Is a Plant-Based Diet What You Need for Peak Performance?

Maybe you were one of the people who leveled up your fitness during the pandemic. Instead of wallowing in food, drink, and Netflix, you started running and lifting weights.

Meanwhile, the fastest-growing food trends in America are meat and dairy alternatives. People from all walks of life are embracing a plant-based lifestyle when not long ago it was considered fringe.

But do the two things go together? After all, when it comes to peak athletic performance, we’re often thinking of it in terms of traditional protein sources — meat, eggs, and milk.

Well, consider this. When Venus Williams had to withdraw from competition due to an autoimmune disease in 2011, she not only changed up her entire training regime, she also turned to a plant-based diet. The very next year she won a Wimbledon title, an Olympic Gold Medal, and reclaimed her #1 world ranking.

Or consider NBA star Kyrie Irving. He adopted a plant-based diet, hoping it would give him a competitive edge when he was traded from Cleveland to Boston. Irving opened up about the “side effects” of his new food choices: “My energy is up and my body feels amazing.”

Maybe you don’t want to become a strict vegan. That’s okay because Tom Brady’s “plant-centered” diet of around 80% vegetables seems to be keeping him vibrant and collecting Super Bowl trophies.

There’s a new book out today called The Plant-Based Athlete. It’s intriguing, so I’m giving it a read (although life without eggs and cheese would be tough … maybe I can do “plant-centered” like Tom). I’m mainly motivated by the fact that the meat and dairy industries are absolutely awful for animals and the environment.

The book is by my friend Matt Frazier who runs the No Meat Athlete website. Matt’s a marathoner and ultrarunner who discovered he could run longer and faster on a plant-based diet.

His co-author is Robert Cheek, who puts to rest any dismissive notions about gaining muscle as a vegan. Robert has followed a plant-based diet for 25 years, and he’s a two-time bodybuilding champion.

This may not be your thing, but plant-based is no longer a fad. And this new book is the only research-based guide for connecting a plant-based diet with long-term strength, endurance, and peak athletic performance.

I still go back to Michael Pollan’s simple advice: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Turns out it may be even better advice than anyone thought.

The Plant-Based Athlete (No Meat Athlete)

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Down below, just because it comes from vegetables doesn’t mean it’s good for you … especially if it’s vegetable oil. Trudi tells you what to stay away from, and what the good oils are.

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The Truth About Vegetable Seed Oils and Your Health

By Trudi Roth

Remember Bulletproof coffee? I once argued about the buttery, oily beverage with a Keto-loving friend, calling it “a heart attack in a mug.”

Cut to a few years later, when I cut out dairy and embraced oat milk as a “healthier” creamer and all-around milk substitute. I’m not alone — industry leader Oatly is valued at $10 billion.

Turns out, I’ve been drinking a daily cup o’ crow, as most oat milk contains unhealthy canola oil. Ditto for my favorite plant-based meat products, which are also made with harmful vegetable oils. Consuming too much of these detrimental substances can lead to brain fog, fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, and migraines.

Better choices for your health and well-being can slide by if you don’t read labels.

Vegetable Oils’ Slippery Slope

Just because the word “vegetable” is in the mix doesn’t mean an oil is healthy. As nutrition expert Dr. Cate says:

“Vegetable oils are the defining feature of junk food.”

There are eight harmful seed oils found in packaged foods and restaurant meals that make up most of the fat in a typical American diet: canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soy, and sunflower.

These oils are loaded with polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), which create loads of free radicals that cause cell-damaging reactions in our bodies. While we can withstand a modest amount of free radicals, unhealthy seed oils flood our system with more than it can handle.

This results in inflammation and negative impacts on circulation and blood flow to the brain, increasing risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other physical and psychological ailments.

Make Your Body a Well-Oiled Machine

This is why Dr. Cate advocates for eliminating harmful vegetable oils from your diet.

“If you don’t first cut out all eight vegetable oils, it’s like taking an aspirin for a headache before deciding to stop hitting yourself on the head with a hammer.”

Don’t worry, you can still get your fry on. Dr. Cate recommends healthier oil options that can be used for cooking (or cold), including avocado, olive, coconut, almond, macadamia nut, and peanut. Butter, cocoa butter, tallow, and lard are also on Dr. Cate’s “healthy” list.

Keep in mind that just because some of the harmful seed oils are marketed as “organic,” they’re not any healthier. The PUFAs’ molecular structures remain the same, so you’re essentially rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Bottom line: Don’t buy the snake oil “healthy” plant-based goods are selling — read labels and avoid those eight harmful vegetable oils. Grease is the word that you heard, and it definitely affects the way that you’re feeling.

8 Bad Seed Oils You Should Replace (Better Nutrition from Outside)