Tom Brady claims an extreme diet and fitness regimen keep him playing at age 40 — but science says it’s mostly bogus

Sorry, Tom, the “alkaline diet” doesn’t do what adherents claim it does.Michael Dwyer/AP

• Tom Brady claims a restrictive diet is a key part of why he’s still playing football.
• He sells diet advice and supplements at high prices through his TB12 web site.
• Brady’s lifestyle does appear to be healthy (if overly restrictive), but there’s little to no scientific evidence to back up most his diet advice.

On Sunday, Tom Brady will play in his eighth career Super Bowl as the quarterback for the New England Patriots — at the age of 40. That’s insane longevity for an NFL QB, yet Brady still appears to be in excellent health.

It’s understandable that people want to know how he does it.

Brady attributes his impressive ability to keep playing to a healthy lifestyle with very particular rules. His extreme diet is a key part of what he refers to as the TB12 Method, an approach consisting of 12 fitness principles that Brady outlines in his book, called “The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance”. He also sells a selection of rather expensive products and supplements designed to help adherents live according to his fitness gospel.

In general, Brady seems to eat mostly plants and lean proteins, while avoiding processed food and alcohol, which makes for an extremely healthy diet. But some of the claims he makes about these foods, like the idea that eating a certain way will make your body less acidic, haven’t been shown to be true in scientific tests.

In fact, there’s little to no scientific evidence to back up many of the claims Brady makes about nutrition and health.

“[T]here is almost no evidence to support this monk-like approach to eating,” Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, wrote for the Canadian publication Policy Options.”And some of his practices — he will only use Himalayan pink salt, for instance — register as full out kook.”

Brady only uses “Himalayan pink salt,” despite the fact that it’s not healthier than regular salt.Eloise Kirn, INSIDER

Pseudoscience without actual research

Brady avoids a long list of foods, including tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, caffeine, MSG, white flour, white sugar, dairy, and certain vegetable oils. He’s never even touched coffee. But Caulfield, the author of a book called “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash,” points out that coffee is generally considered healthy (as are many of the foods Brady cuts out).

This restrictive eating regimen is largely based on the idea of an “alkaline” diet, which is supposedly anti-inflammatory. 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 and energy and fights inflammation.

But most studies indicate this isn’t the case. As one review of research on “alkaline diets” points out, most experiments conducted so far have found that you can’t alter blood pH in a significant way with diet. In fact, As Mayo Clinic sports performance expert Michael 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.”

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. It even says such diets are often marketed towards cancer patients desperate for a cure, despite the fact that there’s no evidence they work.

There are certain ways to eat that help avoid chronic inflammation, and doing so can be important for certain cancer patients and people with some autoimmune disorders. But these diets don’t have to be so restrictive — generally, exercise and weight management can do the trick.

Brady also advocates for drinking what could be a dangerous amount of water, which he claims helps him avoid sunburns. But again, there’s no evidence that this is true. Forcing yourself to drink excessive amounts of water has not been shown to lead to any health benefits, and can actually put you at risk for hyponatremia, which can be fatal.

And then there’s the concept of “pliability,” the nonscientific physical principle that Brady espouses as key to his peak physical performance. The idea was largely developed by Brady’s body coach Alex Guerrero, and involves stretches and deep tissue massage that Brady claims leaves muscles “long” and “soft.” But Guerrero has been banned from treating other Patriots players in the locker room and has tried to sell supplements that he said could cure cancer and prevent concussions (these claims are both false and dangerous).

When Pat’s coach Bill Belichick was asked if he’d buy Brady’s book, he said, “We see Tom every day … I don’t really feel like we need to read a book.”Steven Senne/AP

Health doesn’t have to be so complicated — or expensive

Following Brady’s advice to avoid added sugar, processed food, and alcohol, while eating more vegetables, nuts, and lean proteins, would probably yield good results for your health.

But Brady’s TB12 program goes much further. The website sells expensive electrolytes, which are salts and minerals that almost no one needs as a supplement. The expensive snacks sold on Brady’s website probably also won’t do much for you, and his $200 nutrition manual (which sold out upon release) isn’t necessary to get healthier, either.

When it comes to “pliability,” there’s nothing wrong with stretching and massage, but they aren’t magic. And nothing about them requires a $200 foam roller or special “pliability” TB12 coach.

Brady is clearly in great health, and eating well and following a strict exercise regimen surely help. But being healthy doesn’t require avoiding so many nutritious foods — and following pseudo-scientific diets that aren’t based in reality will likely lead to disappointment. At best such products and regimens can be a waste of money. At worst they can cause real harm.