‘In the end… you sleep better, you are less bloated, when you are competing (and) you recover more quickly’

 Europe’s best midfielder Saúl Ñíguez Esclápez, famously known as Saúl completely swears by his plant-based diet.

In an interview with Euronews Living, the Spanish footballer player, who is 25 years old, shared the positive health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle stating how it helped him recover from a serious health issue.

‘Forgo meat entirely’

Saul recalled he became vegetarian in 2015 after an on-field accident left him with a “destroyed” kidney and in order to heal, Saúl was advised to forgo meat entirely.

 “The nutritionist recommended that the best thing for my kidney is to be a vegetarian,” he told the Marthe de Ferrer of Euronews Living.

 “The left kidney was overworking to process proteins.”

‘Holistic, balanced, and genuinely healthy’

The Spaniard has made a full recovery since then and now follows an entirely plant-based diet to fuel his training after ditching eggs and other animal products entirely.

While his diet is properly structured to contain all the essential proteins for stamina, muscle recovery, and energy, he advises that simply ditching animal products will not make food good. In order to reap the true benefits of eating plant-based foods, the diet must be holistic, balanced, and genuinely healthy.

“In the end, trying it once doesn’t change anything, but when you have been eating vegan and healthy for two weeks it changes your life a lot,” he told the news outlet.

“You sleep better, you are less bloated, when you are competing you recover more quickly – I think it is very beneficial for everyone.”

‘Not vegan yet’

Although he is following a complete plant-based diet, Saúl refrains from calling himself a vegan, since he feels veganism is far more than just food – “it is a lifestyle.”

“Being plant-based or vegetarian doesn’t mean vegan, there is a huge difference. One, so to speak, is a diet. Being vegan is much, much more,” Saul explained in the interview.

“It is a lifestyle, in which you cannot wear certain types of clothing, certain cosmetics. It is a lifestyle that is all about protection and ensuring that animals are not mistreated in any way. It’s a lifestyle that I’m not personally involved in yet, but I am step-by-step becoming vegan. I’m not vegan yet though.

He may not call himself a vegan yet but is definitely committed to promoting the healthy lifestyle.

• Read: Hector Bellerin promises to plant 3,000 trees for every Arsenal win this football season

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Mohsina Dodhiya

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