Christie Brinkley Says This Diet Gives Her a ‘Lot of Energy’ at 69
Christie Brinkley shared the diet that gives her “a lot of energy.”
She follows a vegetarian eating plan, which she started when she was 14.
“I have a real awareness of how food is fuel,” she said.
Just a few months away from her 70th birthday, Christie Brinkley is full of vibrant energy—and she credits most of it to the diet she adopted as a young teenager. “I became a vegetarian when I was 14 years old because I didn’t want to be a part of the violent slaughterhouse system. I love animals,” she told New You magazine earlier this month. “And I found that I have been literally reaping the good karma from that.”
She told the magazine that eating plant-based has stretched her youthfulness and zest for life far into her 60s. “It’s really important for people to think about at least not eating meat a few days a week, if that’s all you can do, because it’s so, so much better for you but also for our planet,” she said.
And there’s plenty of research to back up those health claims—studies have found plant-based eaters to have lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. They also tend to get much more fiber, a gut-loving nutrient the average American diet lacks. A common concern regarding vegetarian or vegan diets is their protein content, but there are plenty of non-meat ways to get that macro in, like via quinoa, beans, and legumes, for example.
“I think being vegetarian, for one thing, has given me a lot of energy,” Brinkley said. “I have a real awareness of how food is fuel.”
In fact, she’s educated herself about nutrition her entire life—ever since she decided to ditch meat decades ago. “I started reading books right away because I knew that I had to replace the protein and figure out what to do,” she told The Cut in 2018. “Over the years I’ve been a vegan, I’ve been a macrobiotic, I’ve been a lacto-ovo. The one constant since the day I stopped eating meat was that I haven’t eaten any red meat or fowl.”
She also prioritizes eating as many colors as possible in the form of fruits and veggies—she calls it “the rainbow diet.” “I’ve always fed my children, my family, and myself a rainbow of color a day,” she told The Cut. “For lunch, I go into greens and do a salad, then add a protein like a bean or nuts. Dinner is more of the same except maybe I’ll put my vegetables on a bean pasta, rice, grain, or quinoa.”
Brinkley makes it clear that eating plant-based doesn’t have to be hard—and the choices make a difference. She’s proof!
You Might Also Like
