Plant Chat: Brendan Brazier, author of Thrive Energy Cookbook

Brendan Brazier is a former professional Ironman triathlete and two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion. He is now a successful performance nutrition consultant, bestselling author of the Thrive book series, formulator of the award-winning line of plant-based Vega nutritional products and creator of Thrive Forward, an online video series designed to inspire and educate people about plant-based nutrition. For more information, please visit www.brendanbrazier.com and follow Brendan on Twitter.

What inspired you to become a plant-based eater? Was it a difficult transition?

Some foods are best eaten as fuel, others are ideally consumed to aid in post-workout recovery. In the competitive sports world, knowing the difference between what different foods can do for your body can mean the difference between success and failure. I realized that I wanted to gain something (or get something in return) from everything I ate—whether it was more energy, inflammation reduction, greater recovery rate, a deep sleep, or building lean, functional muscle. Eating with purpose and mindfulness thus became an integral part of my training, and therefore my daily life. I realized what I was getting from my diet was far-reaching holistic progress. I was healing myself and making myself better in every way through changing what types of foods I ate. The positive impact of changing my diet to plant-based has been immense. In terms of a transition, the key is to start slow and ease into it and eliminate certain factors one by one.

How has a plant-based diet helped your physical performance as a triathlete?

The plant-based foods and products are much easier to digest. The less energy I spend digesting my food, the more energy I have to use as fuel, thus enhancing my performance. This applies to all people who do all sorts of activities. In addition, race day adrenaline reduces digestive strength, thus fuel coming from food during your workout is crucial to sustained endurance.

What types of recipes can we find in the Thrive Energy Cookbook?

You can find recipes filled with plant-based, whole foods. The recipes are easy to make, colorful, and full of vibrant flavor. The recipes are functional, which means that each ingredient has a nutritional purpose. All recipes are labeled either with one or several colored symbols: Transition, Raw, Gluten-Free, Protein Rich, Super Nutrient-Dense.

Recipes consist of vegetables, pseudo grains (buckwheat, millet, quinoa), legumes, seeds, fruit, (healthy) oils, nuts, grains, flours, and (natural) sweeteners.

What is the fundamental key to your “Thrive” diet philosophy?

Three overarching nutritional objectives form the core of the philosophy:

High-net-gain nutrition: deliver energy by way of conservation rather than consumption.  Net energy gain = energy remaining once digestive energy has been spent. In layman’s terms, the less energy spent on digestion (and digesting processed foods takes A LOT of energy), the more energy you’ll have (for better performance). Thus, foods that require little digestive energy but yield a healthy dose of micronutrients are high-net-gain foods.

Alkaline-forming foods:  the measure of acidity is called pH, and maintaining your pH level in the body is an important part of achieving and sustaining peak health. If pH drops, it adversely affects our health at the cellular level. Over time, this can harm your immune system, opening the door to a host of illnesses. So – consume more alkaline forming foods and fewer acid=forming ones. Foods with greater nutrient density will inherently have a greater alkaline forming effect.

Elimination of biological debt: Biological debt refers to the unfortunate energy-depleted state that Americans frequently find themselves in. Often brought about by eating refined sugar or drinking coffee to gain short-term energy, biological debt is the ensuing energy crash. When we use nutrient-dense whole food rather than fleeting pick-me-ups as our source of energy, our adrenals will not be stimulated, and simultaneously, our sustainable energy level will rise because of the acquired nutrients. Energy derived from good nutrition is cost-free energy that does not rely on adrenal gland stimulation.

I love the idea of transitional recipes. What makes these recipes different from other recipes?

Transitional recipes help those new to this way of eating make the switch as seamlessly as possible. Transitions are good, as utilizing this period means that a new way of eating is much more likely to become a habit.

What tips or recommendations do you have for athletes following or preparing to follow a vegan diet?

Approach your diet like you do your workout. Have a purpose-and-intent mindset and evaluate what you eat. Consider how your diet affects your training and whether it is mindful. Ask yourself some questions. When you eat, what do you hope to get in return? More energy? Inflammation reduction? Increase rate of recovery? Ability to get a deep, restorative, sleep? Build lean, functional muscle? In my book there is a sport-specific section with recipes formulated specifically to help you prepare for, sustain, and recover from a workout. Intentioned eating advanced my rate of improvement in leaps and bounds, and can do the same for you and your training.