David Haye's diet to prevent injuries
In April 2018 David Haye lost, to some unexpectedly, the rematch with Tony Bellew. After being knocked down in the fifth round, the fight was stopped. This could very well be the end of his career. To some, it looked like David Haye was fighting injured. A claim that David Haye himself denied after the fight. What’s for sure, is that Haye throughout his earlier career has been plagued by injuries, a problem which he tried to tackle by adopting a vegan and sirtfood-rich diet.
Veganism
In 2014, after a crippling shoulder injury, for which he almost gave up his boxing career, David Haye turned vegan. This new diet he adopted in part to tackle his proneness to injury. In February 2017 Haye told the Sun:
"I've had a plant-based diet for three years. It started when I was injured and was researching the best diets to heal muscles. All roads kept leading back to a plant-based diet …. I have a full-time chef and a good nutritionist who makes sure I get all the minerals and nutrients required, which isn't easy in a plant-based diet. I feel better than ever, I look and feel younger."
Sirtfood
Haye’s diet however isn’t simply vegan. He also makes sure the bulk of the foods are “Sirt-rich”. Sirt-rich foods are foods that are high in polyphenols which activate “sirtuins” Sirtuins are proteins that supposedly protect cells in the body from dying when they are under stress. They do this by regulating inflammation, metabolism and the aging process. Considering the body of an athlete like Haye's experiences a lot of stress, we can see how he expects to control his injury proneness with this diet.
To give you an idea, bbcgoodfood lists the following 10 foods as the ones who are most often included in a sirtfood diet:
Green tea
Dark chocolate
Apples
Citrus fruits
Parsley
Tumeric
Kale
Blueberries
Capers
Red wine
The Sirtfood Diet has been developed by David Haye's nutritionist Aidan Goggins and Glenn Matten, who wrote the book that Haye’s holding in the picture. (The Sirt food diet by A. Goggins and G. Matten). The diet is also popular with certain celebrities like Adele and Jodie Kidd, although this has more to do with the fat-burning properties of the diet.
