Hamilton does his part to save the planet... and himself

In his quest to lead the healthiest lifestyle possible and avoid bruising the planet further, Lewis Hamilton is moving towards a meat-free diet.

Speaking on the subject of his wellness in Singapore this weekend, the Mercedes driver said his desire to change his eating habits was rooted in a documentary he had seen on the meat industry and its negative effects on the environment and animal welfare.

"I stopped eating red meat two years ago," said the current leader of the world championship.

"I have generally been pescatarian for the majority of the year and now I've cut fish.

"As the human race, what we are doing to the world... the pollution [in terms of emissions of global-warming gases] coming from the amount of cows that are being produced is incredible.

"They say it is more than what we produce with our flights and our cars, which is kind of crazy to think.

"The cruelty is horrible and I don't necessarily want to support that and I want to live a healthier life."

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Hamilton admitted however that a lifestyle constrained by dietary requirements won't be easy to enforce. 

"So far I don't feel as if I have been missing out," he said.

"But I don't know how easy it is going to be when I get home. That is going to be a real test.

"Every person I have met who has gone vegan says it is the best decision they have ever made.

"When you watch this documentary and you see meat clogging up your arteries, you see all the stuff they put in the meat, stuff we are all eating, there is no way I am going to disregard that." 

"I don't want in 10 or 20 years to have diabetes or catch any of that stuff," he said.

"I can continue to decide to eat that stuff and take that risk, but when you get [a disease or illness like that], you want to make change, so I am trying to pre-empt that.

"I think it's the right direction and by letting people who are following me know, maybe that will encourage a couple of people to do the same thing."

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