However people are showing interest in the alternatives as well. People have shown an increased interest in the past year for plant-based products as a replacement for mat, cheese, milk, and eggs that went up 17% in the United States. This market alone has produced $3.7 billion in revenue.
Another reason that people have adopted a vegan lifestyle is the continued research on it’s positive effects for one’s health.
The vegan and vegetarian diet, when done effectively means that an individual is consuming tons of nutrients and vitamins through fruits and vegetables. Pudwill says “These nutrients act as our greatest defense system, so when we nourish our body with them it is bound to pay off. It is when people focus on solely animal protein that they may lose the opportunity to all these other beneficial supplements”
Research shows the vegan diet has been acclaimed for its ability to reduce the likelihood of high cholesterol, reduce the risk of having a stroke and stroke, while increasing longevity. Therefore, doctors have begun prescribing the adopting of such a diet to those with high probability of chronic disease.
Primarily, the lens on health has taken the perspective of the average person. Recently, the movie The Game Changers has posed the way vegans thrive in the athletic domain as well.
Produced by notorious athletes like Arnold Schwarzenegger (former bodybuilder), Jackie Chan (mixed martial artist), and Chris Paul (current NBA player). They each provided perspectives on how the commercial view of a manly athlete includes an animal based diet.
They used a range of endurance athletes to demonstrate the cardiovascular benefits. Dotsie Bausch is a 8 time U.S national cycling champion. She states that she became a machine from converting her diet to solely plants. She thought her maximum weight to push on a sled was 300lbs, but after switching diets it went to 565lbs.
Oftentimes the lean athletes are the ones that get by being vegan, but it is the muscular ones that attribute their strength to all the protein they eat from animals. However, the movie talks with Patrik Baboumian, a world record holding strong man, to understand his take on being vegan.
People often ask him how he is as strong as an ox, his response is, “have you ever seen an Ox eat meat?” By the end of the film, he broke the record for most weight carried 33 feet at 1224lbs.
Even though there has been documented success, the majority of athletes remain on their normal regimen.
The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 M-W 