Bear Grylls, the TV superstar adventurer who lives near Marlborough, has stepped into the eco debate on the need to eat less meat by telling how meat-eaters are “insanely healthy, happy and vibrant”.

At a time when everyone is being urged to eat less meat because of the damage to the planet caused by raising livestock, Bear, who lives at Aldbourne, has written enthusiastically on his Facebook page about people who stay fit and happy by eating animal organs.

He posted to his 12 million followers: “This is interesting to me: Over 90 per cent of what the incredible Hadza people in Tanzania eat comes from hunting and gathering around their camps.

“And they are insanely healthy, vibrant, happy, and free from so many of the chronic illnesses that plague our society, such as diabetes, obesity, depression, and autoimmune illnesses. Contrary to popular belief, they live as long as we do, with much greater health-spans.

“And they are vital much later in life than western counterparts, climbing trees and hunting all day well into old age. So I was interested to hear what they like to eat?

“Answer: Meat, organs, and fat from the biggest animal they can hunt.

"But also understanding how they prioritise food was so interesting and the findings are clear: the focus is on meat, always. Animal foods first, then followed by honey and fruit, like berries, then a distant fourth would be tubers or roots, most of which are spit out because they are so fibrous.

“They don’t even glance at a ‘vegetable’.

"The Hadza live in a way that suggests that organs, meat, fruit, honey, and raw dairy work as a healthy lifestyle, and reminds me that those foods have been the MOST SOUGHT after foods by humans for millions of years.

“Could this play a part in what allows their health to thrive. Thoughts?”

Bear’s post has been shared on the Facebook page of the World Carnivore Tribe, a group that has more than 57,000 members, where he is hailed for what the meat-eaters have taken to be his endorsement of their diet.