NFL Playoff Time!
Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers just lost today to the Jackson Jaguars, so I had to rewrite this intro to my blog post. I thought it was going to be another Steelers / Patriots AFC championship, but that came to an abrupt halt this afternoon.
Being a Pittsburgh native, I have been fortunate to see 2 Super Bowl victories and 2 more Super Bowl appearances during my lifetime, so I shouldn’t complain too much about seeing the Steelers lose in the playoffs. I probably would have seen another 2 or 3 Super Bowl appearances, but the New England Patriots and Tom Brady seem to always get in our way.
Plant-Based MVP
This blog post is not centered around the Pittsburgh Steelers, but more so Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots. As much as I hate the Patriots and Tommy Terrific, you have to have respect for guy. I mean, the guy is the winningest NFL quarterback of all-time and he is playing like an MVP at age 40.
I read a while back that I heard Tom Brady was eating a plant-based diet to help with his longevity in the NFL. I think I mentioned this in a blog post at one time, but I never looked much into it otherwise.
Then comes a very interesting article that was written by ESPN a few weeks ago. The Article was titled “For Kraft, Brady and Belichick, is this the beginning of the end?“. The article claims that the New England organization is experiencing some cracks and that the dynasty could be coming to an end soon. I certainly hope so!
Plant-Based = Lower Inflammation
So, how does this relate to me and this blog about a Type 1 Diabetic living medication free? Well, it appears that Tom Brady had dramatically changed his diet and lifestyle to a more plant-based focus based upon the recommendations of his personal trainer. The plant-based focus was implemented to decrease inflammation in Brady’s body and potentially help extend his playing career.
According to this article, 80% of what Tom Brady eats is vegetables, he doesn’t use white sugar, white flour, MSG, iodized salt, nightshades (like tomatoes or peppers), or dairy. Brady also avoids coffee and caffeine. White rice, bread, cold cuts, pineapples, and even yogurt are also rarely eaten.
Mainstream Resistance
The reason why I truly find this fascinating is because of how much resistant and drama that his method of managing his diet has seemed to create inside the Patriots organization. The article claims that many of the Patriot players use Brady’s methods (called “TB12”) as opposed to listening to the general team doctors.
Now, I can’t even begin to comprehend what’s actually going on inside their organization, and I’m sure it’s way more complicated than just Tom Brady’s dietary choices as the article suggests. However, it’s very interesting to see that arguably the greatest football player of all time is performing at an MVP level in his 40s on a plant-based diet. It’s also not surprising to see the resistance from the coaching staff when more of the players are choosing to follow Brady’s lead. I personally totally agree with a plant-based diet reducing inflammation. I saw it first hand in my own body once I converted over a few years ago.
Other Top NFL QBs on Plant-Based Diet
It also appears that many NFL quarterbacks have been adopting Brady’s dietary choices to aid in their careers as well. Check out this link from the Boston Globe. It looks like Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) and Marcus Mariotta (Tennessee Titans) have all followed similar eating patterns as myself. Some NFL quarterbacks have even gone vegan like Cardale Jones of the LA Chargers and even other position players like top wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the Denver Broncos and running backs Theo Riddick of the Detroit Lions and Adrian Peterson on the Arizona Cardinals (What the Health is Going on in the NFL Right Now?).
It’s not only the NFL either, it’s NBA athletes adopting the plant-based diet as well (It’s Official: 2017 Was the Biggest Year for NBA & NFL Players Going Vegan).
Vegan Olympians
Finally, there have been many vegan Olympians in years past including famous names like Carl Lewis, Ronda Rousey and Venus Williams. Venus Williams actually follows a mostly raw vegan diet like me to help fight her own auto-immune disease of Sjogren’s Syndrome (article).
Top 10 Historic Vegetarian and Vegan Oympians
Conclusion
Well, writing this blog post actually opened my eyes up even more to the notoriety that a plant-based diet is getting throughout our country. Although most of the time I feel like I am on an island by myself with regards to my diet, when I start seeing the top athletes in our country switching to a plant-based diet, it gives me comfort that the momentum continues to build in our society regarding this dietary choice. Who knows, maybe in 30 years eating an animal based diet will be considered odd!
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