Are Endurance Athletes Healthier Than the Rest of the Population?

A study that looked for common dietary patterns in a population of extremely healthy men and women would most likely yield a similar result. This belief is based partly on the findings of the National Weight Control Registry. Maintenance of a healthy body weight is one major component of overall health. If all kinds of different diets are able to help people attain and then maintain a healthy body weight, we have reason to believe that all kinds of different diets can support maximum all-around health.

Other evidence that there are many "healthiest" diets comes from the real world. In my work as a sports nutritionist, I have analyzed the diets of large numbers of world-class endurance athletes. This is an extremely healthy population. Without a doubt, most elite cyclists, runners, swimmers and triathletes would come out very near the top of general health rankings based on a battery of tests like the ones described above. Very few of these men and women are members of what I call "diet cults" (e.g. the Paleo Diet), which are based on the premise that there is only one correct way for all humans to eat.

Most world-class endurance athletes instead practice what I call agnostic healthy eating, a broad dietary approach where no food types are completely excluded but there is a heavy emphasis on high-quality foods such as fruit and fish.

There is a minority of world-class endurance athletes who do follow diet cults, but they don't all follow the same one. Some are Paleo, others vegan, and so forth. This is further proof that a wide variety of diets are capable of sustaining maximum health. But the greatest variety is seen within the majority of elite endurance athletes who are agnostic healthy eaters. The diet of a runner from Kenya looks nothing like the diet of a cyclist from England, yet both would certainly score exceptionally well on tests for general health.

By no means should it be inferred that anything goes with diet. Most people in affluent nations—even most recreational endurance athletes—do not eat well enough to attain the highest level of health. If you're like most of your peers, you need to change your diet in order to become as healthy as you can be. The point is merely that there is no single better diet; you have options—so pick your favorite.

Excerpt taken from http://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/what-s-the-healthiest-diet-in-the-world?page=2