There are various vegans in the world, but did you know that many athletes are vegan too? This post will take you through the top athletes that are vegan, that you may (or may not) have known.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton, a notorious formula 1 driver, went vegan from 2017. He is also very vocal about it, often using his platform to promote the lifestyle.
Mentioned in another separate post, on celebrities that are vegan.
James Wilks
Ex UFC fighter, James Wilks is also a well-known vegan athlete. He’s also a prevalant vegan activist.
Dotsie Bausch
Dotsie Bausch is also powered by plants. She also has a website with her own plant-based recipes.
Scott Jurek
Scott Jurek has been vegan since the early 2000’s, having started from college. Perhaps the long-term plant-based diet proved to be the key to his overall endurance.
Kyrie Irving
The famous basketball player, Kyrie Erving, went vegan after watching a documentary and choosing to change his lifestyle.
Colin Kaepernick
The ex-49ers quarterback is also following a plant-based diet. Colin Kaepernick has been vegan since 2016.
Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz, an MMA fighter in his late 30’s, follows and allegedly raw vegan diet. He stated since the age of 18, so nearly two decades of discipline with the lifestyle.
Chris Smalling
You may not have known this, but Chris Smalling is also a vegan footballer. As of recently he’s been more prevalent in the food industry, investing in plant-based brands.
Jack Wilshire
Jack Wilshere is also another popular footballer that not only follows a vegan diet, but also a gluten free one. He claims this diet is the sole reason why he reached the best condition of his career.
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe is a bit here and there with the lifestyle, allegedly advocating for a plant-based diet, eating primarily vegan for 4 of 7 days a week. I don’t believe in judging people, at least he’s encouraging others to follow the lifestyle, that’s more than a lot of others.
Chris Paul
Basketballer Chris Paul also follows a plant-based lifestyle. Also another person that wants to change the game in terms of the evolution of plant-based foods.
Serena Williams
One of the greatest tennis players on earth, is in fact a vegan. Maybe a vegan diet is the secret to optimal performance…
Novak Djokovic
The greatest male tennis player, is also somebody that promotes a plant-based lifestyle. He’s even published a book on it back in 2014, displaying his dedication to the diet.
Is a vegan diet good for athletes?
According to research, due to the high carbohydrate levels, antioxidants and abundance of phytochemicals in a well-planned plant based diet, it may offer performance enhancing effects.
Think about it: whole food plant-based foods (fruits, veg, nuts, seeds, greens and grains) are clean, healthy, and provides you with nutrition from the source. As opposed to meat and dairy, which is essentially recycled nutrition, that steak got the protein from the grass, etc.
All in all, a vegan diet is great for athletes, it can help boost recovery, and provides optimal nutrition. Don’t just take my word for it, just think of all the famous vegan athletes that already exist, I only listed a few!
I hope you enjoyed this post on vegan athletes; it’s important to spread the word and break the stigma of a vegan diet not being appropriate, and that’s exactly what I do.
If you liked this post, feel free to share with a friend or loved one. Thanks for considering veganising it for your vegan lifestyle inspiration. Stay well and stay blessed.
