THRIVE by Brendan Brazier Review by Christopher Wagner


Life is often a lesson in trial and error and no one seems to understand that better than professional Ironman, Brendan Brazier. Brazier’s book, Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, is a complete approach to maximizing health.


The reader is the beneficiary of Brazier’s years of study into the links between a plant-based, whole foods approach to a stron- ger healthier body, building lean muscle, and speeding up recov- ery time between workouts. Ironman competitions consist of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 miles of cycling, and finishing with a 26.2 mile run (that’s a full marathon to round things out). Sounds a bit intimidating? Don’t fret; Brazier’s Thrive is designed to be applicable to anyone inter- ested in a more healthful way of life.


36 Organic Shopper Fall 2010


Comprehensive in its scope, the word “diet” is a bit of a misnomer; Thrive is really a more complete approach to health. Often diet and fitness are dealt with separately, but Thrive seeks to integrate all aspects of a healthy lifestyle.


One of the key compo- nents to the Thrive ap- proach is understanding stress and its relation to health. The cumulative ef- fects of stress in our mod- ern world can take a stag- gering toll on one’s health. Brazier maintains that the root of many health prob- lems including obesity, fa- tigue, digestive problems, and poor sleep can be directly linked to stress.


The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life


He coins the term “nutritional stress,” which he defines as “the body’s stress response to food that is void of nutrition and/or foods that require a large amount of energy to digest and assimi- late – refined, unnatural ones.” Brazier also builds a strong case that good mental health is directly linked to a sound plant-based whole foods diet, which in turn reduces the harmful stresses on the brain.


Brazier states that, “In today’s hectic, fast-paced world, we are inundated with nutrient-deficient foods. Consumed mostly for convenience sake, processed and refined foods have led us to a decline in health and to elevated medical costs.”


Instead of treating the symp- toms, the Thrive Diet seeks to address the underlying causes of poor health to achieve long-term wellness. The Thrive plan uses


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