Bear Grylls is going through a food revolution. Or went, as it were.
The former advocate for a vegan lifestyle has shifted his stance on plenty of the former foods that he would have otherwise advised against. Grylls outlined some of the finer points to this shift in an interview with GQ Magazine.
“I’m not super strict. I changed my mind-set away from vegetables are great to realising we’ve had millions of years of evolution where we’re designed to eat meat and milk and eggs,” he told the outlet. “And fruit—sweet, bright colours—and a lot of honey. It’s made eating a lot more fun. I have combinations of eggs fried in butter, greek yogurt with honey and berries. Before I’d think, “Oh, I have to have a salad.” It’s a revolution to me.”
Meat? Eggs? Milk? Grylls certainly has had a revolution.
It may have also been a revelation. The adventurer and survivalist added that it was the surviving part that influenced a lot of his change.
Grylls had a battle with COVID, which turned the tide for him. The 48-year-old explorer told the magazine that when he first was fighting the virus he doubled down on his veganism – eating a lot of his past practices of raw veggies and lots of juice. The decision negatively impacted his kidneys to the point that it prompted him to do the additional research.
It has changed the way he looks at a lot of foods he previously advised in favor of.
“I was a massive advocate of the vegan lifestyle for years, and wrote a book on it, but my health tanked on it,” he said. “The more research I’ve done, I’ve noticed raw vegetables are really not good for you. So I’ve started incorporating quality grass-fed steak and liver. My lunch is meat, eggs and dairy, a lot of butter, and fruit. I have liver probably every other day. I started to get strong again.”
This is not a strict ‘Liver King’ diet — not by any means — in fact, Grylls said that he bases his diet more similarly to CarnivoreMD, Paul Saladino. A friend that he has known for some time, but more closely over the last several years.
He also acknowledges that the shift has made his adventures more pleasant and his home cooking more enjoyable.
“I’ve done so much over the years: Drinking blood from a buffalo artery, munching on raw liver and heart. It’s not difficult, but it’s not very pleasant,” he said. “If I’m at home, I’m not going to be tucking into raw steak and liver. Food is a great pleasure, and it can be cooked so beautifully. I tend to have it rare, but I like it cooked, unless I’m in survivor mode.”
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Grylls latest book Mind Fuel: Simple Ways to Build Mental Resilience Each Day is available now, you can order it at this link.
