Keen sportsman thought his dreams of college football were over

A college athlete suffering from life-threatening ulcerative colitis has claimed ditching meat and adopting a vegan diet has made him healthier than ever.

Kenny Honnas, 20, was diagnosed with the chronic colon disease after suffering from extreme diarrhoea and rectal bleeding.

Desperate to play American football at college, the passionate sportsman once ate a diet of spicy buffalo wings and curly fries twice a day in a bid to gain weight.

On top of that, he gobbled six raw eggs and drank chocolate milk shakes for breakfast.

But in 2014, after losing so much blood he collapsed, Mr Honnas had to be rushed to hospital.

During a two week stay, in which he received four blood transfusions and lost over two stone (30lbs), he thought his football dreams were over as doctors battled to stabilise his condition.

Kenny Honnas lost 30lbs after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (left) which caused his to suffer from extreme diarrhoea and rectal bleeding. He claims adopting a vegan diet has helped to control his condition and bulk up to the size he is now (right)

But after carrying out independent research on how a vegan diet can help ulcerative colitis, he decided to bin meat and dairy from his meal plans.

Now he says he is fitter and stronger than ever before and maintains this is down to his fruit heavy diet - sometimes devouring 18 bananas in one meal.

After a year of eating vegan, blood results show Mr Honnas, from Bryan, Texas, is within a normal range and all signs of ulcerative colitis have cleared.

'Before I switched to a whole foods plant based diet I had absolutely horrid eating habits,' he said.

'As a young healthy football player, I would eat anything I could get my hands on in order to gain weight.

'My coaches dubbed it the ''See Food Diet'' - if I saw it I ate it.

'I would munch on junk food just so that I could reach the caloric goal I had set that would allow me to gain the weight I wanted before my upcoming season.'

After being recruited to play for Wheaton, Mr Honnas's dream of having an illustrious collegiate career in football was cut far short.

'I noticed on our very first day of training camp that I was having bouts of diarrhoea. I brushed it off as symptoms of stress and ignored them.

'The symptoms steadily got worse as the weeks went by and diarrhoea turned to blood.

'I continued to practice and ignore it because I was embarrassed to talk about.

Mr Honnas said he would eat 'anything' before he started suffering life-threatening ulcerative colitis

Mr Honnas, pictured here in hospital with his girlfriend, needed four blood transfusions and almost lost his bowel after developing the long term condition, ulcerative colitis

He had a promising football career at Wheaton College until the inflammation of his colon caused him to lose more than two stone in weight and needing hospital treatment

'The fifth week in it was really bad. Three times within five days I found myself running as fast as I could to find a restroom and not making it in time.

'I became paranoid and began staying in my room nearly all day every day, only leaving to practice.

'Finally, after my bowel movements turned into straight blood I finally told my parents that I had to see a doctor.'

After having a colonoscopy, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

WHAT IS ULCERATIVE COLITIS? Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition, where the colon and rectum become inflamed. The colon is the large intestine (bowel), and the rectum is the end of the bowel where stools are stored. Small ulcers can develop on the colon's lining, and can bleed and produce pus. The main symptoms of ulcerative colitis are: recurring diarrhoea, which may contain blood, mucus or pus

abdominal pain

needing to empty the bowels frequently The severity of the symptoms varies, depending on how much of the rectum and colon is inflamed and how severe the inflammation is. For some people, the condition has a significant impact on their everyday lives. Some may go for weeks or months with very mild symptoms, or none at all (known as remission), followed by periods where the symptoms are particularly troublesome (known as flare-ups or relapses). Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

Doctors prescribed a corticosteroid called prednisone in case of flare ups, but just two nights later Mr Honnas lost a litre of blood and was rushed to the emergency room where his haemoglobin was found to be dangerously low.

He said: 'There was so much blood I couldn't even tell there was water from the toilet mixed in with it.

'My head was swimming as if I might pass out, and my movements were slow and sluggish.

'It was hard to stand and not fall over. I made my way back to my bed with my lower back and left side of my torso throbbing as if something was on the inside of me and trying to claw its way out from those areas.

'I realised something was seriously wrong with me.'

When Mr Honnas collapsed in hospital, doctors feared they would have to remove his colon to stop the bleeding.

He was kept in hospital for two weeks, given four blood transfusion and lost thirty pounds.

Mr Honnas decided to do his own research after being discharged and found support online.

Although his doctors downplayed the importance of diet, other patients with the same condition recommended the vegan diet so Mr Honnas gave it a go.

And within weeks he had noticed a difference.

'Every doctor had told me that diet doesn't play a role at all in the disease. I was desperate and ready to try anything and within weeks I was seeing results.

'A month in people would never know I had ever had the disease. I was strong, fit, and healthy.

'I put on well over ten pounds of muscle and I even went back to Wheaton and played a second season of football.

'My health has been improving every day since then.'

Mr Honnas, pictured with his girlfriend during recovery, now eats a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and rice which he says has helped to cure his symptoms of the chronic disease

Now his breakfast is fruit smoothie that contains anywhere from twelve to eighteen bananas.

He also munches on fruit for lunch until he is full, up to five mangos, twenty dates, or one to two papayas.

For dinner he fills up on potatoes and rice.

He added: 'When most people hear how much fruit I'm eating daily they are quick to tell me that I should stop.

'But I have had my blood levels tested and am well within the normal range.

'My go to meal is three large baked potatoes stuffed with guacamole and jalapenos with three cups of steamed broccoli on the side

'On the weekends I do treat myself to either a large veggie bowl from Chipotle with extra beans and rice, or a plate of Pad Thai and Thai fried rice.

'I never thought in my life I would be able to give up meat or dairy, and that it would be a constant battle to not be tempted to eat a steak here and there, but in reality I don't miss it.

'I am more than happy with the food I am eating and have no intentions of going back.

'It is difficult to put into words what it feels like to regain everything that you thought was lost once.