Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Im seeing more and more MMA fighters adopt vegetarianism and it got me to thinking that we almost never hear about a professional athlete contribute part of their success to Paleo.

Shane Carwin is a beast of a man and just went vegetarian http://www.shane-carwin.com/profiles/blogs/249-pounds-20-days-out-the

One of the best 170lb fighters in the world contributes his success to growing up vegie http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/04/14/jake-shields-talks-vegetarian-diet-in-new-peta-ad-campaign/

and I know that John Fitch just became a freakin V*gan.

Perhaps these guys are just the genetically super gifted and therefore have much more leeway in what the eat? Kind of like the kid we all know growing up who ate Mc'Ds all the time but was still shredded. Paleo has been huge for me and Im not giving it up but I do wonder why more elite athletes are not embracing it.

Edit: I see people listing athletes that have dropped some food allergies but does this make them Paleo? Is a high carb, low fat, diet sans gluten or sans a few food allergies Paleo? These athletes could still be chowing down on rice (grain) and beans (legumes) and corn tortillas (more grain). I agree that it is a step towards Paleo but so is anything that modifies a SAD diet.

Edit 2: F-Yeah! Frank Mir (MMA) drops Vegan to become Paleo. Strength and muscle mass shot up

http://whypaleo.com/2011/05/mma-fighter-frank-mir-ends-year-long-vegan-experiment-to-eat-paleo/

edited May 28 2011 at 6:39

asked May 23 2011 at 19:52

Geoff
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In the interview with Shane Carwin he says "I am nearly a vegetarian aside from the poultry and fish." Not nearly the same thing as vegetarian... I would be shocked to hear of any pro athlete that is vegetarian besides ultra-endurance sports (i.e. biking). – UncleLongHair May 23 2011 at 20:37

Jake Shields is (on the left) strikeforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/… John Fitch is examiner.com/images/blog/EXID902/images/… Matt Danzig is vegan mmaplayground.com/discussion/topic/… youtube.com/watch?v=NoTGMxgn1tg I know that Paleo is right for me as I naturally have very high protein needs. Perhaps some of these top athletes are more efficient with their protein genetically? Danzig says he only eats around 70g/day – Geoff May 23 2011 at 21:34

For what it's worth, Fitch did not look great in his one fight since becoming a vegetarian. – Caveman Bob May 24 2011 at 0:33

I thought Mac quit the vegan thing? ... and when has Fitch ever looked good in a fight? Maybe he wins, but man, he never looks good. I suppose he almost put up an exciting round at the end off the BJ Penn fight, but ehhh, that's about it. There's an awesome John Fitch "highlight" reel out there of him just holding people down. – becker May 24 2011 at 0:50

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I am also pant based. I'm sitting in pants right now in fact. – sarah-ann May 28 2011 at 13:22

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Jake · Answer 1 · 2011-05-23 20:06:39Z UTC

Well, Novak Djokovic hit the news recently about giving up gluten.

It's at least interesting to see a main news site pick it up. And yeah, it doesn't look like he's going to give up meat, if the pictures in the WSJ are any indication.

I'd be surprised if any of these MMA players see good long term results. Most likely they're going to have to cheat, or face dire results over a period of months without a good source of protein for recovery.

Though you have to wonder about what Carwin says. "I am nearly a vegetarian aside from the poultry and fish." No, that's not a vegetarian! Perhaps a Pescetarian label would be better in this case. rolls eyes

Jon · Answer 2 · 2011-05-23 20:33:54Z UTC

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Acutally, it sounds like Carwin IS eating Paleo lol. Just because he doesn't eat red meat or pork doesn't mean he's vegetarian and not Paleo... he's eating fish and chicken and tons of veggies.

answered May 23 2011 at 20:33

Jon
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agreed, his comment makes no sense. Vegetarian doesnt mean living on veggies, it means no meat. So saying that except for the meat I eat, I eat no meat? Um........ LOL – wheelhouse May 23 2011 at 21:42

Caveman Bob · Answer 3 · 2011-05-23 21:50:48Z UTC

Here's some press you may have missed: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=5021601

" 'When I was in New England [during the '08 preseason] a bunch of the guys saw the way I ate and asked a lot of questions. So I ended up writing out some diet stuff for them," Welbourn said. "They were pretty interested.'

As they should be.

Welbourn, a 10-year NFL veteran, had just introduced them to the Paleo Diet, more popularly referred to as the 'Caveman Diet.' But don't let the catchy name fool you -- there's plenty of science behind it."

Jeff · Answer 4 · 2011-05-23 20:06:38Z UTC

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They don't use the 'P' word but when you're gluten free you're pretty close. The best tennis player in the world....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576327624238594818.html

answered May 23 2011 at 20:06

Jeff
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Best is arguable. I'll be rooting for Nadal at Roland Garros :) – mari May 24 2011 at 0:01

haha, I agree with Rafa being the favorite. However Novak has beaten him 4 times in a row this year and hasn't lost so ir's hard to argue that he's not the best player in the past 6 months ;) – Jeff May 24 2011 at 3:17

wheelhouse · Answer 5 · 2011-05-23 20:08:16Z UTC

Novak Djokovic has gone gluten free and recieved a lot of press lately. The tough part is that what we think of as paleo, is often just a high-protein, low carb diet that lots of athletes have had for years. Also, I think that in the grand scheme, paleo is still a very niche thing and most people (journalists) would see this as a low-carb or gluten-free thing, so thats why you dont hear about it as much.

As far as these guys go, I doubt the veggie thing will last too long. Maybe ok for Jake Sheilds because he grew up that way and hasnt known any difference. However, every veggie athlete I have ever know hits a pretty hard plateau, cant get over the hump, and then overtrains themselves into injury. Afterwards, gets back on the meat, and has this crazy jump in performance and talks about how they dont have to train near as hard as they used to. Of course, that is purely anecdotal.

themobiustrip · Answer 6 · 2011-05-23 21:51:35Z UTC

I think there are plenty of professional athletes who are following a fairly paleo-based diet. However, they may not know or advertise that what they're doing is "paleo" per se. They probably aren't nit-picking about macro-nutrient ratios, phytates, or oil oxidation, but since they are professional athletes, they can handle a substantial amount of carbohydrate fuel without developing metabolic abnormalities - they simply burn through it during their regular high intensity workouts. Older athletes are more likely to turn to improved nutrition as well, in an effort to maintain a high level of play among the young guns coming out of college as their bodies become slower and weaker.

The most salient example I can think of is Steve Nash. Nash has been silencing his critics by playing so competitively for an older veteran in the league.

The 6-3 guard learned that he was sensitive to wheat, gluten, dairy, tomatoes and onions and returns regularly to the naturopath for IV's of vitamins and trace minerals that may be low from the wear-and-tear of the season.

I've heard similar things about Grant Hill and Ray Allen. I recall seeing Allen tell an interviewer about his pre-game meal - always chicken/fish and rice.

See here for more on "The Nash Diet" (note that the term paleo is nowhere to be found!)

link

tl;dr there are probably many athletes who follow a fairly paleo diet but are too busy to blog about the science or post to paleo hacks :)

Stabby · Answer 7 · 2011-05-23 22:31:02Z UTC

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John Welbourn of course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXz2dUprLAg

Huge and studly.

It's funny that MMA fighters think that vegetarianism is a good thing. Sports have traditionally be steeped in pseudo-scientific superstition and obviously these guys aren't particularly intelligent in the first place but I wouldn't have expected such an egregious error in reasoning.

answered May 23 2011 at 22:31

Stabby
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These guys aren't particularly intelligent in the first place? Where exactly did you get that idea? Are you still one of those people who think that MMA is human cockfighting or something? MMA is a serious sport with serious competitors. The shit talking is all for show, and it's unfortunate that the way the UFC has to cater to the masses is to make it SEEM like human cockfighting. But that will change. In the future, MMA will emerge as a serious sport just like tennis etc. Don't let the popular MMA promotions' business strategies confuse you into thinking MMA is brutal stupidity or something. – Anonymous Coward May 24 2011 at 1:05

I don't, not all of them. It is just that to me going vegetarian to improve fighting performance demonstrates a lapse in reasoning. Might not be their fault and they might not be dumb now that I think about it. We all make mistakes. – Stabby May 24 2011 at 1:32

Oh the arrogance of the paleo folks rears its ugly head again. Before you ate Paleo you followed this diet, then that diet, and now paleo. Kinda questions your intelligence if you didn't figure this out in your childhood. I mean, it is based on the diet of the prehistoric man, right? I'm sure someone during your formal education you learned how he lived. – Hoog Jul 16 at 15:16

tartare · Answer 8 · 2011-05-23 22:41:28Z UTC

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Top pro cyclist Christian Vande Velde cut out gluten. I know he gets plenty of other carbs, but he's been performing really, really well, particularly as he had some absolutely terrifying crashes (broke his pelvis, fractured ribs and in another one broke a collarbone). Since he's from the Chicago area, we consider him our hometown boy in the Tour and always cheer for him. Hoping he improves on his 4th place finish in the 2008 Tour de France and just wins the whole thing.

answered May 23 2011 at 22:41

tartare
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If I eat an all tofu, rice milk, pea protein and corn diet but dont eat gluten does that make me Paleo? – Geoff May 23 2011 at 22:46

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no geoff, but the tone of your question makes you a bit obnoxious. I never said he was Paleo. All i said was that he took one of the major steps one would take toward being Paleo and that for him, the proof was in the pudding. I also happen to like him as an athlete. – tartare May 23 2011 at 22:51

and i seriously doubt a pro cyclist is living on rice milk and tofu. – tartare May 23 2011 at 22:52

except for maybe Dave Zabriskie. – tartare May 23 2011 at 22:52

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But Paleo does = eating grains and legumes? Then what does define Paleo? – Geoff May 24 2011 at 1:44

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cliff · Answer 9 · 2011-05-28 11:49:34Z UTC

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High carb is paleo...

Animal protien doesn't have magic recovery benefits over complete plant proteins like potatoes.

answered May 28 2011 at 11:49

cliff
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Stupid that someone down voted you and didn't give a reason. Emperical evidence would show there have been a lot more vegan and vegetarian olympians than low carb (keto) paleo. Just saying... – foreveryoung Jun 10 at 18:10

they genearlly go vegam (or low carb) AFTER becoming pros... – Michael Jan 3 at 13:22

ajn · Answer 10 · 2011-05-23 20:30:06Z UTC

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Aaron Rodgers has talked about eating Paleo a few times.

answered May 23 2011 at 20:30

ajn
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PrimalCG · Answer 11 · 2011-05-23 23:07:33Z UTC

Actually, one of the reasons I started looking into the whole Paleo thing was because of a segment done on Hockey Night in Canada on NHL player Mike Cammalleri. He is quite well known for being one of the best in all the pre-season conditioning testing (and you can see a bit of that here too) and is certainly an elite performer. His focus is more on whole foods than specifically Paleo but there's a lot of parallels.

His visit to the market starts about three minutes in but the whole piece is interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBQ7UDiSpr0&feature=mh_lolz&list=FL1uQbF6TmiLo

becker · Answer 12 · 2011-05-24 00:59:18Z UTC

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Alistair Overeem is pretty close. In "The Reem" documentary series, there's an episode about his exercise and diet regimen. He eats several pounds of horsemeat every day (awesome.). After watching that documentary, I don't believe for a second he does steroids. That makes me feel very, very alone in the MMA community, but if you want to see a steroid user, look no further than Brock Lesnar shudders.

Without further ado, I present Alistair Overeem, the ambassador of meat to all athletes:

EDIT: Sorry, looks like there will be further ado. The link isn't working :( You can google him!

answered May 24 2011 at 0:59

becker
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Why does that make you feel very alone? I don't get it. – Anonymous Coward May 24 2011 at 1:46

Everyone thinks Alistair does roids. I think the man just moves a ton of weight and eats 500+g horsemeat daily. – becker May 24 2011 at 2:17

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Oh, I see. (Why 15 characters? WHY???) – Anonymous Coward May 24 2011 at 2:35

couple things here. brock's ACTUALLY paleo. brock undergoes the testing in the US which isn't as good as some hope but it's miles ahead of the testing that overeem gets which is virtually NONE! he has fought almost exclusively in japan the last couple of years because they do no drug-testing. this dude went from about 200lbs to 250 in 4 years or so with no help? hahahahah... i don't care how much horsemeat you eat, that ain't happening. and this is coming from someone who eats 3 lbs of meat a day... – luckybastard♦ May 28 2011 at 13:23

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Reem just got busted for testing positive in las Vegas, that is why he was not in the last title fight and was replaced by vegetarian Frank Mir who is on TRT. Reem's epitestosterone to testosterone ratio was 14:1, whereas in the average male it is close to 1:1. – Swede Jun 10 at 21:02

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Eric S · Answer 13 · 2011-05-28 09:51:47Z UTC

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I think Forest Griffin has a blurb on the back of Robb Wolf's book.

Brock Lesnar was forced to eat almost paleo for his diverticulitus.

answered May 28 2011 at 9:51

Eric S
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Lesnar was eating Paleo when he developed diverticulitis. – Kashkillz Jan 3 at 14:33

luckybastard · Answer 14 · 2011-05-28 10:54:04Z UTC

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a paleo brock lesnar choked carwin out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=5352613

guess vegetarianism gives u sucky cardio :)

answered May 28 2011 at 10:54

luckybastard♦
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	Yes, but Brock has a lot of serious GI health issues, so definitely not a good pick. – tempomat Sep 22 2011 at 17:58
	and Lesnar is 260 and "supplement" free. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to see ya. Have you seen Lesnar fight past the first round? Cardio is not his strong suit. – Hoog Jul 16 at 15:19
	Lesnar barely pulled that fight off. And his conditioning was obviously far inferior to Carwin's. – Kashkillz Jan 3 at 14:31

FED at LiveCaveman.com · Answer 15 · 2011-05-28 13:13:50Z UTC

Train Hard Fight Easy did a full four page spread on Paleo (and they even used the word "Paleo") about a month ago.

I reviewed the article here with excerpts from the write up if you don't have access to the magazine (I think that it is only sold in the UK for the time being)...

New Fighter's Only Magazine features Robb Wolf, Loren Cordain and Paleo UFC Athletes

KA24 · Answer 16 · 2012-06-10 17:19:23Z UTC

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Djokovic fighting back in the French Open. Trying to take down clay king Rafa Nadal!

answered Jun 10 at 17:19

KA24
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daniel · Answer 17 · 2013-01-03 12:47:58Z UTC

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Pro-Athletes don't do low-carb because its proven to fail.

80 year old body builder Jim Morris is vegan.

answered Jan 3 at 12:47

daniel
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	Paleo does not mean low carb. – Kelly Jan 3 at 13:25
	tell that to Tim Olson meandmydiabetes.com/2012/08/11/… – idoru Jan 3 at 13:56

Kashkillz · Answer 18 · 2013-01-03 14:29:14Z UTC

I would say most MMA fighters lean heavily toward a Paleo diet. Aside from whole grain pasta & oatmeal, grains just don't fit in to the weight manipulation these guys (and ladies) are primarily focused on.

Furthermore, it baffles me that Danzig, the Diaz bros, Shields can still be considered as flukes when they are consistently ranked as top contenders. All the fights they win mean nothing when they lose at the championship level? C'mon now...

And then there are the endurance athletes. Some mentioned here... Roll is another one not mentioned.

Don't be threatened, Paleofolk. It IS 100% possible to achieve optimal health without meat. Easy? Simple? No. But, possible? Absolutely.

Where are all of the Paleo pro athletes?

18 Answers