5 Pro Athletes' Nutrition Tips - And Whether You Should Take Them Seriously
3. Tom Brady - Avoid Acidic Food To Regulate Your pH Levels
Not unlike Roger Federer, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is one of the greatest in his sport’s history who’s enjoying a sort of second wave of fame as an ageless wonder. Brady is 42 years old, and the best of America’s sportsbooks are in universal agreement that he’s likely to lead his Patriots to another Super Bowl championship. Whether or not this ends up happening, for a quarterback Brady’s age to even be given such odds in the first place speaks to his enduring prowess - which is of course tied to his nutrition.
Brady is actually very public about his nutrition routine, to the point that he’s turned it into something of a side business. However, while he undeniably has an overall healthy approach, some of his specific claims are dubious. Brady speaks about avoiding acidic foods on the grounds that doing so can help to regulate the body’s pH levels, leading to optimal performance. Now, the specific foods Brady avoids and focuses on can certainly comprise a healthy diet. However, an in-depth look by Vox citing nutritional experts clarified that there is little to no scientific evidence that we can control pH levels via nutrition. In other words, eating like Brady isn’t necessarily a bad idea - but doing it for his stated reasons is likely fruitless.
4. Gabby Douglas - Enjoy Salmon For Dinner
Gabby Douglas is likely finished, or close to it, with her career as a professional athlete. However, many will undoubtedly remember her as a star of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team - something of an Olympic darling in 2012, and a veteran team leader by 2016. Gymnasts are among those athletes with fitness and nutrition routines that seem almost entirely foreign to ordinary people, because the level of caloric intake needed to fuel the amount of exercise is, under more regular circumstances, outlandish. However, they’re also some of the fittest people in the world, and so are at least worth exploring for inspiration.
Douglas has made it sound on multiple occasions as if her own nutrition routine is fairly simple (even suggesting in her younger days that she simply ate whatever her mother made her). But she’s also joined many other top athletes in making it clear that salmon is one of if not the primary proteins in her diet. Why athletes land specifically on salmon so often is slightly unclear, but Heart.org does include salmon among recommended healthy, lean proteins, on the grounds of its Omega-3 fatty acid content (nobody tell Tom Brady!).
