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."
Tofu became Kareem's go-to – and favorite – source of protein.
"It's all about how you season and marinate it," he said.
His other easy options are tempeh and edamame. When he's in the mood to treat himself, Kareem or his wife, Vanessa, make butter chickpeas, which is the same as butter chicken but with chickpeas. They'll add a dollop of cashew butter in the dish for an extra dose of protein.
"Just widen your perspective and your horizon on what's out there," Kareem said. "You don't have to be so locked in on a meat-based diet. Being vegan, it definitely opens up so many more doors and opportunities to eat a bunch of different, other foods. Be adventurous a little bit."
Kareem stuck with his plant-based diet even after he left Cincinnati – and sadly, his and Heath's favorite restaurant there, Good Plates Eatery, that offered both meat- and plant-based meals – in November 2022, when signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
Heath also left Cincinnati around that time, off to Florida for a career move of his own. The two kept in touch – still besties in present day – so Kareem was aware Heath stopped following a full-time plant-based diet last year while training for the Adaptive CrossFit Games. It was too difficult to maintain a proper caloric intake without any animal-based protein, Heath admitted. But that's OK because it goes back to Heath's first tip for Kareem: Always keep realistic expectations.
"Humans are very extreme," Heath said. "You're either all the way in or all the way out. I just don't think that's the way people should look at it."
Three months ago, Kareem took the advice of a colleague.
The Atlanta Falcons had signed Kareem to a reserve/future contract at last season's end, and Kareem wanted to ensure it turned into a job in 2025. That meant getting himself into peak physical shape before the very long tryout period that is training camp. So, he went to the team's sports registered dietitian, Steven Benjamin.
"He had expressed that he was frustrated with his body composition," Benjamin said. "It was like OK, we need to tap in and sort of figure out what it is that you're doing well, what it is that you're not doing well and where, more or less, can I help you fill in the gaps in particular areas that you're struggling in.
"That is how it sort of unveiled itself in regards to him being a plant-based eater."
Kareem then did an in-house DXA scan, which primarily measures bone density but also analyzes body composition, such as lean mass. He was still on a plant-based diet at the time, therefore this provided Benjamin a baseline for what he was about to suggest: introduce animal-based proteins into Kareem's diet and see how his results change.
Because there is a fundamental difference between plant- and animal-based proteins.
"It's very science-y, but it's all amino-acid based," Benjamin said. "Your animal sources are complete amino acids. They have the complete amino-acid profile that you need in terms of building blocks of muscle. When you do plant-based sources, that's why they say you should pair or throughout the course of the day have brown rice and black beans because those are complementary plant-based proteins that have the full amino-acid sequence."
Benjamin explained all that and more to Kareem.
"Once you start peeling back the layers of what a plant-based diet is, however he was applying it, it was like, 'Hey, you're missing critical marks just being a 260-pound man,'" Benjamin said. "The amount of food volumes that requires and the amount of just general nutrient intake that is needed to not only perform but recover, and then be able to go out there and do your job at an elite level, you're kind of fighting with one arm behind your back to some degree."
The Falcons marked Kareem's fourth club in just as many years. The desire to stop that trend prompted an open mind. Sure, he'll hear Benjamin out.
When the Falcons began Organized Team Activities in late May, Kareem began trying different animal-based proteins with Benjamin's guidance. They had to be careful not to upset Kareem's stomach since it hadn't consumed anything like that in years. That's why they started very basic, with eggs or fish.
"You almost have to think of protein digestibility based on texture," Benjamin said. "Very simply, it's more like actual physical to the touch. For example, if you were to take just a diced piece of cooked chicken, put it between your fingers, pinch it and just try to break it down, it's tough. … Think about the difference between taking salmon. It's mushy.
"That's not how digestion works, per se, but the kinetics of digestion – more or less is what it's called – are different with seafood than it is with poultry, beef, whatever."
As Kareem's tolerance grew, so did his frequency and volume. Meals with an animal-based proteins went from once to twice a week and smaller to larger portions. They mixed in with his usual plant-based meals.
The intent was never to completely overhaul Kareem's diet. More so just to balance it.
It worked, too. The next time Kareem went through a DXA scan, his body composition showed a higher lean mass. Mission accomplished thanks to compromise and collaboration between Kareem and Benjamin.
Well, part of the mission has been accomplished at least. Kareem now must wait and see if he has done enough to survive the Falcons' roster cuts Tuesday. There's a lot of depth on the defense this year, so competition has been high.
"It's honestly pulling the best out of me that I've probably ever seen and felt in camp," Kareem said. "I'm just excited. I take every day one day at a time. I don't really try to look so much at the outcome of, 'Oh, I need to make the team.' It's, 'Hey, I'll take it one day, one play, one rep — I'll be fine.'"
