Famous Vegans - Brendan Brazier

Brendan Brazier, 2009.

Brendan Brazier

Born on March 1, 1975. He's a Canadian endurance athlete, author and advocate of a vegan diet. He was a professional Ironman triathlete and has won the Canadian 50km Ultramarathon in 2003 and 2006.

He has written the 2008 book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, the 2009 book Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness and the 2011 book Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health. He appeared in the 2006 video Vegan Fitness Built Naturally. He has his own Vega line of vegan foods, which have won health-food industry awards. You can find his website at this link.

Quotes by Brendan Brazier:

"Once I learned how to be a healthy vegan by eating the right foods my performance improved dramatically."

"My first challenge was to curb the constant hunger and lack of energy that I experienced. I have since learned that I went about transitioning to veganism incorrectly, the way most people do. In 1990 I'd fill up on refined starchy foods such as pasta and bread. That put an end to the constant hunger, but sufficient energy to train at a high level was not there. Once I began paying close attention to the quality of food that I was consuming and not just the caloric intake, I made large gains. ... Once I began eating more raw, natural, alkalizing, foods, my recovery time dramatically improved, as did the muscle and joint concerns. Raw, natural hemp protein is now my number one choice."

"It totally works for strength athletes, too, for building muscle. This is because plant-based food is alkaline-forming, and when you eat alkaline foods, it reduces inflammation, and if you reduce inflammation, you increase functionality. And more functional muscles have the ability to lift heavier weight. Lifting heavier weight is what builds bigger, stronger muscles. So, being vegan doesn’t make you a stronger, better athlete, but it allows you to make yourself a stronger, better athlete. It allows you to work harder, and that’s what ultimately makes you a better athlete. It’s just facilitating your body’s ability to work harder, more efficiently."

"I don’t take any supplements or vitamins. I just eat really well. I used to take a lot of them and when I stopped, nothing bad happened so I just never started taking them again. I think it’s important for people to know they don’t "have" to take vitamins and supplements if they already have a good diet made up of whole, natural foods."

When asked about protein, he answered:

"Well I think quality is way more important than quantity. I’m 165 lbs, so I should, according to a conventional sports-nutrition book, eat about 165 grams of protein a day – and I don’t eat half that. The protein I get is from leafy greens, which is about 45% protein, pretty high, and hemp, a natural source of protein, as well as lentils, legumes, beans, peas, so it’s about quality. I get probably about 70 grams a day. "

When asked about how we can get enough calcium without dairy, he answered:

"There are much better sources. We’re not really meant to drink cow’s milk, it just doesn’t make sense, an adult human drinking something that was designed for a baby calf. It’s the wrong species eating this. It doesn’t digest well, it doesn’t help our bones. It’s not a coincidence that the top five countries with osteoporosis are also the top five dairy-consuming countries. The connection is pretty clear."

When asked what the top five foods are that he has in his kitchen at all times, he answered:

"Bananas, dates, hemp, a lot of greens for sure and carrots because they are pretty easy and tasty."

"Touring can be tricky; it definitely takes a bit of planning. Since I try to maintain a healthy diet while on the road, I make sure to take soy protein powder with me – it makes things much easier. I can just rely on local fruit, bread and rice – pretty easy to get anywhere. I've also learned how to make oatmeal, rice, and instant black bean soup in a coffee maker, which are in most hotel rooms. Oatmeal with soy protein and local fruit for breakfast, then rice mixed with black bean soup and a can of beans for dinner – fast, universally available, and cheap."

When asked about his Vega line of vegan foods he answered:

"The first ingredient in Vega is hemp. Hemp is a seed and it is harvested and pressed. What’s left is hemp oil and what is called ‘seed cake’, that is then milled. So, the change is pretty minimal in what you get from the seed and what goes into the powder in Vega. It stays intact – rice protein, pea protein is the same, maca is a root vegetable that is just dried and put in there."

"I first became vegan for health reasons, which for me translates to performance gains. Soon after I stopped eating meat I realized that there were many more reasons other than just health to be vegan. Aside from the health, environmental and animal welfare concerns, I also began to dislike the way in witch society views meat consumption. The slick marketing and complete removal of any thought that the ground-up, plastic wrapped piece of meat bought in a supermarket was recently an animal walking around in a field, not too different from your dog. Society makes contributing to killing an animal completely acceptable and anonymous, others do all the messy work (breeding, raising, killing) all you as the consumer has to do is walk into a friendly, clean supermarket in the shopping mall and buy a piece of meat wrapped with a cartoon picture of a smiling cow on it."

"I've always liked animals, not to the point of having any pets, but I have a 'coexist attitude' towards them. I live on the North Shore of Vancouver, which has several mountains and forest parks – where I run. I see many animals on a daily basis in their natural environment. Bears, cougars, deer, coyotes, all live near me – it's like I have pets but don't have to feed them, bath them, or pay any Vet bills!"

Quotes are from his 2005 interview with Bodybuilding.com and his 2008 interview with Animal Liberation, his 2009 interview with Jenna Weber on True/Slant and his 2010 interview with Silvie and Maryl.