- Tom Brady said he follows the 80/20 rule, meaning 80% of his plate is plant-based and 20% is meat.
- This is one of Brady's lifestyle habits that have allowed him to play in the NFL at the age of 44.
- Nutritionists say that following the 80/20 rule might be even healthier than being a full vegan.
Tom Brady follows the 80/20 rule — meaning 80% of his dish is plant-based, made up of vegetables or rice and grains, and the other 20% is made up of leane protein, like wild-caught fish or organic chicken.
Brady, who is currently leading the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns at the age of 44, uses this diet to stay fit as he gets older, according to a post on his personal wellness brand TB12.
Veganism is known to offer health benefits like improvements to gut health, reduced inflammation, and lowered risk of certain diseases, according to the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.
But it can cause complications as well. For one, it makes getting dependable sources of protein more difficult, it can deprive the body of vitamins like calcium and iron. In extreme circumstances over time, vegans who do not have a healthy balance of vitamins in their diet can have an increased the risk of stroke, according to WebMD.
Brady's strategy of adding 20% meat and fish into his diet is one very effective tactic to remedy many of these risks, registered dietitian Alix Turoff told Insider. It creates a healthy compromise that results in most of the benefits of veganism with fewer drawbacks and less arduous planning.
Dietitians agree that the 80/20 rule might be healthier than regular veganism
Turoff said she generally doesn't recommend veganism to her clients because it's difficult to eat healthy while vegan and get good sources of protein.
Brady's approach is a good one, Turoff said, because it is an easy way to incorporate that benefits of some animal-based protein while still emphasizing vegetables and plant-based carbs as the main source of calories and nutrients.
"I think we can all agree that adding more plants to our diet is always a good idea but that doesn't mean being full plant based is necessary," Turoff told Insider. "Especially for someone like Tom Brady who's protein needs are going to be very high with his activity level!"
Kris Solid, a registered dietitian who is also the senior director of nutrition communications at the International Food Information Council, said that people should generally try to include more plant-based foods into their diet, but a diet of only plants isn't necessarily healthier than a diet that includes meat and fish as well.
Solid classifies Brady's diet as a "flexitarian diet" which is a semi-vegetarian, plant-forward diet that incorporates dairy and eggs and allows room for meat from time to time.
"The emphasis on plant foods is thought to contribute to the health benefits associated with a vegetarian diet without requiring compliance to a 100% vegetarian or vegan diet," Solid told Insider. "A flexitarian diet, as its name implies, allows for flexibility while striving to slowly increasing fruit and vegetable intake over time without eliminating animal foods."