Oct 14, 2020Vegan Diet “Better Lifestyle Football-Wise” for Iowa OL
You can add University of Iowa offensive lineman Alaric Jackson to the growing list of high-level athletes making a commitment to a vegan diet.
The six-foot-six, 315-pound lineman recently opened up about his change in diet at a media conference last week, as highlighted by The Beet.
When Jackson was asked about his vegan diet, he downplayed the switch, “Nothing really crazy. It’s just that I think it’s better to have this lifestyle football-wise. That’s all. I don’t think it’s unusual or anything. I’m just eating [other] food instead of eating meat.”
He traded in red meat and dairy for beans, legumes, vegetables, and plant-based proteins and, as a result, his weight has stayed roughly the same.
“I’m still 320 pounds, nothing has changed,’’ he said in the conference, “I just lost some body fat.”
Before making the change in diet, he consulted with his coaches and the strength and conditioning staff to get support from the weight training side of things.
“From our perspective, we’re just trying to help him and coach him to make sure it works in the realm of the sport of football,” said Raimond Braithwaite, the interim strength and conditioning coordinator. “It was something that was important to Alaric, so [although] it is a challenge, it is doable.’’
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Iowa’s offensive line coach Tim Polasek also supported his diet change, saying, “He seems quick. His movements are more sudden. And, I see a change in him in the morning when we practice. He seems to have a little more energy, so maybe there is something to it.”
Jackson, who has aspirations of playing professional football on Sundays, will join other high-level athletes in making the switch to a vegan lifestyle, including New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton, Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, Olympic gold medal winner Alex Morgan, tennis legend Venus Williams, among many more.
To read the full story from The Beet on Jackson’s switch to a plant-based diet, click here.
