Arian Foster Officially a Vegan, With Approval of Houston Texans Dietitian

When we last saw Houston Texans RB Arian Foster, he was pushing Subway sandwiches and noshing on their  latest signature sub, the Pulled Pork sandwich, along with the face of the Subway franchise, Jared Fogle.

No bull: the Houston Texans' team dietitian approves of All-Pro RB Arian Foster's vegan diet.

How things have changed over the course of a year.

In June, Foster announced on Twitter that he is “officially a vegan now,” and the Texans team dietitian, Roberta Anding, defended the 2010 rushing champion’s decision. As reported by the blog Ultimate Texans, Anding even lauded Foster as “the new NFL player,” an athlete who is “looking for optimum nutrition and variety."

The article delves into the nutritional habits of other key players on the Texans roster and how their decisions have helped their performance.

Let’s get to the highlights:

• LB Brian Cushing “tries to stay away from dairy” and likes to eat “six or seven times a day, small portions only.”

• Shutdown CB Jonathan Joseph swears, “I still haven’t had my first salad. I’m a fried food guy. To be honest, I have never had anything but fried food my whole life.”

• CB Danieal Manning credits his speedy recovery from a broken leg last season to the dietary regimen prescribed by Anding. The seven-year veteran returned to the field just three weeks after his injury. Anding says, “If somebody breaks something or has a severe soft-tissue injury, there’s extra nutrition that’s required to get that person back, even if they’re not exercising. Injury response demands a lot of calories in itself.”

• Anding estimates that the average Texans player is burning 5,000 or more calories every 24 hours. What makes professional athletes unique, according to Anding, is the disproportionate amount of muscle mass they have. “Muscle mass is the metabolic engine,” she says. “The goal of a good strength and conditioning program is to take that metabolic engine from a Prius to an Escalade."

The Ultimate Texans article also features a photo gallery of menu items the Texans are consuming to satisfy their 5,000-calorie-a-day, Houston-sized appetites. Check out the article to learn more.

Foster isn't the only Texan making headlines. We've got plenty of coverage of the team's top players, including:

• All-Pro WR Andre Johnson's off-season training at "The U"
• Texans' first-round pick Whitney Mercilus' Path to the Pros
• Safety Glover Quin tabbed as an ambassador for United Way's "Team NFL"