It’s #WorldVeganDay, so to celebrate here at the Sportsman we have looked at some of the best athletes who are doing their bit for the planet by eating vegan. This lot prove that not eating meat certainly does not make you weak. There are some world-class athletes on this list!
Lewis Hamilton
Yep, you read that right. Now the four-time Formula 1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton recently went vegan due to the damage eating meat does to the planet. He has not eaten red meat for over two years and this year cut fish out of his diet to become a vegan. It clearly has improved his performance on the race track as he stormed to his fourth world title last weekend in Mexico. Maybe Sebastian Vettel will follow suit if he wants to catch the Brit next year.
Serena and Venus Williams
Two for the price of one here. The Williams sisters are two of the most famous sporting vegans and having dominated female tennis for the last 15 years, the lifestyle is clearly going well! Serena is simply the best tennis player of the modern era with her strength and quality carrying her to multiple grand slam titles and she is fuelled by green goodness! Although the two sisters are committed vegans during the season, they have been known to enjoy their guilty pleasures, a spot of sushi and chicken, during the off-season.
David Haye
Former heavyweight boxing world champion, David Haye has now been a vegan for three years. He made this decision during his break from boxing and told the Telegraph: “A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever.”
He certainly looks in top shape as the green machine prepares for his second fight against Tony Bellew in December.
Jermain Defoe
England’s Jermain Defoe has, like a fine wine, improved with age and he attributes this to his vegan lifestyle. He started being a vegan last season due to his girlfriend and it sparked an incredible run of form which saw him back in the England squad. At 35-years-old he is certainly reaching the end of his career, but this lifestyle appears to have extended his time at the top.
Although he attempts to reduce his meat and dairy consumption, last year he told the Guardian: “I’m trying to turn vegan. That’s a funny one because, when I go to my mum’s, she’s got every kind of meat you can imagine out on the table.”
Nate Diaz
UFC’s Nate Diaz has been a committed vegan since the age of 18 and has fully backed the benefits it has had to his health. He is leading a whole host of mixed martial artists who are trying the plant-based diets and reporting the benefits.
“Who’s the real beast? [Eating predominantly raw and vegan is more savvy and animalistic than anything. If anything, meat’s gonna slow you down.” He told Men’s Journal. The result of being vegan for sportsmen like Diaz is more energy and less digesting as well as easily being able to control your weight.
More and more sports people in the future will become vegan as there become more options and people cite this diet as a reason for their success. Happy #WorldVeganDay everyone!
