Bear Grylls on Cutting Out Vegetables: A Fact-Check

Grylls has swung from vegan cookbook author to describing vegetables as something he avoids completely. The population evidence points firmly the other way: intake of vegetables and fruit tracks with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with most of the benefit arriving in the first few servings a day. There is a narrow, genuine observation buried in here, which is that some people with gut symptoms feel better temporarily on a low-fibre diet. That is a symptom-management observation, not a case for permanent elimination.

Bear Grylls said

“Grylls says he has removed vegetables from his diet in favour of red meat, organs, eggs, butter and fruit, and feels stronger for it.”

The science says

Large dose-response analyses of prospective cohorts consistently link higher vegetable and fruit intake to lower mortality and cardiovascular risk, so eliminating vegetables runs against the weight of the evidence.

Science Score

Multiple dose-response meta-analyses of prospective cohorts covering millions of person-years, plus systematic reviews of dietary fibre; nothing supports removal.

The verdict

Feeling better is not the same as being better, and this one points the wrong way.

The claimWhat Bear actually said

Grylls, who once wrote a vegan cookbook, has said he now considers that period a mistake and has moved to a diet built on red meat, organ meats, eggs, dairy, butter and fruit. He has described vegetables as offering him little compared with the nutrient density he gets from meat, and says he avoids them entirely. The account is based on how he reports feeling rather than on any published testing.

Sources

Why it mattersWhy this matters for longevity

Elimination advice from a trusted survival figure travels much further than the personal experiment behind it

Fibre intake is already below recommended levels for most adults, and removing an entire food group makes that worse rather than better

The evidenceWhat the science says

A dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohorts published in the BMJ found all-cause mortality falling with each additional daily serving of fruit and vegetables up to around five servings, and a later analysis in the International Journal of Epidemiology found reductions in cardiovascular disease, cancer and total mortality across a similar range. A Lancet series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on carbohydrate quality found the lowest risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer among people with the highest dietary fibre intakes.

What the evidence does not support is the specific claim being made here. No trial or cohort shows an advantage to removing vegetables. Cohort data cannot prove causation, and people who eat more vegetables differ in other ways, but the effect is consistent across populations and dose-responsive. Reported improvements in skin, strength or gut comfort after a diet change are uncontrolled, unblinded and confounded by everything else that changed at the same time, including losing weight and dropping ultra-processed food.

TakeawayThe honest takeaway

The practical lesson

If vegetables genuinely upset your gut, that is worth investigating with a clinician rather than treating as a reason to eliminate them for life.

RelatedRelated habits

Eating More FibreReducing Ultra-Processed FoodCooking At Home

Each of these is a habit you can build on its own. Explore them through the Topics index.

SupplementsThe supplement angle: Dietary fibre

Support a habit, do not replace one

Fibre supplements can partly close a shortfall but do not carry the full package of a varied plant intake. Anyone increasing fibre should do so gradually and with more fluid.

Supplements can support good habits. They do not replace sleep, movement, nutrition, or medical care. Talk with your healthcare provider before starting anything new.

This is educational commentary, not medical advice, and does not imply that Bear Grylls endorses, is affiliated with, or uses Winning Longevity or any product. We critique the claim and the evidence, not the person. Any direct quote is a placeholder until sourced. Talk with a qualified healthcare provider before changing your routine. See our health disclaimer.

Men's Daily 7 Essentials

Whatever Bear does, the boring basics still matter most. One simple daily pack covers the foundational vitamins, minerals, and nutrients a careful diet tends to miss, so the foundation under the habit is handled.

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