Arnold Schwarzenegger is Vegan?

I recently watched a Netflix documentary called “The Game Changers”. It is about MMA fighter, James Wilks, who researched the best diet to heal quicker from his injuries he had acquired during his match. He tried out a plant-based diet, also known as a vegan diet, and found that he had more energy and was in better shape than before his injury. Throughout this documentary he interviews many professional athletes who are on a plant-based diet. These athletes include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olympic indoor bicyclist Dotsie Bausch, ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek, record holding weightlifter Patrik Baboumian, and many more.

The documentary argues that protein from plants are more valuable than animal-based protein and that humans were not made to eat meat at all given the rounded structure of our teeth. They also argued that research shows the early human Roman gladiators were primarily on a plant-based diet.

The documentary was quite intriguing, making it seem too good to be true. However, one strong criticism I have for this film is that the producers made it for male viewers, there were no studies on plant-based protein that involved women. Not to give it away, but there was a clip where they ran an “experiment” on three college male athletes and compared their penis size before and after being on a plant-based diet. The results showed that a plant-based diet increased the number of erections and size they had while asleep. To the male viewers this clip was all they really needed to watch in order to be persuaded that the plant-based diet is the answer for all their questions.

It was recently found that meat-based protein, such as whey protein found in milk, has a higher anabolic potential than plant-based proteins (Berrazaga et al., 2019). Therefore, more research is needed to determine the benefits of certain diets and that humans are probably omnivores (those who are on an animal and plant diet). Also, this leads us to a recurrent discussion that a balanced meal is just fine and that everything is best in moderation. So, enjoy both the delicious turkey and cranberry sauce today!

In conclusion, I recommend watching the documentary because it introduces interesting topics about plant-based diets however, we should not believe everything we watch and hear on television and continue to do your research.

Fun fact: My brother, an animal science major, taught me that the variability of meat tenderness (how easily meat is chewed or cut) is somewhat due to how the meat is hung. When a meat carcass is hung by its Achilles tendon (heels), the sarcomeres in the muscle fibers of the psoas major and quadricep muscles are not overlapping and lengthened, thus extended, making the meat more tender, also known as the filet mignon.

References:

Berrazaga, I., Micard, V., Gueugneau, M., & Walrand, S. (2019). The Role of the Anabolic Properties of Plant- versus Animal-Based Protein Sources in Supporting Muscle Mass Maintenance: A Critical Review. Nutrients, 11(8), 1825. doi:10.3390/nu11081825

The Game Changers full trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpglxHTJVM