Bananas. Beans. Berries. Whole wheat bread.
Things that begin with the letter B? Or the beginnings of a plant-based diet? The answer is both!
I’m a vegan. Most of my diet is plant-based. The reason I choose to eat this way is because it helps me to be a better athlete and a healthier person in general. It even helps combat the effects of climate change, since it takes hundreds of gallons of water to produce a piece of beef.
Now you might be wondering how I get enough protein without eating meat. The answer is by eating whole foods such as rice and whole wheat bread. I also get it from eating beans, peanut butter, nuts, soy milk and tofu. And I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, such as green leafy vegetables, bananas, berries, mangos, apples and dates.
As you can see, there is plenty of food you can eat if you are an athlete and want to try a plant-based diet. Even if you're not an athlete, it can help you be healthier. There are plenty of athletes that choose to eat this way. There are also many studies going back decades that have shown the benefits:
- It can help prevent and even reverse heart disease.
- It can help prevent your chances of getting cancer.
- It can make you feel and look younger than your actual age.
- It can help athletes recover faster after tough workouts and have more energy.
- It can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
- It can also just help you live a longer, healthier life.
There are some places around the world called Blue Zones, which have the longest-living populations. They survive on plant-based diets, eating meat and dairy only on special occasions and in very small amounts. But those areas are going away, given the popularity of fast-food restaurants. I can tell you from being in Europe recently: you don’t have to go very far if you want to eat at McDonald’s!
A word of caution: I'm not a doctor, and it’s completely up to you if you want to eat this way or not. I just know that eating this way works for me.
If you want to learn more, I recommend watching two documentaries on Netflix called “What the Health” and “Game Changers.” You also can go to this website to learn more about eating plant-based. And if you want to read more about pro athletes who eat this way, here’s another website.
