In 2011 Venus Williams was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome,
an autoimmune disease in which inflammation progressively
damages the moisture-producing glands of the body
and symptoms range from dry mouth, skin and eyes
to a chronic cough, numbness in the arms and legs,
extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pains, and thyroid problems.
When talking about her illness Venus said 'I couldn't raise
my arm over my head, the racket felt like concrete.
I had no feelings in my hands. They were swollen and itchy
I would go to the doctor and start crying. I couldn't help it.
The fatigue is hard to explain unless you have it.
Some mornings I feel really sick, like
when you don’t get a lot of sleep or
you have a flu or cold.
I always had some level of tiredness.
and the more I tried to push through it, the tougher it got
the fatigue can be so heavy that sitting in a chair is a huge effort”
There's said to be no known cure for this autoimmune disease
and Venus’ tennis career almost came to a grinding halt.
In 2011 she ended the year ranked 102 in the world.
However she then drastically changed
her diet and began following a vegan diet
this is when everything started to change.
By 2015 Venus was back up to 7th in the world
and in 2017 at the age of 36
she reached the Australian open final.
When asked about her plant based diet she said
“I fell in love with the concept of fueling your
body in the best way possible.
Not only does it help me on the court,
but I feel like I’m doing the right thing for me.
It definitely changed my whole life.
It changed the pace that I live at.
It changed everything.
I always tell people that you have to enjoy
what you’re eating.
If you’re eating a plant-based diet or a mixture of one,
make sure you’re eating something you like.
Find a restaurant, recipes, or join a community
that way you can learn and enjoy your food.
When you’re doing the right things,
and you’re eating plants,
and you’re eating live foods,
it helps you in your life.
I think you feel more energized and you feel more positive."
Here’s what Venus typically eats in a day
For breakfast its normally a green juice,
a protein smoothie, or some fruit.
She says she does lot of juicing and wheat grass shots.
Sometimes she may treat herself to some granola with almond milk.
lunch is typically her biggest meal of the day
where she eats lentils, quinoa,
and a strawberry smoothie with protein powder
or other days she’ll have sweet potatoes,
green beans, cabbage, and soba noodles.
Her go-to snacks are green juice
and kale chips or dates and cashews.
When she craves sweets she’ll have what
she calls ‘orange creamsicle smoothie,
made from almond milk, oranges, banana,
vanilla and coconut oil or
a pineapple, orange, and strawberry juice.
Dinner is typically a large salad.
On match days she will eat a large
breakfast of fried rice
then later on after her pre match
warm-up she has sweet potatoes and rice.
For energy on court she takes pre-mixed
energy drinks made of organic
coconut water and pineapple juice.
Post-match Venus tends to refuel
with lots of water with electrolyte powder
and then more sweet potatoes, rice,
and barbecue tofu.
To find out more about how a plant based diet
can help treat autoimmune diseases
click on the link above to watch this video.