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Cam Newton's Vegan Diet: Should he stay if he remains a vegan?

hepcat

By hepcat,
in Carolina Panthers

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KaseKlosed Collaborator

KaseKlosed

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5 hours ago, hepcat said:

In this thread, I would like to address one of the elephant's in the room concerning Cam Newton's possible return to the Panthers in 2020 - his diet.

The Observer wrote an extensive article about his diet change and possible impacts to his performance back in September. 

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article235295427.html

Cam Newton began a vegan diet in February 2019. Since then, a visibly much lighter Cam Newton played in 2 regular season games, both defeats. Could his vegan diet be to blame for these struggles?

Many experts say yes.

Vegan diets lead to nutritional deficiencies and also require "overcompensating" to get enough calories and protein, claims one expert.

A big part of Cam Newton's game has always been physical and based on power. Aside from impacting his athletic performance, dropping that kind of weight can throw the body out of balance and causes problems, another expert claims.

Could this have been the reason the coaches did not give Cam Newton the ball on the goal line at the end of the game against the Bucs in Week 2? Cam Newton should have been able to power his way through for a 1 yard TD as he has done more times than we can remember. It used to be a sure thing. 

Other players have had noted struggles with switching to a Vegan diet. 

Even the Panthers other well-known Vegan struggled with it.

Not only does a Vegan diet impact athletic performance, it can slow the bodies ability to heal from injuries.

And it can even reduce pre-existing muscle mass, which could create a long term impacts to performance.

Newton was reportedly "frustrated" with how slow the rehab process on his foot injury was progressing. His diet could have played a major role in that frustration.

Could returning to a pescatarian diet help Cam Newton's recovery? Most experts say yes.

This was overall a well-researched article on the impact of a vegan diet on a professional athlete.

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Personally, I do not want Cam Newton to return to the Panthers if he decides to remain on his vegan diet. I believe the proof is in the pudding. Cam Newton had missed a grand total of 5 games out of 128 possible starts through 2018. In 2019, after starting his vegan diet, he had obviously lost significant muscle mass, and he missed 14 games, by far the most in his career.

Could the foot injury have resulted in the same number of games missed if Cam was still eating a pescatarian diet? It's possible. But the evidence is clear - his diet did him no favors.

I have no problems with regular everyday people being a vegan. But a professional NFL player has different nutritional needs that a vegan diet may not be able to provide.

Tony Gonzales was a Vegan. Was he a good enough player for you? 

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hepcat Grand Master

hepcat

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1 minute ago, KaseKlosed said:

Tony Gonzales was a Vegan. Was he a good enough player for you? 

It would be better if before responding, you actually read the article. 

Quote

Perhaps most notably, back in 2007, Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez went vegan in an attempt to live a healthier lifestyle. According to the Wall Street Journal, three weeks after adopting the diet, he walked into the Kansas City Chiefs training facility and was met with a shock:

“The 100-pound dumbbells he used to easily throw around felt like lead weights,” the article says. “’I was scared out of my mind,’ (Gonzalez) says. Standing on the scale, he learned he’d lost 10 pounds.”

Gonzalez ended up adding small amounts of animal protein back to his diet, which helped him re-gain his strength while maintaining the additional energy his vegan diet provided.

He wasn't 100% vegan.

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hepcat Grand Master

hepcat

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5 minutes ago, KaseKlosed said:

Gorillas disagree with you. So do elephants. Both vegan 

Humans have different nutritional needs than gorillas or elephants. The human brain evolved into what it is today because we started eating meat. If you'd rather eat and live like a gorilla, more power to you.

 

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