The Game Changers Star James Wilks Says His Erections Are Better Since Going Vegan

There are many compelling arguments for veganism, most of which highlight the ways in which the planet and animals could benefit if humans adopted a plant-based diet.

However, one of the most pervasive reasons why people are reluctant to go vegan is due to the perceived health implications of cutting out all meat and dairy.

Especially if working out and getting buff is part of your plan.

But former MMA fighter and Navy SEALs self-defense trainer James Wilks has been on a mission to debunk this conception in popular Netflix documentary The Game Changers.

The film - which boasts producers such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lewis Hamilton and Novak Djokovic - scrutinises common criticisms of a plant-based diet and highlights the incredible feats of elite vegan athletes, demonstrating that veganism doesn't equal weakness.

Among the many health benefits documented in the film is a supposed improvement in erectile function - a theory which is tested on three athletes.

When asked by LADbible if he had noticed a difference in the downstairs department since adopting a plant-based diet, Wilks said: "I do feel like it did improve, erectile function, but I've got no evidence - I haven't measured my erections."

A large part of the film focuses on how marketing has manipulated people into thinking eating meat is manly, but Wilks argues the opposite is in fact the case.

He said: "Yeah, especially as time goes on. So, like in the film, the lead delegate of urology at the American Urological Association, Dr Aaron Spitz, talks about virility and added energy and that type of thing. And we know that meat has been implicated in not only causing erectile dysfunction, but also sperm quality, sperm mobility, energy and this type of thing.

"So we know in the long term it could be having the opposite effect of what people actually think."

The 41-year-old does not blame people though for thinking this way, but he hopes the film will help to open people's eyes.

He said: "I thought that way myself to be honest, until I started reading into the research. A couple of things I used to believe, I used to think you needed to eat meat and other animal products for protein, and we know that's not true - all protein originates in plants and animals are just the middle man.

"And the second things is, I thought somehow milk and dairy and that sort of thing would give you more testosterone, and that's not true as well - completely plant-based eaters and people who eat meat have equivalent testosterone levels."

PA

With the benefit of hindsight, The Ultimate Fighter winner reckons he would have been a better fighter if he had been vegan along.

He said: "Yeah absolutely. I actually trained for a fight after I switched, and what I don't go into in the film is a neck injury - I had broken my neck when I was younger and it had got worse and worse while I was fighting. And I actually started training for a fight after I'd switched - but I actually medically retired because of my neck injuries - and I was definitely feeling better and operating better and performing better and recovering better after I'd switched."

The Game Changers is available to stream on Netflix now.

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Interesting, MMA

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey