Vegan Athletes Flex Their Muscles:
OrganicAthlete Conference
to Highlight Examples of Successful Vegan Athletes
June 17, 2005 — By OrganicAthlete
San Francisco, CA — In a recent interview Olympic track star Carl Lewis, who
was a vegan during his best years, says he believes that “most athletes have
the worst diet in the world, and they compete in spite of it.” Members of
OrganicAthlete’s “Vegan Pro-Activist” team are out to prove that that a
plant-based diet is the best diet for optimal health and performance and that
they can succeed at high levels in sports because they are vegan.
Many people are resistant about becoming vegan because of dietary myths like not
getting enough protein, but elite vegan athletes and health professionals are
participating in the 2005 OrganicAthlete Conference to dispel these myths.
Scheduled for September 24th, the goal of the conference is to share information
about the benefits of a plant-based diet.
“At first other athletes told me I should really start eating meat,” says
Brendan Brazier, a professional triathlete and vegan for 6 years. According to
Brazier, those same friends now realize, based on his outstanding athletic
example, that a vegan diet is optimal for high performance athletes.
The conference schedule includes talks from endurance athletes like Brazier and
Christine Vardaros, a world class cyclo-cross racer, who has risen to the top of
her sport as a vegan. But even in the protein-crazed sport of bodybuilding
vegans are finding success. Kenneth G. Williams, a bodybuilder who placed 3rd at
the 2004 Natural Olympia, and Charlie Abel, a raw vegan muscleman and personal
trainer, will both speak at the event.
Leading nutritionists Dr. Doug Graham, Rozalind Gruben, Dr. Ruth Heidrich and
Dr. Rick Dina will join the athletes in explaining the science of vegan
nutrition. Dr. Graham, who has trained many Olympic caliber athletes, explains:
“Every nutrient known to be essential for human health is available, in proper
concentration, in plant foods. This is not so with animal-based foods, as there
are many essential nutrients totally absent in them.”
The conference will be held at Sports Basement’s Presidio store. The $65 fee
includes all educational seminars, food demos, training sessions, lunch and a
gift certificate to Sports Basement. The World Vegetarian Day Celebration will
be held the following day in Golden Gate Park. For more information about the
OrganicAthlete conference, visit www.organicathlete.org/conference
or call 707-360-8511.
For more information, contact:
Bradley Saul
President
OrganicAthlete
Telephone: 707-360-8511
Email: bradley@organicathlete.org
Website: www.organicathlete.org