Bear Grylls Says He's 'Embarrassed' That He Used To Promote Being Vegan And Now Doesn't 'Go Near' Vegetables

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Bear Grylls, a survivalist, acknowledged he is now "embarrassed" by his past vegan diet and that he was mistaken to believe it was beneficial to his health or the environment.

Formerly a vegetarian and a vegan, Grylls recently disclosed that he has started transitioning to a diet that only includes red meat, eggs, and organic meat.

Ahead of this, he even published a cookbook titled "Fuel for Life" in which he criticized society's "unnatural ways of breeding, keeping, and killing animals."

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On Wednesday, the adventurer told The UK Telegraph that his attack on meat was "wrong" and that he regretted it.

"I was vegan quite a few years ago – in fact, I wrote a vegan cookbook - and I feel a bit embarrassed because I really promoted that," Grylls said.

"I thought that was good for the environment and I thought it was good for my health. And through time and experience and knowledge and study, I realized I was wrong on both counts."

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In November, Grylls made his first admission that he had abandoned his vegan diet, saying that many of the items he was eating at the time seemed to be detrimental to his health.

He now asserts that since making the move to only eating red meat and animal organs, his body has "never been better."

"For a long time, I’d been eating so many vegetables thinking it was doing me good, but just never felt like it had given me any good nutrients compared to the nutrient density I get from basically blood or bone marrow – red meat," he said.

"I’ve tried to listen to my body more, tried to listen to nature, and I don’t miss vegetables at all. I don’t go near them and I’ve never felt stronger, my skin’s never been better, and my gut’s never been better."

"I’ve found a counterculture way of living, of embracing red meat and organs – natural food just like our millennia of ancestors would have eaten for hundreds of thousands of years. And out of all the different things I do for my health, I think that’s probably been the biggest game-changer, in the sense of improving my vitality, wellbeing, strength, skin, and gut. It’s just been getting away from the processed stuff and making the predominant thing in my diet red meat and liver and the natural stuff – fruit, honey, that sort of thing. It’s just about finding a more ancestral way of living," Grylls said.

Grylls maintained that since quitting the vegan lifestyle, he has felt not only healthier but also fuller.

"And I find now I’m always full when I’m eating so much meat and eggs and butter and fruit and honey – I’m never hungry. I go out and I’ll order three burgers and get rid of all the buns and the fries and just have the burgers. I don’t crave junk food," he argued. 

The explorer added that while on an expedition, he had switched from his customary nuts and oat bars to "good quality jerky."

And although he enjoys meat a lot, Grylls doesn't always follow the raw, extreme diet that has become associated with him from his television appearances.

In 2019, former vegan celebrity Alyse Parker made a similar comment on the advantages of switching from an exclusively vegan diet to the Carnivore Diet.

"I swallowed my pride and decided I’d give it a shot," she said. "Full-on carnivore. I woke up the next morning feeling more mentally clear, focused, wholesome, and healthy than I had felt in years."