Thrive forward brendan brazier biography

Featuring a long-term eating plan that may help you achieve optimal health through stress-busting plant-based whole foods, this title includes: the best whole foods; over 100 easy-to-make recipes with raw food options that are wheat, gluten, soy, corn, refined sugar, and dairy free; and, an easy-to-follow exercise plan.[From: Goodreads.com]

The thrive diet is a long-term eating plan to help all athletes (professional or not) develop a lean body, sharp mind, and everlasting energy. As one of the few professional athletes on a plant-based diet, Brendan Brazier researched and developed this easy-to-follow program to enhance his performance as an elite endurance competitor.

Brazier clearly describes the benefits of nutrient-rich foods in their natural state versus processed foods, and how to choose nutritionally efficient, stress-busting whole foods for maximum energy and health. Featuring a 12-week meal plan, over 100 allergen-free recipes with raw food options — including recipes for energy gels, sport drinks, and recovery foods — and a complementary exercise plan, The Thrive Diet is “an authoritative guide to outstanding performance” (Neal D. Barnard, M.D., Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine). [From: Barnesandnoble.com]

Brendan Brazier is a professional Ironman triathlete, a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion, and the bestselling author of The Thrive Diet. Now, in an easy-to-apply system for everyone, he shares his groundbreaking approach to fitness and how you can gain maximum results in minimal time. Thrive Fitness isn’t simply a program; it’s a way of life. Whether you’re a time-crunched beginner or an experienced athlete.

Thrive Fitness is a real-world program that can easily fit into your busy schedule. To get you started on your new way of life, the book also features:

  – a complete 6-week rotational workout plan and training log
  – illustrated exercises with

The Thrive Diet

As I’ve started to learn more about vegetarian endurance athletes and their diets, I’ve noticed something interesting.  First, there is a disproportionate number of them; that is, the percentage of well-known endurance athletes who are vegetarian is much higher than the percentage of vegetarians in the general population.  While there could be other factors at work (perhaps being vegetarian makes one’s story more interesting and fame more likely), I tend to count this as evidence that this type of diet offers significant advantages to athletes.  What’s more, almost all of the vegetarian athletes are in fact vegan.

Brendan Brazier is one such example.  When I found about his book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, I knew it was one that I wanted to read, even though I have no intention of becoming a full-blown vegan.  My “to-read” list, however, is extremely difficult to tame, and it probably would have been a while before I got around to reading it, had Kelly from Sequel Naturals not sent me a copy to review.  Thanks Kelly!

(Update: I wrote this post when I first received Brendan’s products to review.  See my later complete review of Thrive, with sample recipes here.)

So far I’ve read only the introduction, but it’s gotten me so excited to read the rest.  Here’s what I love about it: the whole premise is that by eating plant-based, raw, alkalizing foods, you drastically reduce the emotional and physical stress that hinders your body’s ability to recover from exercise.  According to the intro, this way of eating can reduce stress levels by 40 percent!  Ever since learning at Tony Robbins’ seminar that what we eat plays an enormous role in our emotional state, I’ve been really intrigued by the idea of eating foods that reduce acid in the body to maximize energy, reduce stress, and improve mood.

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Brendan Brazier is one of only a few professional athletes in the world whose diet is 100 percent plant-based. He’s a professional Ironman triathlete, bestselling author on performance nutrition, and the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called VEGA. He is also a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion. Nominated in 2006 for the Manning Innovation Award, Canada’s most prestigious award for innovation, Brendan was shortlisted for the formulation of Vega. In 2006, Brendan also was invited to address US Congress on Capitol Hill, where he spoke of the significant social and economic benefits that could be achieved by improving personal health through better diet. The focus of his speech was to draw attention to the role that food plays in the prevention of most chronic diseases currently plaguing North Americans. In 2007 Brendan returned to Capital Hill to lobby against the Farm Bill and was named one of the most 25 Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews magazine. Brendan has become a renowned speaker and sought-after presenter throughout North America and the author of The Thrive Diet which became a Canadian bestseller within five months.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Caryn Hartglass: And we’ve got a great show today. Special guest Brendan Brazier, an amazing athlete. Before we get started with that, I just wanted to comment. I was listening to the last program while getting ready for this program. They were talking about fish and the dangerous state of our oceans and how the fish population is being depleted. But I didn’t entirely agree with some of the things that we should do. We can live without eating fish. We don’t need fish in our diet. We don’t need any animal food in our diet. People are concerned about getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. There’s a lot of news about that and we get a lot of sound bites, but we don’t get the right information. For

Canadian triathlete, publisher, writer, editor

Brendan Brazier (born March 1, 1975) is a Canadian former endurance athlete, author, advocate of a vegan diet, and creator of the Vega line of food products and supplements. Brazier is a former Ironman triathlete (1998 – 2004). He is the author of The Thrive Diet (2007), Thrive Fitness (2009), and Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health (2011).

Brazier was the winner of the Canadian 50k division of the Harriers Elk/Beaver National Ultramarathon Championships in 2003 and the 50 km division of the Toronto Ultra Race in 2006.

Brazier has promoted a vegan diet known as The Thrive Diet which promotes plant-based whole foods and recommends that foods be consumed raw or cooked at using only low temperatures.

Selected publications

• The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Lose Weight, Reduce Stress, and Stay Healthy for Life (17 December 2007) Da Capo Lifelong Books.
• Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life (23 December 2008) Da Capo Lifelong Books.
• Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness (8 December 2009) Da Capo Lifelong Books.
• Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health (6 September 2011) Da Capo Lifelong Books. Also, published as-
• Whole Foods to Thrive: Nutrient-Dense, Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health (May 10, 2011) Penguin Canada.
• Thrive Energy Cookbook: 150 Plant-Based Whole Food Recipes (4 March 2014) Da Capo Lifelong Books.
• Thrive Fitness, 2nd Edition: The Program for Peak Mental and Physical Strength—Fueled by Clean, Plant-based, Whole Food Recipes (29 December 2015) Da Capo Lifelong Books.
• Thrive, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Plant-Based Whole Foods Way to Staying Healthy for Life (14 February 20