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NFL players' surprising performance hack: going vegan
- smudgymcscmudge 8y agoNon-amp link: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/nfl-players-are-going-vegan.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/nfl-players-are-going-vegan....
- dang 8y agoThanks. Changed to that from https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/09/07/nfl-players-are-going-vegan.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/09/07/nfl-players-are-going-ve....
- williesleg 8y agoThey need more soy.
- was_boring 8y agoI'm glad this is getting attention. I was vegan for a while, but couldn't handle the constant social pressures. However, I'm now mostly a home cook with basic non-processed ingredients, lots of veggies, and low fat protein -- I've taken this to the point where I make my own breads. I find if I eat too many processed foods my chronic depression comes back. So eating simply and regular exercise is how I stay off antidepressants and perform better at every aspect of my life.
- Exuma 8y agoSocial pressures? You put other people's opinions over your own health? Honestly man, scuse my french but tell them to fuck off. I don't care if it's your own family, your wife, do whatever you want. Hearing stuff like that makes me sick, because you're basically saying you value other people more than you and you are who is most important. It's liberating to just not care.
- anonymous5133 8y agoSocial acceptance is a very powerful tool to manipulate people to say the least but yeah, I agree overall, people need to grow up in terms of their anti-veganism.
- sokoloff 8y agoThere are overt pressures and subtle social inconveniences to anyone on a non-mainstream or non-omnivore diet. "Hey wanna come over to a BBQ at our place on Saturday?" might be awkward for a vegan to respond to, just as "Hey, wanna come over for spaghetti night?" would be for someone on a low-carb diet without any specific disrespect or disapproval from the host about the particular diet. I'm assuming you wouldn't recommend telling someone to "fuck off" for inviting you to a BBQ.
- arbitrary_name 8y agoI just show up with mushrooms, vegetable skewers, salad and high quality sourdough to share. Even at company picnics and other events. Rarely is there an issue and very often people are very complementary of my food. Don't make it other people's problem and they won't make it yours.
- monksy 8y agoThis is the correct answer right here. The only deviation of this is cooking services. When I did a cookout 2 weeks ago, I just told the vegan that she should be aware that the grill is heavily seasoned by meat. She used the stove and no one cared.
- tomjakubowski 8y agoyes, exactly - social pressure hardly ever takes such an overt form. it's easy to dismiss a friend who tells you "veganism is stupid", not as easy to ignore a constant nagging feeling that your choices are inconveniencing friends or family.
- Exuma 8y ago
- toasterlovin 8y agoAre you sure you have the causality right? Based on my own experience, it seems possible that whatever causes you to start eating processed food also causes your depression. And that having the bandwidth to make your own food only happens when the thing that causes your depression is gone.
- Falling3 8y agoYou're right but I also wouldn't be at all surprised if there were a feedback loop between eating junk food and feeling various kinds of bad. I usually feel my best physically eating mostly fruits and vegetables.
- was_boring 8y agoI had a longer post containing family history and how I believe mine to be more genetics oriented then anything else. I decided that was inappropriate. The tldr, however, is I only have one blood relative in the past 3 generations who hasn't been diagnosed with chronic depression or has substance abuse issues. Both killed all the men in the previous generation by the time they were 45.
- windexh8er 8y agoI've gone mostly plant based starting the first of the year. I haven't touched chicken or red meat thus far and don't plan on it. Per your social pressures statement, I found that most don't notice it. The only issue arises when dining with friends or family who serve a planned meal, which usually has some form of chicken or red meat - at least in the US. I do choose to randomly eat select fish or seafood, so that generally helps in those social situations, but my consumption level is once or twice a month at one meal - mainly if it sounds good My experience so far has been overly positive. After about 60 days I stopped considering it. After 90 days red and white meats started to no longer sound appetizing. Eating at home was a challenge, at first, to switch cooking styles and get used to new ingredients I hadn't cooked with as much. I cook quite a bit and I feel as though this was my highest point of frustration my first few weeks. I bought about a dozen plant focused cook books and cherry picked what looked good right away and have ventured into odd and more complex recipes over the months. It's been far more fun than I would have guessed as there are so many plants I knew nothing about. Healthwise I feel much better and blood tests have shown improvement over where I was at before (and I was probably above average compared to the average American at start). I'm about 5'11, started in the mid 170s and am now in the low to mid 160s. I noticed a significant improvement in my running. I'm averaging 8 minute miles on a 3-5 mile run a few times a week. I could probably run lower but I enjoy it and don't try to push it beyond that. Last year I was running mid to upper 8s for the same distance. Nothing has really changed outside diet. TL;DR - Went mostly plant based at the start of the year, enjoying it. Hasn't gotten in the way and have seen improvements making the change.
- gralx 8y agoI looked seriously at veganism after reading a WHO report that attributes 13% of world greenhouse gas emissions to animal farming. [Strike that. The figure is 18%, and the source is a 2006 FAO study sponsored by the World Bank and the European Union, among others.] I built a database from the USDA's and whatever credible recommendations for daily micronutrition I could find, and then I built a diet around that database. All recommended micronutrients can be had from non-meat, non-dairy foods except two: it is not possible to be a healthy vegan without also taking choline and vitamin B12 supplements. An athlete would face extra challenges. Tudor Bompa cites research showing athletes tend to be deficient in important micronutrients compared to the general population, likely because of the stresses of training. And though the position paper on sports nutrition published by the world's most important scientific journal on nutrition recommends that athletes consume up to 1.4g of protein per 1kg of body mass per day, for a vegan athlete this means consuming approximately 1kg to 2kg of beans a day, or even more if the food is less protein-dense than beans. It's hard to eat that many beans. Sources: Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental issues and options, p.112, Food and Agriculture Organization, 2006 United States Department of Agriculture Food Composition Databases Tudor S. Bompa, Periodic Training for Sports, 2015 "Nutrition and Athletic Performance", Dietitians of Canada, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American College of Sports Medicine, December 2016
- toomanybeersies 8y agoThere are vegan protein powders. Most athletes aren't getting all their dietary protein from food and are supplementing with protein powder.
- paulcole 8y agoThe fact that the article is about athletes might lead you to think that the protein needs of people(even athletes) are highly exaggerated. I run ultra marathon distances, am vegan, and am Type 1 diabetic. I do no special meal or protein planning beyond estimating and somewhat limiting the amount of carbs I eat.
- GiorgioG 8y agoI just wanted to say that as the father of a 6 year old type 1 diabetic (diagnosed at 19mo) - it's encouraging to hear that this is possible. Thanks!
- dxhdr 8y agoThe article claims that "there's a new performance hack taking hold in the NFL — going vegan," mentioning Tom Brady as an example. Article later clarifies that "though not vegan, his personal diet is reportedly 80 percent plant-based." So the performance hack is just eating healthy food?
- jonmrodriguez 8y agoIn the second paragraph: "In 2017, a reported 11 Titans had gone vegan".
- smudgymcscmudge 8y agoReported by who? That’s curiously missing from the article. edit: I double checked, and it is clearly linked. I was in reader mode before and didn’t notice the link.
- DiabloD3 8y agoWhich easily means that he does LCHF Paleo or an exceptionally clean Keto, maybe combined with OMAD, which is what I personally recommend for both physical and mental performance reasons. I'm not saying it'll turn an everyman into a Tom Brady, but it could explain why Tom Brady performs so well against his peers (which is just enough of a gap to near-consistently win; and all of these people, even on the Browns, are all absolutely amazing athletes at the top of their field).
- risaacs99 8y agoI can't see how an 80% plant based diet could lead to a low carb, high fat outcome. It in no way implies to me a one meal a day diet. It sounds more to me like the DASH diet, or Mediterranean.
- ambicapter 8y ago> even on the Browns Sure, but what the hell is going on with the Bills?
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- Exuma 8y agoIt's about time I have a link to send people that make super played out vegan jokes. I love teasing and having a laugh at the expense of myself, but it's super old to see vegetarian-hating jokes equating it to being weak.
- teach 8y agoThis is one of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIKN5LNxFiQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIKN5LNxFiQ (My wife is a registered dietitian with a PhD in nutrition, so obviously we tend toward veganism.)
- toomanybeersies 8y agoAnecdotally, after moving to a plant based diet, I feel a lot healthier and have a lot more energy. I think that the main reason is less that meat itself is unhealthy though, but that I used to basically eat meat and carbs with little in the way of vegetables. Steak and chips isn't a very nutritionally complete meal. Of course it's possible to eat shit food while still being a vegan. Oreos and fries are vegan.
- devmunchies 8y agoBeen plant based for over a year. I wouldn’t say I have noticeably more “explosive” energy (it’s not worse), but but my recovery after a workout is much better and I’m back to full energy quicker.
- lostlogin 8y agoOreos aren’t vegan and many fries aren’t either, including from some big chains. http://www.oreo.co.uk/faq http://www.oreo.co.uk/faq
- firethief 8y ago> No, Oreo have milk as cross contact and therefore they are not suitable for vegans. That's definitely a minority view. The point is to avoid creating demand for animal products, so most vegans don't worry about cross-contamination as if it were an allergy.
- ianleeclark 8y agoCross contamination is still vegan. By consuming something that's potentially cross contaminated in a factory, you're not increasing the demand for animal abuse.
- dorchadas 8y agoI'm slowly shifting myself towards a vegetarian diet as well, and I've found that the days I don't eat meat I sleep much less. I wake up feeling just as refreshed as I ever did, but on less sleep. Like, < 6 hours.
- reese_john 8y agoAnother cool "performance hack" by NFL players': liberal doses of hGH and testosterone
- keithnz 8y agoI got no real problem with going meat free, and most of my diet is meatless, my partner was super keen to do this and she started making a lot of meat alternative type meals, and for the most, it's pretty good. Not as bad as I thought. Comes down to the flavors you use mostly. however going dairy free is a whole other ball game, We've tried some alternatives, and things like banana ice cream is a pretty good ice cream alternative, but cheese alternatives are not so good.
- yesenadam 8y agoSo don't eat cheese. I find anything with small amounts of cheese in it (e.g. pesto) has to me now a very unpleasant tang, like smelly rancidness or something, that I'd much rather avoid. (Long-time vegan, huge cheese-on-toast fan as a kid) ..I've never liked meat-alternative, fake meat, TVP etc food. There's a whole world of vegetarian cuisine out there.
- ianleeclark 8y agoThis ultimately puts your taste preferences over the life of a sentient animal. The core reason that many ethical vegans are vegans is that they decide not to put their taste preferences over an animal.
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoI wonder if "super-tasters" are under represented in vegetarian/vegan populations (or vice-versa)?
- toasterlovin 8y agoI would seriously advise ignoring diet advice gleaned from elite athletes. A huge part of being an elite athlete is having good genetics for whatever sport you play. And when you’re a genetic freak, you can get away with doing a lot of sub-optimal stuff.
- mlinksva 8y agoIs it true that one can get away with doing a lot of stuff that's sub-optimal for short term performance in an extremely competitive league like the NFL? There's someone almost as freakishly good waiting to replace you. On that note, is there any measure of how closely clustered top athletes are in different sports? Are there some in which the best are more separated from the rest than in others, so that the best in those sports can get away more sub-optimal stuff?
- toasterlovin 8y ago> Is it true that one can get away with doing a lot of stuff that's sub-optimal for short term performance in an extremely competitive league like the NFL? You should read up on the training regimen of Usain Bolt. Fastest guy who ever lived. His training regime is basically that he doesn’t train. I can’t imagine that his dietary adherence is any better. Short of malnutrition or massive sugar consumption, there’s probably not much he could do to screw himself up. Clearly his genes want to build a very specific phenotype.
- mlinksva 8y agoOK, I googled it and "basically that he doesn't train" is a gross exaggeration. Same regarding diet. One link briefly covering both: https://www.gq.com/story/runner-usain-bolt-training-secrets-and-diet https://www.gq.com/story/runner-usain-bolt-training-secrets-... Same link also says Bolt has a freakishly long stride. I wonder if sprinting is one sport in which the very best are further from the rest relative to other sports due to sprinting involving exactly one activity? I'm not much of a sports fan but I can't recall another accounting of a great in my lifetime that didn't involve intense training.
- brandonmenc 8y agoBrady has survived for so long because he gets rid of the ball quickly and knows how to fall down without getting hurt. His diet and all the other snake oil he subscribes to has nothing to do with it.
- acconrad 8y agoI'm a competitive athlete (powerlifting) and I've been experimenting with a flexitarian-style diet where the vast majority of my calories are from plant-based foods but I "supplement" with sardines and eggs to fill in the deficiencies. With vegan diets, the most commonly deficient nutrients are: protein, calcium, choline, selenium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, and zinc. 2 cans of sardines can provide almost all of the vitamin D, selenium, and B12 you need in a day, and a majority of calcium and protein, with a serious dent in your choline RDA as well. Not only that, they are among the most sustainably-caught and lowest-mercury fish you can eat. Add in 3 pasture-raised, farm-fresh eggs and you've hit your RDA for choline (via the yolks) and protein. The rest of your nutrients can be covered with vegan foods...for the remaining common deficiencies, a few scoops of vegan pea protein to finish up your RDA for iron with that athlete boost I need of additional protein. Sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, lentils, garbanzo beans, cashews, and quinoa are all excellent sources of protein and zinc.