Bruce Lee’s nutrition program was as important to him as was his training. In addition to maintaining a well~balanced diet, Lee also believed heartily in nutritional supplementation. In particular, protein drinks were an important part of Lee’s diet. Hardly a day would pass when he wouldn’t consume at least one or two high~protein drinks. Once again, it was Linda’s domain to create this highly nutritious beverage:
We used to go down to Bob Hoffman’s store in Santa Monica to buy our protein-you can get it anywhere these days. We also mixed powdered milk into Bruce’s protein drink, because, as I had read in Adele Davis’s books, powdered milk was better for you because it was more concentrated. We utilized this either in addition to, or in lieu of, the protein powder we would get at Hoffman’s store.
The contents of Lee’s high~protein drink varied, but could have consisted of several of these ingredients at any given time:
• Powdered milk
• Water or juice
• Ice cubes
• 2 Eggs-sometimes with their shells
• 1 Tablespoon of wheat germ or wheat germ oil
• 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter
• Banana for its carbohydrates and potassium (and/or other fruit for flavoring)
• 1 Tablespoon of brewer’s yeast
• Inositol
• Lecithin (in granular form)
Linda maintains that she never had a set recipe for preparing the above drink, and cannot recollect exact measurements from over twenty~five years ago. However, depending on what mode of training he was engaged in or what bodyweight he was at, Linda recalls that Lee would be sure to have his protein drink at least once-and usually twice-a day. Bruce Lee wrote his own instructions for maximizing the weight~gain potency of the high~protein beverage: “Add peanut butter, eggs (with shells) and bananas into the powder with milk and mix them in a blender. If you really want faster results use ‘half and half’ instead of ordinary milk.”
Royal Jelly
Another carbohydrate drink(although it is so small it barely qualifies as a drink) that helped sustain Lee’s energy levels and speed was Royal Jelly; a mixture made by the worker bees for the queen bee. (It comes
in a little glass vial, the top of which has to be cut with a small cutting stone that is pro, vided.) Kareem Abdul, Jabbar recalled that Lee would frequently open one of the little vials and consume its contents during the filming of The Game of Death. Herb Jackson remembers Lee once telling him, “Whenever I have to do a demonstration, I take a little Royal Jelly beforehand and Voom! My energy levels are perfect.” According to Linda Lee, “Bruce believed that the Royal Jelly and the ginseng both added to his energy stores and kept his activity levels up.
He really appreciated the 4,OOO,plus years of Chinese experimentation with herbs and teas and
so he felt that if something had worked effectively for so many people for so many thou, sands of years that they were probably onto something that was very healthful.”
A Day in Bruce Lee’s Life: A Typical Diet
Breakfast
Food: A bowl of muesli cereal (Familia was a favorite brand at the time), comprised of
whole grains, nuts, and dried fruits, plus 2% milk.
Beverage: Orange juice and/or tea.
Snack
Juice or Protein Drink: Protein powder, noninstant powdered milk made with water or juice,
eggs (sometimes with their shells), wheat germ, bananas or other fruit, and even peanut butter
were often added. Brewer’s yeast was also frequently added.
Lunch
Food: Meat, vegetables, and rice.
Beverage: Tea.
Snack
Juice or Protein Drink: see ingredients
for morning~snack protein drink.
Dinner
Food: Spaghetti and salad, or an~
other meal of rice, vegetables, and meat,
chicken, or seafood.
Beverage: One glass of 2% milk
and/or tea.
Bruce Lee believed that people should be aware of the nutrients they consumed on a daily basis. Within the pages of his script for Enter the Dragon, Lee made the following annotations about consuming only the calories your body actually needs, rather than simply indulging yourself in the culinary pleasures: “When you are a
martial artist, you are a nut; you go to extremes to improve yourself as a martial artist.
And one way is to eat only what your body requires and not get carried away with sensual [eating] pleasures.” Lee also noted: “When you are a martial artist, you only eat what you require and don’t get carried away with
foods that don’t benefit you as a martial artist.”
In summary, Lee believed in staying away from foods with empty caloric content and little nutritive value. He found it especially helpful to avoid refined sugars, excessive fats, fried food, and alcohol.
The Value of an Electric Juicer
Concerned with nutritional as well as exercise science, Lee was quick to pick up on the value of
an electric juicer. Because he was so active, the primary “fuel” that his body metabolized was
carbohydrate and the richest form of carbohydrate, in terms of vitamin and mineral content, in
addition to easily metabolized (naturally occurring) starches and sugars-is fruits and vegetables.
Among the juices Lee found particularly helpful for his energy level was a mixture of carrots, celery, and apples. Again, we defer to Linda Lee for information on such matters:
We had a juicer long before they became the rage they are today, and we’d make carrot juice, vegetable juice, and fruit juice. On days when Bruce didn’t have his two protein drinks, he might have one protein drink and one juice drink. I guess our most popular juice drink was one that we made mainly from carrots. Carrots would form the largest proportion of the drink, and then apples would be second in proportion.
Finally, I would add in some celery. And then often we would throw in some sprigs of parsley, because parsley is so rich in nutrients-but you don’t need very much as it does have a distinct taste, so we would just put in a little bit. So, if you wanted to recreate, say, our carrot,apple,celery juice, I would say that half of it should be carrot juice, a third of it would be apple juice, and the rest of it would be celery and parsley-but it’s really a matter of your personal taste.
Lee also drank juices extracted from dark green vegetables and other fruits, which he usually combined with carrot juice in order to sweeten the taste. The juice of fresh fruits and vegetables is the richest available food source of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. In the course of a typical day, a person usually can’t eat enough raw fruits and vegetables to nourish the body properly. While this has probably always been true, it is particularly true today, when you need extra nutrients to help your body detoxify more environmental toxins. On most days, you probably can’t find the time to eat five pounds of carrots. But you certainly can find the time to drink
their nutritional equivalent in a delicious, nutrient, rich glass of juice.
Such a convenient form of super,nutrition was not lost on Lee. Using an electric juicer has become quite popular again-for the very same reasons Lee considered when he first plugged his in over twenty years ago, as seen in this quote from Cherie Calbom and Maureen Keane’s book, Juicing For Life (Garden City Park, N.Y.: Avery, 1992):
Juice allows your body to quickly assimilate the many valuable nutrients found in food. Enzymes
are organic catalysts that increase the rate at which foods are broken down and absorbed by the body. Found in plant foods such as fruits and vegetables, enzymes are destroyed when these foods are cooked. This is why fresh raw produce should constitute at least half of your diet. The quick and easy digestion of these foods, made possible by the enzymes will give you greater energy and health.