4 weird sports celebrity diets: Tom Brady doesn’t eat tomatoes, Arnold Schwarzenegger puts tequila in his protein shakes, NFL’s Aaron Rodgers takes laxatives and Venus Williams went raw vegan
- At 45, Tom Brady has stunned American football fans by continuing to play at the highest level – something he puts down to his refusal to eat tomatoes or aubergine, among other things
- At 38, fellow NFL star Aaron Rodgers’ 12-day diet cleanses are also pretty odd, since they involve eating butter, taking laxatives and avoiding sex – do any of their methods work?
When your body is your livelihood – as it is for many sports people – it’s only natural that you’d want to tweak elements of your diet to reach peak performance. But for some, simply sticking to a balanced diet isn’t enough. These celebrity sports stars decided to take things to extremes – and scientists and health experts don’t always agree with their methods …
1. Aaron Rodgers’ cleanse involves warm ghee in the morning and laxatives at night
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he cut out sugar, sex and alcohol, and instead consumed warm butter and laxatives, as part of an intensive 12-day cleanse.
Called a Panchakarma, the practice has its origins in Ayurveda, a traditional healing practice from India, and is meant to heal the body and mind.
The basic structure of the cleanse involves drinking warm clarified butter or ghee in the morning to “lubricate” the system, and having laxative tea at night to “detox”, according to the Ayurvedic Institute. Practitioners are also encouraged to eat only specific foods like rice and mung beans, and avoid cold food and drinks. In some cases, the process may involve “therapeutic vomiting”, enemas and bloodletting.
There are no evidence-based health benefits to the practice, according to experts writing in a 2009 study. Your body naturally completes any detoxification necessary through your liver and kidney, and supplements claiming to help cleanse often don’t work or, worse, do more harm than good, leading to dehydration or digestive issues.