David Attenborough Made An Important Diet Change That Makes Him Lively Even At 99 Years Of Age

Living to 100 years or even simply nearing it by a few years is a big achievement in a person’s life, as not many people are able to do it. And so, when someone does reach it, it’s normal to wonder how they did that.

Here, the iconic environmentalist Sir David Attenborough just turned 99 years old, so on the border to 100 years old. What’s even more impressive is that despite his age, he still continues his activities, like making documentaries and advocating for the environment. So, when people started wondering about his health, he revealed one relatively new habit that helps him to stay lively. And it’s something most of us can do.

Next year, the well-known environmentalist Sir David Attenborough will turn 100 years old

Image credits: Rob Newell / Getty Images

Despite his old age, he has no plans of going into retirement anytime soon

Sir David Attenborough celebrated his 99th birthday on May 8th and believes his longevity is due to a kind of minor change in his diet.

Sir David Attenborough is an iconic British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian, and writer best known for his documentaries about animals and plants on Earth. Not that long ago, he released a statement where he opened up about “nearing the end of his life,” as at that time his 99th birthday was just around the corner.

Image credits: Rob Pinney / Getty Images

Due to his old age, fans started voicing concerns about his well-being, but his longtime collaborator, producer Mike Gunton, revealed that D. Attenborough has no plans of retirement, despite his age.

In fact, there’s one change he made in his life, or to be more specific, diet, that contributes to his liveliness. What’s this diet change, you might wonder? Turns out, the man admitted to not eating red meat for months. It is a known fact that this kind of meat contains saturated fats, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, along with being high in calories. So, avoiding it can be a healthy habit.

He believes that his current liveliness is due to one rather new habit he picked up – reducing his consumption of red meat

Image credits: Altitude Films / Youtube

Sir D. Attenborough added that overall, over the past couple of years, his diet became way more vegetarian than he would have thought it would ever be. But he’s still far from vegan, as he still eats foods of animal origin, like cheese and fish.

Still, vegetarianism itself definitely has its benefits when it comes to a person’s health and longevity. Vegetarians eat less saturated fat and cholesterol, and more vitamins C and E, fiber, various plant chemicals, and other things that are needed for a person’s body. So, they’re likely to have lower bad cholesterol and lower blood pressure, which are associated with longevity and a reduced risk for chronic diseases.

Image credits: David Foodphototasty / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

So, considering the factors such as his diet and the amount of time he spends outdoors, it’s not that surprising that David Attenborough is pushing 100.

Additionally, his red meat reduction isn’t only beneficial for his body but for the planet as well. The production of meat, dairy, and eggs makes up at least around 18% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, which is a rather high percentage coming from a singular source.

After all, red meat is known to be quite damaging to a person’s health, especially if consumed in large amounts

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Red meat production is the biggest sinner here. It’s mostly due to the fact that livestock produce methane emissions through their digestive process (enteric fermentation). And methane is more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2), as it traps more heat in the atmosphere, which is not great news for our already fast-warming planet.

So, by avoiding red meat, you not only help yourself, you help the planet too. And since Sir David Attenborough is known as an environmentalist, such a sentiment fits his character perfectly.

Additionally, red meat is also bad for the environment, so giving it up fits Sir David Attenborough’s character more than perfectly

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