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8 terrible health tips from Tom Brady

Tom Brady sells health advice, supplements, and his book, called "The TB12 Method" on his TB12 website. But don't buy all of his tips.

  • Tom Brady has lots to say about diet and fitness — he published a book detailing what he calls "The TB12 Method" and sells products online.
  • But there's very little scientific evidence for many of the claims that Brady makes.
  • Following the basics principles of Brady's diet would help most people be healthy, but many of his specific instructions are too restrictive.
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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is in many ways a paradigm of health. After all, he's still playing professional football at age 40.

But that doesn't mean you should follow his health advice.

Brady sells health and nutrition guidance, supplements, products, and his book (called "The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance") on his TB12 website.

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In general, Brady's food choices seem very healthy. He reportedly eats mostly plants and lean proteins, while avoiding processed food and alcohol, which makes for an extremely responsible diet.

But some of the claims Brady makes about eating, nutrition, and even some aspects of fitness get into sketchy and misleading territory. There's no scientific evidence whatsoever to support many of the things he's talked about in the book and in interviews. And certain rules Brady follows could be considered harmful for some people.

Here are some of the silliest claims about diet and fitness that Brady makes.

Brady advocates for drinking an unnecessary and potentially dangerous amount of water — which he claims helps him avoid sunburns.

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Brady has said he avoids caffeine and has never tried coffee.

There's nothing wrong with avoiding coffee if you don't like it. But that's certainly not a requirement for being healthy.

Many of Brady's dietary choices are based on the idea of an "alkaline" diet.

Brady subscribes to the belief that you can control your body's pH (acidity) based on what you eat. So part of his diet rationale is to avoid "acidifying foods." In his book, Brady argues that doing this improves bone health, boosts energy, and fights inflammation.

But studies indicate that this isn't the case. Asone review of researchon "alkaline diets" points out, most experiments conducted so far have found that youcan'talter blood pH in a significant way with diet. In fact, As Mayo Clinic sports performance expertMichael Joyner told Vox, "If you actually eat a bunch of baking soda — even if you do that — you don't change [the pH level] that much."

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The review also notes that "there is almost no actual research to either support or disprove" the idea that controlling your body's pH will fight off disease and improve bone health.

Brady avoids "nightshade" vegetables (and throws additional foods under that umbrella as well).

Brady's personal chef Allen Campbell has reported that the quarterback avoids "nightshade" vegetables, a category that includes tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Brady seems to steer clear of these items either because he thinks they cause inflammation, or because they supposedly aren't anti-inflammatory.

Brady also reportedly includes mushrooms on his don't-eat list, but those aren't nightshades — they are fungi and not from the Solanaceae plant family.

The vegetables Brady won't eat are in reality extremely healthy and do have anti-inflammatory properties. A food allergy or other sensitivity is, of course, a reason to avoid a certain vegetable. But most people should not cut these foods out of their diets.

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Brady also avoids fruit.

Aside from the occasional banana, Brady reportedly avoids fruit.

People sometimes decide to stop eating fruit because they're wary of the sugar in it. While most nutritionists and dietitians would recommend avoiding foods with added sugar (which Brady also does), they don't think you should stay away from natural fruit sugars.

Fruit — when consumed whole, not in juice — is a great source of nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants that help fight inflammation.

The only salt Brady eats is Himalayan pink salt.

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Brady's strict salt preference is one of his practices that "

Brady is a big believer in a concept he calls "pliability."

The electrolyte products sold on the TB12 website are absolutely unnecessary.

Plenty of what Brady does is healthy, though.

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With his book and website, Brady is selling unnecessary products and spreading ideas that may be harmful for some people. (Most people should not be encouraged to avoid fruits or vegetables!)

That said, eating a largely plant-based diet; avoiding processed food, added sugar, and alcohol; and consuming lean protein are all healthy choices.

Anyone who follows that advice will do well for themselves. Just skip the rest of it.

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