Arnold Schwarzenegger Has Been 80% Plant-Based for 5 Years, Feels 'Healthier and Younger Overall'

Dave J Hogan/Getty Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger has told his carnivorous side that he'll only "be back" occasionally.

The Terminator star, 74, shared in his latest newsletter that he switched to a mostly plant-based diet a few years ago, and rarely eats meat.

"I have been about 80% plant-based for the past five years of my life," Schwarzenegger told fans.

"Even though I still eat meat sometimes, because I can't resist a juicy steak when I have friends over or a crispy wiener schnitzel in Austria, I mostly eat plant-based because it is better for my overall health, and as my friend Jim Cameron taught me, better for the environment because the clearing of forests and the raising of animals for meat causes so much pollution."

And Schwarzenegger said that he's already seeing the health benefits of going mostly meat-free.

"My bad cholesterol number is so low that my doctor thought I might be a different person and [I] feel healthier and younger overall," he said.

The former California governor then asked anyone who has "recently gone vegan" to email him their favorite recipes, and encouraged other plant-curious people to give it a try.

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Schwarzenegger's switch to a plant-based diet was one of the ways he's improving his heart health. In 2018, he underwent heart surgery to replace a pulmonic valve, and in Oct. 2020 he had a second major surgery to replace his aortic valve.

"Thanks to the team at the Cleveland Clinic, I have a new aortic valve to go along with my new pulmonary valve from my last surgery," he wrote on social media, along with photos of himself in a hospital bed and ones of him touring statues in the Ohio city.

"I feel fantastic and have already been walking the streets of Cleveland enjoying your amazing statues. Thank you to every doc and nurse on my team!"

Schwarzenegger's 2018 surgery was initially supposed to be less invasive, but after putting him under anesthesia they determined that he needed a full open-heart surgery.

"It's true: I'm back!" he tweeted at the time. "I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one. But guess what? I woke up, and that's something to be thankful for."