Doctor reveals benefits of David Attenborough's 'long life' diet as he celebrates 100th birthday
Topics: David Attenborough, Documentaries, BBC, Nature, Film and TV
Thomas Bamford
Featured Image Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images
Topics: David Attenborough, Documentaries, BBC, Nature, Film and TV
The man who has spent over 70 years telling us how extraordinary life on Earth is has just proved his own point by celebrating a very special birthday milestone.
Sir David Attenborough turns 100 today (May 8), and the legendary nature presenter looks as sharp as ever: still narrating, still inspiring and living a strong and healthy life.
It's left many fans and doctors alike wondering the same question - what's his secret?
Well, he's actually been pretty open about it. And it's not anything out of the ordinary, no expensive supplements or a gruelling fitness regime. It's something far simpler.
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So what's he cut out? The Blue Planet narrator very rarely eats red meat and has admitted that he's become much more of a vegetarian in his older age.
Speaking to The Times in 2020, Attenborough revealed: "I have certainly changed my diet. Not in a great sort of dramatic way."
He added: “I don’t eat meat. That’s not entirely true, I eat fish.
"It wasn’t a great sort of decision and I can’t pretend that it was motivated by any ecological conscience, but I now avoid red flesh.”
Attenborough continued that while he wasn't wholly veggie, he eventually became 'much more vegetarian' than he thought he would.
He admitted he still enjoyed cheese and fish, but had mostly kicked beef and pork.
Turns out, doctors are firmly in Attenborough's corner on this one.
Cindy Hwang, from MD Anderson, recommends eating no more than 18 ounces of cooked red meat per week: "Based on evidence and recommendations from organizations like the American Institute for Cancer Research."
The reasons go deeper than just cancer risk. Higher consumption of red and processed meats is strongly linked to increased risks of chronic diseases, including bowel cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, according to the Journal of Nutrition.
Hwang offered some clarity on the subject, suggesting the moderation is the goal, not total abstinence.
"It's not as if you have red meat once, your cancer risk skyrockets. It's not correlated like that," she said. "But the more red meat you eat, the higher the risk."
Her tips for keeping things sensible include: "Stick to leaner cuts like pork tenderloin or beef flank, go for ground meat that's 90% lean or higher, and cook at lower temperatures where you can, baking and broiling over open flame grilling."
On the processed meat front though, she's more firm. Bacon, sausages, salami, and hot dogs, all of it increases colorectal cancer risk, and she recommends limiting or avoiding these foods where possible.
Thankfully, Attenborough's showing no signs of slowing down, with his documentary Wild London released earlier this year.
It was in 1954 when Attenborough first graced our screens as a presenter for BBC's Zoo Quest - but he very nearly didn't land the gig that would catapult his career.
Though he worked as a producer on the show, a job he had done for two years, he was rushed in at the last minute to replace the original presenter, who had become unwell, meaning one of the world's most beloved broadcasters could very nearly have missed his time to shine.
For Zoo Quest, a then 28-year-old Attenborough was able to travel the world in search of exotic and rare wildlife, which he would feature in episodes for UK audiences - marking the start of his rise to fame.
After working as a BBC executive, Attenborough went back to nature in the 1970s to become a true explorer.
He made a series of programmes about remote tribes, some so isolated that it's thought they hadn't been contacted by Europeans before his arrival. He embraced their cultures and immersed himself, wearing nothing but a loincloth while filming in the Solomon Islands.
By doing this, Attenborough was able to show the world that there are different ways of life, and helped his audiences understand both the diversity and universality of the human experience.
In the late 1970s, Attenborough did something that had never been done before - a natural history programme of a monumental scale.
Life on Earth featured never-before-used photography and camera techniques to show animals around the world in their natural habitats, bringing in an estimated 500 million viewers.
Attenborough was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1985 for his services to broadcasting, receiving the accolade at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace and becoming Sir David Attenborough.
In 2001, Attenborough unearthed a strange new world with Blue Planet, a series which introduced millions to the wonders of the deep sea and species such as the hairy angler fish and the Dumbo octopus, all of which were captured on film for the first time.
From overseeing the first ever colour broadcast on BBC2 in the 1960s to working with 3D television, Attenborough has long been known to push the boundaries when it comes to technology - and this didn't stop at just broadcasting.
In 2015, at the age of 89, he dived 1,000ft in a submersible off the Australian coast to film previously unseen parts of the Great Barrier Reef, breaking the record for the deepest ever dive on the reef.
Attenborough also collaborated with the Natural History Museum for a virtual reality project, and filmed several BBC series – such as Planet Earth II and Wild Isles – in Ultra HD.
Attenborough has always been an outspoken figure when it comes to conservation and climate change - even though he previously admitted he didn't start making his programmes with these issues in mind, as he simply enjoyed observing the world.
But as the decades passed, he became aware of the destruction the human race was causing on Earth and its environment.
He's authored documentaries which overtly tackle environmental issues, and has collaborated with major environmental organisations and media producers to highlight climate change, most notably the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and the BBC Natural History Unit.
In 2022, Attenborough was awarded a second knighthood for his services to both television and conservation.
He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in a special ceremony held by the now-King Charles.