At 41 years old, Tom Brady is considered old for an NFL quarterback, but this “old man” is playing in his second straight Super Bowl and appearing in the championship game for the ninth time in his career. Some may wonder how Brady can compete at such a high level when most players his age are retired. He credits some of his longevity to his anti-inflammatory diet, but science says his diet is not backed by fact.
Brady details the strict diet in his book, The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance. The diet consists of 80 percent alkalizing foods and 20 percent acidifying foods. Brady writes in his book that alkaline foods lower his pH level and can help with problems such as boosting low energy and preventing bone fractures. Something Brady neglects to acknowledge is science. The lungs and kidneys are what balance the body’s pH levels.
According to Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, it is next to impossible to change blood pH with diet. “There’s zero foundation for the notion that alkaline and acid foods [are] able to do anything to your body,” he said to Vox.
Although there is no scientific evidence to support Brady’s restrictive diet, it does not stop him from believing it is the reason he is still in playing shape.
“The regimen I follow is a mix of Eastern and Western philosophies.” Brady told Men’s Health. “Some of these principles have been around for thousands of years. My nutritional regimen may seem restrictive to some people, but to me it feels unnatural to eat any other way.”
Brady continues by criticizing white or pale looking foods including chicken nuggets, potato chips and French fries. He says that you cannot find these things in nature and that is why they are not good for you, so it comes as no surprise that Brady’s diet focuses on organic and plant-based foods.
Brady claims to drink between 12 to 25 glasses of water a day, often infused with TB12 branded electrolytes. He doesn’t eat his protein with starchy foods like potatoes or bread and stays away from coffee and caffeine. It seems as the list of foods Brady cannot eat is longer than the foods he can eat. He avoids alcohol, gluten, cereal, dairy, foods with high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, sugar, artificial sweeteners, juice and grains. The most fascinating fact of all may be that Brady has never eaten a strawberry.
While there is a big emphasis on vegetables- Brady says that 80 percent of his family’s diet contains vegetables- he still has restrictions on the food group. Namely he doesn’t eat “nightshade” vegetables. Nightshade vegetables are considered inflammatory, which is a big no-no in Brady’s method. This means tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and potatoes are not allowed in the athlete’s diet.
The Arthritis Foundation says that it is a myth that nightshade vegetables cause inflammation. While nutritionist Lauren Harris-Pincus says, “tomatoes are high in lycopene, which prevents prostate cancer, so leading men away from eating tomatoes does them a disservice.”
Brady is not the only person subscribing to his methodology. His wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, also follows the strict diet. Their children follow a more relaxed version of the diet. Other professional athletes including NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins and NHL player Mark Scheifele have started following the lead of Brady.
While his diet is heavily debated, it is clear that his lifestyle has helped prolong his NFL career and could help him get his sixth Super Bowl ring and keep him in the game for a few more seasons.