When it comes to fueling her body, the swimming champ turns to an unexpected place: her backyard. Coughlin may be like a fish in water, but on the mainland, it’s all about the chickens. The 29-year-old athlete and urban farmer raises five laying hens—Chuck, Madame Croque, Tara, Sookie, and Lafayette—to avoid the factory farmed eggs typically sold in supermarkets. She feeds her hens organic feed and supplements their diet with fresh lettuce and garden scraps to up the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin levels in the eggs. More from Prevention.com: Olympic Athletes On Weird Diets Another healthy eating tip in her arsenal? The avid cook also takes to her backyard garden or local farmer’s market to source her favorite organic fruits and veggies. “Since I don’t take any supplements, it’s imperative that I eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to get all the minerals and vitamins that my body needs,” Coughlin said. She uses home composting and crop rotation to avoid diseases and the need to use toxic pesticides. (New to composting? See Composting Isn’t As Hard As You Think.) So will raising your own chicken make you an Olympic-worthy competitor? Probably not, but it can make your eggs a whole lot healthier: Raising chickens on grass lowers the birds’ stress levels, builds their immunity, and results in healthier eggs. If you’re not up to raising your own backyard chickens, check out LocalHarvest.org to find eggs from pastured hens in your area.
