Virat Kohli Says He Eats A 90% Vegan Diet

Virat Kohli is one of the fittest athletes in the world, and guess what powers him? Plants! In an interview with YouTuber Kamiya Jani of Curly Tales, he sat down for brunch and spoke at length about his diet and fitness.

Kohli said that he’s been vegetarian for two years, and that his diet is 90% free from animal protein and dairy. What’s he into? Superfood salads! He said that it’s one of the best ways to get in nutrition while keeping things light.

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A post shared by Vegan First (@veganfirst_daily) on Nov 13, 2019 at 11:44pm PST

Kohli made the switch for health reasons – he was a heavy meat eater which made his body acidic, to the extent that his stomach started pulling calcium from his bones, making him weak. After switching to his largely plant-based diet, he says he’s never felt better and that he has more energy.

He’s not the only athlete leaning towards a plant-based diet: Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri followed in his footsteps and adopted a vegan diet, and he claims it has upped his energy levels and made him lighter without losing muscle mass.  Initially, Chhetri thought age was catching up with him, which is why he was tiring on the pitch. But a doctor advised him to give up meat and dairy to see a real change – and he did. In an interview to Mint Lounge, he said  “After eight weeks, I realized I should have started this a long time back. The concept of global warming, killing animals, etc., came later. I started this because I wanted to be healthier on the pitch. This is one of the best things I have done in my life."

Hundreds of international athletes have also made the switch, from Lewis Hamilton and Novak Djokovic to weightlifter Patrick Baboumian and cyclist Dotsie Bausch. All of them have been featured in the documentary The Game Changers, an eye-opening film about plant-based nutrition and elite athletes. The film has created massive buzz globally, and Kohli himself tweeted about it, adding that it busts many of the myths we’ve been fed about meat.

One of the most telling moments of the film is where athletes blood samples are compared after a vegan meal and after a meat-based meal. The plasma runs clear for the vegan sample, as opposed to a cloudy plasma extracted after a meat heavy meal.

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What was your reaction to this scene? Sum it up with ONE WORD in the comments!???? . . Then TAG someone who needs to meet #TeamGameChangers! And remember to RATE the film on Netflix, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDB. ????

A post shared by The Game Changers (@gamechangersmovie) on Oct 23, 2019 at 7:10am PDT

Of course, there are some concerns, with regards to protein, Vitamin B12 and calcium. But the film highlights how there are enough sources for all of them in the plant world, from legumes to grains to leafy greens. All that stuff about meat and eggs being the only way to get fit and build muscle? It’s just marketing, says the film.

Saw game changers on Netflix. Being a vegetarian athlete has made me realise what I have believed all these years regarding diet was a myth. What an amazing documentary and yes I’ve never felt better in my life after I turned vegetarian.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 23, 2019

The proof is clearly there for everyone to see – Hamilton just clinched his 6^th World Championship and cricket fans can attest to the fact that Kohli is sharper, faster and fitter than ever before. (He is the fastest cricketer to hit 10k ODI runs, remember?) So if it’s good enough to fuel the world’s top athletes, it’s safe to say it’ll work wonders for us, too. The future is vegan!