Naturally Speaking

Told from the onset that a plant-based diet wouldn’t cut it on the professional Ironman circuit, Brendan Brazier’s nutritional journey began with unpromising results. Several months of chronic hunger, the need to constantly eat and a decline in energy culminated in a decline in athletic performance.
Brendan’s stubborn curiosity persevered however, and after many years of research, trials and tribulations, he created a plant-based whole food diet that worked better than he had ever expected. Since then, Brendan has become one of the top professional Ironman triathletes, crediting his diet for his success competing in one of the world’s most demanding sports.
For years Brendan has packed plant-based whole foods into a daily blended shake to supply his body with premium fuel in liquid form for easy digestion. It worked great at home but when he traveled it became troublesome dragging around a blender and shopping for or packing along his favourite whole foods. Brendan began searching for a convenient healthy, plant-based whole food meal replacement but was disappointed in his findings.
He found most meal replacements on the market were whey protein based – off limits for a vegan. Though some vegetarian options existed, they were all soy protein based, an ingredient Brendan was trying to cut back on due to concerns regarding GMO’s and phytoestrogens. All meal replacements he found were deficient in essential fatty acids, especially Omega 3’s and most contained large quantities of low quality carbohydrates (eg. maltodextrin), artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners.

Brendan realized there was a need for a meal replacement that did not compromise food quality for convenience. He approached several nutritional supplement manufacturers but everyone told him it wouldn’t work – “you can’t put whole foods into a commercial meal replacement”, they said, “too short a shelf life, low product demand, poor taste and texture, too high a cost” they said. There were too many negatives and not enough positives to warrant such a product. So Brendan put his idea on the back burner and continued to lug his trusty blender and cooler full of whole foods wherever he traveled…
A couple of years later, Brendan was struck by a car while training on his bike and injured his leg. Told by his doctor to take 6 months off from training and competing, Brendan sought alternative options. He underwent intense physiotherapy and began taking a product his naturopath recommended called ChlorEssence, hoping the high level of growth factors in it would help heal his injury. At the same time, Brendan also began taking a supplement called MacaSure, for adrenal support, helping him deal with the physical and emotional stress of his injury.

Within 8 weeks of rehabilitation, all the while taking 10g of ChlorEssence and 10g of MacaSure a day, Brendan made a full recovery. Though he was not in his top form, remarkably, he was able to compete professionally again – participating in the Ironman Canada triathlon event and finishing the grueling race despite his recent injury. Brendan was so pleased with his rapid recovery that he contacted Sequel Naturals, makers of ChlorEssence and MacaSure, and shared his success story with Charles Chang, President of Sequel Naturals.

Brendan and Charles also discussed the concept of producing a complete whole food meal replacement that was made from 100% plant-based ingredients. Only now, Brendan wanted to have a full dose of ChlorEssence and MacaSure in every serving of this meal replacement as well. Charles was intrigued by the passion of this young athlete and he loved the idea of the whole food meal replacement. Aware of the many challenges that developing such a product would present, Charles was confident that together they would be able to overcome them.
After a year of product formulation and testing, Vega is a replica of Brendan’s favorite shake. All the ingredients in Vega were chosen by Brendan to work synergistically to nourish the body and reduce nutritional stress. And now Brendan doesn’t have to lug his old blender with him when he travels anymore.

Naturally Savvy ’s Interview with Brendan Brazier

Q: What first got you interested in nutrition?

A: When I was 15 years old I decided that I wanted to be a professional athlete. I enjoyed swimming, biking and running, so I figured making a living as a triathlete would be ideal. I knew to even have a chance at this professional I’d have to train an incredible amount - up to 40 hours per week - in some cases.

I began researching the training programs of the world’s best Ironman triathletes and compared them to the average triathletes programs to see what then made some athlete’s world class and others only average. I found that there was little difference between the two programs. So I realized if it wasn’t the training that helped their performance, it must have been all about their recovery. The faster the athlete could recover from his or her training, the sooner s/he could train again, therefore increasing the rate at witch results transpired. Through my research I learned a huge part of recovery had to do with diet. The more complete the diet, the faster the improvement. That’s what got me interested in learning about nutrition and athletic performance. I wanted optimum health and vitality to afford me the lifestyle I wanted. Attention to dietary needs through whole food nutrition was the way I achieved it.

Q: Why did you develop Vega Whole Food Meal Replacement, Vega Whole food Energy Bars and most recently, Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion?

A: Soon after I discovered the value of optimal nutrition and the vitality that could come with it, I began experimenting with several diets. I tried them all. Eventually I settled on a 100% plant-based one. At first, it didn’t work. I was constantly hungry, had little energy and was not recovering quickly. As I found through research, I was lacking several key nutritional components such as: high quality, complete protein, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, calcium and vitamin B12. From that point I made a blender drink each day that combined all of these nutrients from high-quality plant-based sources and it worked. And so began my professional Ironman triathlon (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run) career and I raced Pro for six years - from 1998 to 2004.

Over the years my original blender drink evolved and my recovery rate continued to improve. I learned that not only was my blender dink providing me with the fuel I needed to train and recover; it was also helping me to reduce nutritional stress. Of course stress is universal. The number one reason for the average North American’s ailing health is due to an elevated level of stress. Beginning with a lack of energy, sleepless nights, sugar cravings and weight gain, if untreated stress can become chronic and several serious diseases can arise.

Reducing nutritional stress is a simple, yet effective way to help reduce overall stress and therefore eliminate symptoms caused by it and stopping major health problems before they can develop.

Vega Whole Food Meal Replacement is a replica of my original blender drink formula. Per serving it contains 25g of protein, 9g of fiber, 7g of EFAs (3.5 of omega 3), probiotics, enzymes, 2.5g of each maca and chlorella as well as antioxidant complex from berries.

Vega Whole Foods Energy Bars are also a replica of raw bars that I made for myself for years. I began making them because nothing on the market was made from natural whole food sources the digested easily.

Vega Whole Foods Smoothie Infusion is a more basic formula that “infuses” any smoothie with complete protein, omega 3 fatty acids, fiber and greens. We launched it to help people incorporate healthy whole foods into their diet without necessarily realizing it. Infusion takes on the flavor of the fruit it’s blended with, making it universally appealing and an excellent way for people to transition to a healthier diet while enjoying a daily fruit smoothie.

Q: I understand that you diet is 100% plant-based, why is that?

A: I feel that done correctly a plant-based diet is one that can provide optimal health, vitality and performance both physically and mentally. While I realize that not everyone will make the commitment to eating a 100% plant-based diet, there are elements that anyone can incorporate into their existing diet, without making a sacrifice. Plus, the gains from even one snack or one meal per day being from whole food, plant-based sources will make a noticeable difference within only a few weeks. Greater energy, better sleep quality and fewer sugar / starch cravings are usually the first benefits to be appreciated.

Q: As an elite athlete who’s vegan (someone who abstains from all animal products), how do you get all the nutrition you need? And do you think they others can benefit for your dietary experience?

A: Simply by eating a variety of whole foods each day including a serving of Vega Whole Food Meal Replacement. My diet is a simple, clean and healthy one. A person with a healthy diet inevitably translates into a healthier person. Healthier people have more energy, are leaner, and don’t get sick as often. It’s a great diet for anyone, even if just a few elements of it are introduced one at a time. Transitioning slowly to allow your body to cleanse is a good idea. This way of eating does not treat the symptoms; but rather the cause. Therefore the results have a much greater chance of becoming permanent.

Q: What inspired you to write your latest book, The Thrive Diet?

A: It’s been a long time in the making. I wanted to share the information I found works exceptionally well for me as an athlete with others. But, also being a busy person who doesn’t have time for downtime, I felt that many others in a similar situation could benefit from my experience and research findings.

Q: Briefly, what’s The Thrive Diet About?

A: I make the case that excess stress is the root cause for most diseases, cravings, poor sleep quality, fatigue, signs of premature aging and even obesity. Its reduction can have a profound affect on vitality as a whole. Eating mostly raw plant-based whole foods in place of standard refined food can help to reduce biological workload and therefore decrease stress and its debilitating affects.
It’s classified as a diet book, but is really a lifestyle program. It includes 100 balanced whole foods and plant-based recipes that are all free of common allergens such as wheat, gluten, soy and corn. It also includes a sport-specific section compete with recipes for sport drinks, energy gels and post exercise recovery smoothies.
It’s not an all or nothing program. Incorporating as much or as little of the program as you feel comfortable with to best suit your lifestyle is a good approach. The Thrive Diet is about progression, not perfection. Even small dietary changes can lead to meaningful, lasting results.

The Thrive Diet also includes a chapter that addresses the huge environmental strain of food production and delivery. In fact, food production and its transportation is the number-one draw on fossil fuel, more so than any other industry. Therefore it is the greatest contributor to artificial global warming. “The Thrive Diet for a Healthy Environment” chapter explains how we can significantly reduce our personal appetite for fossil fuel by shifting to a plant-based diet.

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from The Thrive Diet book?

A: Empowerment! Each of us has the ability to take our heath into our own hands. The Thrive Diet supplies the information; from there anyone can apply it for meaningful change.