Three years ago, defensive end Khalid Kareem turned to his friend for advice.
The Cincinnati Bengals had just lost the 2022 Super Bowl. Kareem played, just like he did in every postseason game that year, but he couldn't help but think about his struggles during the regular season. Kareem missed 10 games, most of them due to a shoulder injury that landed him on injured reserve prior to Week 1.
"I had a couple of injuries back-to-back, and it was weighing on me a little bit," Kareem said. "I was like, 'Bro, I've done all the rehab, I've trained properly, I do everything the right way – I still don't know what it is.'
"He asked, 'Do you ever think about changing your diet?'"
The question came from John-Edward Heath, a Marine veteran and Paralympic athlete. Heath lived off a plant-based diet, a lifestyle change he made the year prior when he ultimately decided to amputate his left leg after 15 surgeries for an injury sustained in 2016. Heath believed that switch would help his recovery, and for him, it did. He quickly healed with no complications.
Heath also saw his overall health improve with the plant-based diet. Stomach issues went away. Inflammation issues went down. Energy increased. Sleep improved.
All those benefits appealed to Kareem. So, he gave it a shot, relying a lot on Heath's experience.
"The biggest takeaway I told him was, 'Listen, man, when you're starting this, stop with the expectations,'" Heath said. "'I don't want you to go full-on plant-based, and then you're starving yourself. Because at the end of the day, we still have to practice and we still have to train.' …
"The expectation was No. 1. But No. 2, I'm very firm on I think you should eat at home before you go to an event. Because if you're trying to take your nutrition very seriously, you don't necessarily know what you're putting into your body when you're out and about."
Kareem eased into this new way of life by implementing a loose meal plan Heath outlined and taking suggestions from his oldest sister, Kianna, a longtime vegan who owns a restaurant called Vegan Junk Food in Silver Springs, Maryland. The more Kareem felt changes were taking place within his body — specifically the same decreased inflammation and increased energy as Heath — the stricter he got with it. Soon enough, Kareem was on a fully plant-based diet.
Of course, as an NFL player, Kareem needed to be on top of his daily protein intake.
"Typically, you want to be around your body weight in protein, from what I've been told," Kareem said. "That's about 260-265 grams, which is really hard sometimes, I'm not going to lie to you."