Venus Williams, 36, is still out there, kicking ass on the tennis court but of course she’s been a bit overshadowed lately by younger her sister, Serena, who is ranked number one by the Women’s Tennis Association. Venus is number six, not too shabby, and she took home a silver medal in mixed doubles in Rio after losing in women’s doubles with Serena as her partner. At the US Open yesterday afternoon Venus won her match in the second round after a rough start. The thing that makes Venus’s accomplishments even more remarkable is the fact that she suffers from the autoimmune disease Sjorgen’s syndrome, which causes tear duct and salivary gland inflammation and in severe cases can lead to a multi-organ illness similar to lupus. Venus revealed her diagnosis back in 2011 when she was ranked about number 32, so she’s had a significant comeback. In a new video promoting her work with the beverage brand Silk, Venus states that a primarily plant-based diet helped her get her health back on track. She’s told the press about this before, and has said that following a raw vegan diet improved her condition, but this is the first I’m hearing about it. You can see the video above and here’s some of what she said:
What led me a vegan lifestyle? My sisters, they saw me having health difficulties and they said ‘why don’t you try a plant-based lifestyle?’ When you have an opportunity to do it together, there’s nothing like it because the motivation is there and you’re not alone.
Following a vegan diet on the court, you have to plan your life out. I try wherever I’m traveling to scope out places where you can eat, bring things with me to the hotel. I always have a blender, I get to go to fresh markets around the world.
Venus then shared a recipe for a “creamsicle” smoothie with a banana, orange and some soy milk. I make a lot of smoothies but I usually just do kale, spinach and mixed frozen fruit. I will have to add some soy or almond milk this sounds good. This collaboration seems genuine, which is rare, and it makes me think more highly of the Silk brand. (This is not a plug as we didn’t get paid for this.) I’m already a Silk customer because I have their almond and coconut blend in my coffee every morning.
Venus tells People magazine that she’s “primarily” vegan but that she loves butter. She explains that “plant-based is how you define it. Plants first, so that’s what it’s about. Mostly plants and there are some things I haven’t been able to get completely out of my diet.” I can get behind that and found Venus’s message kind of inspirational, especially since she’s been able to live so well with an autoimmune disease. Oh and as Venus mentioned, Serena eats primarily vegan too, but I would bet she makes exceptions like Venus.
Look at Venus with one of her dogs!
photos credit: WENN and Instagram
I did not know That! Love them even more.
I remember in an interview a couple of years ago (maybe more), Serena spoke about how much she loves McDonald’s hamburgers. So, this is a BIG 180.
At 36, to be world number six while struggling with a chronic illness is the stuff of legend. I love Serena and Steffi but Venus will always be my personal All Time Best Ever Tennis Champ.
Exactly what I was thinking! Awesome achievements for both Williams sisters.
Yes. (And I love that dog.)
Love them. Almond milk/ almond butter in your smoothie is the way to go
Making exceptions within an overall healthy diet philosophy is absolutely the best strategy, good for Venus for being open-minded and setting a constructive example. Serena too.
Try Silk’s cashew milk. It’s delicious.
Tried this for work… Yuck! I don’t know how I managed to sell it. It tasted like cardboard, and I love cashews. Coconut milk is my first choice.
I don’t particularly like Silk. Don’t give up on cashew milk until you’ve tried other brands… Or try making it yourself if you have a good blender.
I’m having my coffee with coconut almond milk right now. 👍
Love her. I’m so happy she’s thriving with this disease. Now, I’ve got DJ Khaled in my head singing the Silk jingle.
Silk. Almond milk. Bananas…
Venus is IMP one of the best female tennis players. Her health has set her back but better healthy.
I am so glad to hear this. We all need to reduce our dependance on animals and having celebrities do that will motivate others.
This makes me so happy! I think there are a lot of athletes who are primarily or entirely following a plant based diet, and I wish they would speak about it! It would raise the profile of wfpb and maybe I will stopped getting asked where I get my protein from or how I can live without cheese. 😅
They both seem lovely!
Love her! Almond milk products are delicious! I Have severe lactose intolerant condition and and can’t do dairy at all. I’m just so glad companies are adding more alternatives such as cashew milk, rice milk, coconut milk among others. I’m so into Cashew milk right now;)
So my family is jamaican so coconut products are not new to me. And now that its been Columbused it’s the strangest thing to watch. You know you’re not supposed to drink it right? You’re supposed to cook with it. You make curry and rice and peas, and soup. The only reason why you drink it now is b/c silk and other brands load with sugar and water. If you go to the ethnic food isle and buy grace coconut milk or one of the asian brands and you tried to drink it you would choke and spit it out. 1. it’s too thick and 2 it’s doesn’t taste good. The equilvalent would be if I took olive oil and put a bunch of sugar and water in it and called it olive milk. You would not stop laughing. life is weird.
I put the unsweetened, pure coconut from a can in my coffee and sweeten it myself with stevia. I hate the processed stuff from Silk and other brands. I also make whipping cream with the canned coconut, it’s really good.
Uh, you do know that coconut milk has been widely used in beverages for centuries in southeast Asia, right? Did they “columbus” it as well?
I love Venus and Serena Williams. My dh and I watch tennis solely to see them play (we are not tennis players ourselves). They have shown so much grace and class throughout their careers and I admire them both so much.
Her skin-and her smile-look fantastic. She was going through some serious misery in 2011…
being a vegan isn’t just your diet it is what you wear and what products you use on your body and in your house
i dont know what shoes she wears on court but being mostly plant based isn’t vegan. no offense to her but people using the word incorrectly just confuses people.
Lisa: I think most people do, in fact, recognize that being vegan is about more than food–that it’s about adopting cruelty-free choices on a broad scale. That said, I don’t believe the Williams sisters are confusing anyone. On the contrary, I think their commitment to plant-based eating is inspiring to others–as is clearly reflected by the comments on this board. Please be mindful that when vegans (or non-vegans) harp on people about not using the term vegan correctly, it reinforces stereotypes about militancy and purism among vegans. Can’t we just celebrate everyone who makes changes that help reduce animal suffering? Going vegan is, for most people, a journey; it should never be an exercise in purity or self-righteousness.
Your definition of vegan is more restrictive than it has to be. You have your own religious/ethical framework which includes, among other things, eating a plant-based diet.
I routinely tell people I mainly eat vegan. That clues them into not expecting me to join them in a steak meal or drinking a glass of milk or eating eggs. They don’t need to know other aspects of my framework, which aren’t that different from yours. A vegan diet is separate from everything you’ve mentioned, and is a useful distinction.
There are people much looser than me who do eat animal products sometimes but most of the time – they’re eating vegan. Other people will talk about eating vegan meals, so they take it on a meal by meal basis. It’s all good and reduces reliance on animal products.
Great testimonial for a [mostly] vegan diet. It can really help some folks with autoimmune diseases like lupus and one can see that she’s able to maintain plenty of muscle and stamina. Go Venus!
I always loved creamsicles but can’t deal with the dairy now. I found that Edy/Dreyer’s (now Nestle’s?) Outshine tangerine frozen fruit bars hits exactly the same spot for me…