Venus and Serena Switch to Raw Vegan Diets for Health

Venus Williams has been diagnosed with a disease that will impact her health and her tennis career, but her and sister Serena are sticking together to get through it and changing their diets.

According to The Daily Mail, Venus revealed that reason for her drop out of the U.S. Open this summer was an incurable disease of the immune system called Sjogren’s Syndrome. The symptoms caused her to cancel her second U.S. Open match, after winning the first. She says, though, that the diagnosis was a relief after years of going to doctors without results. “I would go to the doctor and start crying. I couldn’t help it. I just want a chance to play on the same field as other people, I want to feel normal, but as frightening as the diagnosis was, it was also a relief.”

Now the tennis star is taking it easy. “I’ve been going hard the past few weeks and it scares me, I need to avoid stress or I’ll get sicker and go backwards,” Venus said. It was Serena who suggested that she try holistic ways to treat her symptoms, as some treatments for the disease can cause other health problems. Along with massages and yoga, Venus has switched to a diet of raw vegan foods hoping to reduce inflammation in her joints. Serena has made the diet change too, saying “She has done a complete U-turn. She was devastated but she is so positive now.”