The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Faith Dawson just outed Salim Stoudamire as a vegan:
Q: Why did you become a vegan?
A: I've always wanted to be one because of health, but I never wanted to go eat by myself or have people talk about me. But I finally reached a point where I just didn't care what other people thought, and I didn't have a problem with eating alone.
Q: None of your teammates goes with you?
A: They don't eat like I do. They look at my food and are disgusted. [They're] like, what's that, what's that?
Q: Did you lose weight after you became a vegan?
A: I lost 3 pounds, and I'm in better condition. My endurance has gone up, and I haven't gotten tired at all during the whole season.
Q: So this wasn't prompted by animal rights?
A: Sort of. I don't think you should eat something that had a mother. I don't think that's right.
Q: The Hawks Media Guide says your favorite food is macaroni and cheese. Explain.
A: It used to be! Not anymore.
This is the truth: I went to a nutritional doctor a while ago for a genetic skin condition (that, thankfully, I only have mildly). He gave me specific, nuanced instructions that could be crudely summed up as: eat TONS of vegetables, fruit, greens, beans, nuts etc. What little food I eat beyond that is pretty much whatever I want. But it's safe to say I don't eat much meat, oil, refined sugar and the like. (Full disclosure: that doctor later became a client, and my company helped him set up and run his blog, although I swear to you neither he nor I make any money from your purchasing lettuce.)
But, I'm telling you: all those veggies have helped my skin somewhat, but do amazing things for my basketball game. I essentially never get tired, as Stoudamire reports. Sadly, it hasn't help my ball-handling any, but I have certainly became much more of a pain to guard because I have a lot of energy. And at the end of games, when everyone is not jumping as high, I now get a ton more points in the paint and rebounds. And I don't get sick very often. I can't shake the feeling that more athletes should try eating this way. Some do.