegan meal, but it does not have the same nutritional quality as a tofu salad with wild rice and grilled vegetables. It is not vegan dishes that are healthy, but the quality of the foods we choose. Another example? Meat substitute patties can contain a high amount of additives, preservatives, added sugar, and sodium. 

In short, The Game Changers uses a lot of shortcuts to make us believe that veganism is a panacea for athletes. What we need to remember is that improving performance requires considerable effort and is not limited to what we put on our plates.

REFERENCES

Brassard D. et al. (2018). "Poor adherence to dietary guidelines among French-speaking adults in the Province of Quebec, Canada: The PREDISE Study," Canadian Journal of Cardiology, in press. 

Fernandez, M. A., & Marette, A. (2017). "Potential health benefits of combining yogurt and fruits based on their probiotic and prebiotic properties," Advances in Nutrition, vol. 8, no . 1, pp. 155S-164S.