American tennis player Venus Williams, who recently won the 2012 Wimbledon women's doubles title with her sister Serena Williams, has been pursuing a raw vegan diet since being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome. Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain and affects and is incurable.

Venus, changed her diet drastically with the chronic fatigue caused by her condition. “Changing my diet has made a big difference. I'm not perfect, so I forgive myself when I make mistakes [with my vegan diet]. I do a lot of juicing as well, a lot of wheat grass shots...lots of fresh juices and things like that.”

Venus, who pulled out of the 2011 U.S. Open after being diagnosed with Sjogren's, says the disease affects her system severely. “Dry eyes and dry mouth are the hallmark symptoms, but fatigue can be so heavy that sitting in a chair is a huge effort,” she said. “So, as a professional athlete, if you have fatigue, then that's tough. You can also have joint pain, issues with your internal systems.”

Being constantly fatigued is a major challenge for Williams, but her condition has been improving since she became a vegan. “I've made huge improvements since I was first diagnosed, so that has been huge for me, and it's a journey that I continue on,” she commented.