International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research shows that dietary manipulation in conjunction with regimented physical exercise is an effective tool for improving body composition, health, and athletic performance. While different strategies have been promoted for manipulating nutritional variables, ketogenic and vegan diets have emerged as popular options, both in clinical and sport contexts, due to their capacity to alter body composition, variables related to athletic performance, and markers of cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Although there is controversy in this regard, this type of diets can be considered part of the therapeutic management of pathologies and the optimization of sports performance.

In the present Special Issue, we intend to collect original research, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis articles with the aim to advance our understanding of the role of ketogenic and vegan diet and their metabolites on health, body composition level, and athletic performance. The main objective of the work should be to investigate the impact of ketosis or vegan diet on human health or diseases (including obesity, diabetes, palliative care, autoimmune conditions, neurodegenerative disease, etc.), fitness, and body composition levels.

Dr. María Rosa Bernal-López
Dr. Mora Murri
Dr. Javier Benítez-Porres
Guest Editors

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Keywords

ketosis, biomarkers
physical activity
nutrients
weight-loss
exercise
diet
muscle mass
fat mass
health

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 1164 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Change to a Plant-Based Diet Has No Effect on Strength Performance in Trained Persons in the First 8 Weeks—A 16-Week Controlled Pilot Study

by Eduard Isenmann, Laura Eggers, Tim Havers, Jan Schalla, Alessio Lesch and Stephan Geisler

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1856; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031856 - 19 Jan 2023

Viewed by 3675

Abstract

Over the past few years, the number of people who have avoided animal products has been rising steadily. A plant-based diet is associated with a healthier lifestyle and has positive effects on various diseases. More and more healthy active people and performance-orientated athletes are giving up animal products for various reasons, such as for an improved performance or faster regeneration. However, the data in this context are limited. This study aimed to obtain initial findings on the influence of a diet change to veganism on the performance of strength-trained individuals. For this study, a total of 15 omnivorous individuals were recruited. They documented their dietary food intakes over 16 weeks. Every four weeks, the strength performance was tested via a leg press and bench press. In the first 8 weeks, the participants maintained their omnivorous diet, followed by 8 weeks of a vegan dietary phase. In total, 10 subjects participated successfully, and their data were part of the statistical analyses. There was no difference in the absolute and relative strength performance for the leg and bench press after changing to a vegan diet. For the total calorie intake and carbohydrates, only a small treatment effect, but no time effect, was observed. However, for the protein intake, a time and group effect were detected. In addition, the relative protein intake decreased significantly and was lower than the current recommendations for athletes. The results demonstrate that a change to a vegan diet has no beneficial nor negative effect on the strength performance when the total calorie intake and carbohydrate content are covered in the first 8 weeks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Ketogenic and Vegan Diet on Health, Body Composition and Athletic Performance)

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Review

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10 pages, 1608 KiB

Open AccessReview

Effects of the Ketogenic Diet on Muscle Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men and Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Salvador Vargas-Molina, José L. Gómez-Urquiza, Jerónimo García-Romero and Javier Benítez-Porres

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12629; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912629 - 03 Oct 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8295

Abstract

Reviews focused on the ketogenic diet (KD) based on the increase in fat-free mass (FFM) have been carried out with pathological populations or, failing that, without population differentiation. The aim of this review and meta-analysis was to verify whether a ketogenic diet without programmed energy restriction generates increases in fat-free mass (FFM) in resistance-trained participants. We evaluated the effect of the ketogenic diet, in conjunction with resistance training, on fat-free mass in trained participants. Boolean algorithms from various databases (PubMed, Scopus. and Web of Science) were used, and a total of five studies were located that related to both ketogenic diets and resistance-trained participants. In all, 111 athletes or resistance-trained participants (87 male and 24 female) were evaluated in the studies analyzed. We found no significant differences between groups in the FFM variables, and more research is needed to perform studies with similar ketogenic diets and control diet interventions. Ketogenic diets, taking into account the possible side effects, can be an alternative for increasing muscle mass as long as energy surplus is generated; however, their application for eight weeks or more without interruption does not seem to be the best option due to the satiety and lack of adherence generated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Ketogenic and Vegan Diet on Health, Body Composition and Athletic Performance)

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