Plant-based diets have been the new craze over the past few years as more and more people are leaning towards clean nutrition, but can you really get all the nutrients you need as you reduce or eliminate meats from your plate?
Having grown up on a steak and potato diet it’s easy to stay in the mentality that meat is an essential part of my daily nutritional needs in order to have the energy and the muscle to perform optimally. What most people don’t realize is that you can get an abundance of protein from many other sources like: nuts, beans and even vegetables.
Take a look at a few athletes who have excelled at their sports with plant based nutrition.
Venus Williams
Venus is a super star when it comes to the game of tennis. She is one of the most successful players of all time winning countless titles in her sport and four Olympic gold medals. In 2011 Venus began a plant based diet after being diagnosed with Sjoren’s syndrome. This is an autoimmune disease which causes fatigue, swelling and stiffness in the joints.
“Since switching to a plant based diet Venus won Wimbledon and the Australian open.
Venus told Insider magazine that it transformed her health, performance and skin.”
Yahoo New - Insider April 22nd, 2021 Rachel Hosie
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold is a man that all of us are familiar with. From starting his career in bodybuilding, moving to the movies, and his political career as the former governor of California, he has been on the public scene for decades. At 72 years of age, Arnold is now an advocate for eating more of a plant based diet. From someone who admits to eating a lot of meat and 12-15 eggs a day at one point, being 99% plant based has been a big change.
In 2019, Arnold appeared in the documentary, The Game Changers. This groundbreaking movie proved that you don’t need a high animal protein diet to be in top form. Arnold revealed that by eating mostly a plant based diet, his cholesterol levels plummeted to 109, the lowest in his entire life!
Derrick Morgan
Derrick spent his 9 year professional football career years as a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. He switched to a plant based diet in 2017. He was looking for a way to improve his recovery and to reduce inflammation. In 2018 Morgan finished the year having played 12 games in which he had 37 tackles, 11 quarterback pressures and a half sack.
His wife Charity joined Derrick and became a plant based chef. Together they helped transform the Tennessee Titans diet and many of the players have now dropped meat and dairy products as a form of nutrition.
While we may not be athletes that perform at these levels, I’m sure we can agree that high cholesterol is a condition that plagues many Americans. It is scientifically proven that lowering animal products and increasing our intake of plant proteins will reduce cholesterol levels and improve our overall health. Not only does it help with our well-being, it helps our planet by reducing the negative environmental impact.
With that being said I encourage you to add more plant based recipes to your diet.There are many great sources, like Pinterest that have many great delicious meals you can try.
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