Justin Thomas Reveals Why He Quit His Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Diet

Thomas said he ‘could have cried’ when he took his first bite of pizza in six months.

Earlier this year, Justin Thomas embarked on a health experiment. With the help of sports medicine specialist Dr. Ara Suppiah, the two-time PGA champion set out to go dairy-free for six months and gluten-free for one year. 

The hope was that Thomas's new eating habits would help improve his energy, and therefore, his performance on the golf course. But the plan didn’t exactly pan out that way. 

At the Hero World Challenge, Thomas admitted that he has since given up his extreme diet. Apparently Thomas completed six months of dairy-free eating in July, but the date landed in the middle of a two-week stretch in Europe for the Scottish Open and the British Open. Fearing a strong bodily reaction during the switchover to the next phase of his diet, Thomas held off on taking his first taste of dairy until he returned to the U.S. 

When he finally reimplemented it, however, he was pleasantly surprised: Thomas didn’t notice a significant difference in his overall health. Plus, that irresistible feeling of biting into a pizza was something he didn’t want to give up again. After six long months without his favorite meal, the experience was almost emotional for Thomas.

“After shooting about 400 the first two days at the the Open Championship, when I got to Minnesota I got a gluten-free pizza like on Monday or Tuesday and I swear I could have cried, it was so good,” Thomas said. 

At the Hero World Challenge, Justin Thomas revealed that his extreme health experiment is officially over :: Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

“I slowly implemented dairy again the next two weeks and I didn't feel any different, which I was shocked, to be honest. I was pleasantly surprised. I called Ara, who I've been working with. I'm like, I'm having gluten, I don't feel any different after having this again, so I'm going to have it and see how it is. And here we are."

For one, the diet wasn’t easy for Thomas. At the Wells Fargo Championship, he told reporters that it “sucks” not being able to eat the foods he enjoys, but he wanted to give the trial period his total effort. 

But more importantly, Thomas didn’t exactly play his best golf while switching up his diet. The 15-time PGA Tour winner missed the FedEx Cup playoffs this season and dropped to his worst world ranking since 2016. He also missed the cut in three of the four major championships. 

So when asked if Thomas would try the health experiment again, his mind was made up. 

“It wasn't exactly during my best stretch of golf, so I would say if I had it over, I would not do it," he said. "Yeah, it's one of those things, I don't really give 50 percent too much. I feel like if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. I'm going to want to know how it is.

“Yeah, if you guys hear of me doing that again, tell me to stop.”