This Is What 39-Year-Old Super Bowl QB Tom Brady

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This Is What 39-Year-Old Super Bowl QB Tom Brady Eats

Feb 4, 2017, 03:09pm

Well he's lived and played 2 more years on his diet, so there's that.

Bruce Y. Lee Contributor

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Pharma & Healthcare

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/02...734eb94797

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is not like the rest of us. He may have been at some point. But no longer. At 39 years old, he just won his fifth Super Bowl title and was the MVP. He has a supermodel wife. He has a personal chef. And his diet? Well, it may not be quite the same as yours, either.
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Allen Campbell is his personal chef. As Hilary Sargent for Boston.com describes, Campbell became "obsessed" with plant-based diets and then met Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen. So what does Brady eat, besides opposing defenses? Here's what Campbell told Sargent:

• "80% of what they eat is vegetables... If it’s not organic, I don’t use it."
• "And whole grains: brown rice, quinoa, millet, beans."
• "The other 20% is lean meats: grass-fed organic steak, duck every now and then, and chicken. As for fish, I mostly cook wild salmon."
• "No white sugar. No white flour. No MSG."
• "I'll use raw olive oil, but I never cook with olive oil. I only cook with coconut oil. Fats like canola oil turn into trans fats."
• "I use Himalayan pink salt as the sodium. I never use iodized salt."
• "[Tom] doesn't eat nightshades, because they're not anti-inflammatory. So no tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms or eggplants. Tomatoes trickle in every now and then, but just maybe once a month. I'm very cautious about tomatoes. They cause inflammation."
• "No coffee. No caffeine. No fungus. No dairy."
• "He will eat bananas in a smoothie. But otherwise, he prefers not to eat fruits."
• "We stick to gluten-free for everything."
Yes, life is nice when you make a boatload of money and can have someone shop and cook for you.

So which of these should you (or even can you) follow? Well, a lot of Brady's diet is consistent with standard nutrition recommendations such as reducing meat consumption, increasing vegetable consumption, favoring whole grains, avoiding processed foods and additives and moderating sugar, salt, fat and caffeine intake.

What's different or not necessarily supported by science? Most nutritionists don't suggest avoiding fruits besides bananas, but that may just be a preference for Brady. Here are other aspects of his diet that are questionable:

• Avoiding nightshades: Where's the science behind the statement that tomatoes cause inflammation or that nightshades are bad? Tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and eggplants have plenty of nutrients.
• No dairy: I've already discussed the myths about dairy when Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers cut dairy out of his diet. Of course, you don't want to pound milk or yogurt, but dairy does have important nutrients as well.
• No fungus: Yes, you don't want to eat the fungus on your bathtub or the locker room floor or between your toes. But presumably, Campbell is talking about mushrooms here, and not the kind that get you high. Mushrooms can have copper, phosphorous, Vitamins B-2 and B-5 and various antioxidants. Again, where's the scientific evidence against mushrooms?
• Gluten-free: There's been no news that Brady has celiac disease or real gluten sensitivity. If you don't have any of these, as Dr. Daniel A. Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, says, "People who are sensitive to gluten may feel better, but a larger portion will derive no significant benefit from [a gluten-free diet]. They’ll simply waste their money, because these products are expensive." Of course, this last point doesn't matter as much to Brady and Giselle.
• Oils: Cooking with vegetable oils is better than with animal fats or lard. But the differences among the different vegetable oils is still a bit in the air. Some have raised concerned that at higher temperatures olive oil will break down and release toxins, but where is the specific proof of this?

Eating like Brady wouldn't be cheap. Should you bother? Following what's consistent with standard nutrition recommendations makes sense. But the other things? Not really. Many people hawking diets will make claims about different foods and cooking styles. They will cite particular people's experiences as support.

However, the challenge is that diets are complicated, so you don't quite know what exactly is helping, what is doing nothing and what is actually doing harm. Also, a lot of dietary changes have psychological effects. If you believe something is making you feel better, you may actually feel better.

That's why when it comes to diet recommendations, stick to what has been tested with scientifically rigorous studies and not to people saying, "Oh, I stopped eating this and felt better."

Also, keep in mind that Brady is not you. He has personal trainers, mentors and coaches, the best equipment and apparel, lots of comforts, a nice house and neighborhood surroundings, people around him telling him how great he is, a good job with decent benefits and, yes, a supermodel wife.

His diet and chef are not the sole reasons for his success or feeling good. Even if you avoid nightshades, dairy, fungus and gluten, you probably won't play football like Tom Brady or get a supermodel wife, but you may end up spending money on food like he does.

Follow me on Twitter @bruce_y_lee and visit our Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Read my other Forbes pieces here.

Bruce Y. Lee Contributor
I’ve been in the worlds of business, medicine, and global and public health. And these worlds are a lot more similar and different than you think. Currently, I am an Associate Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Executiv...

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