Habit

Protein

The building block most people under-eat as they get older.

Arnold SchwarzeneggerAge 78
10/10Science Score

Arnold Schwarzenegger said“Eat enough protein and keep lifting, and you hold on to your muscle as you age.”

The science saysStrongly supported. Protein plus resistance training is one of the best-proven ways to protect aging muscle.

Why this scoreBacked by multiple clinical trials.

Verdict: Real, and worth copying.

Sylvester StalloneAge 79
6/10Science Score

Sylvester Stallone said“Hard training, high protein, and growth hormone keep you strong past forty.”

The science saysHalf right. Lifting and protein genuinely preserve aging muscle, but the growth hormone he credits is unproven for anti-aging and carries real risks.

Why this scoreTrials back the lifting, not the hormones.

Verdict: The barbell earned the physique. The growth hormone is renting it back.

Dwayne JohnsonAge 53
4/10Science Score

Dwayne Johnson said“Thousands of calories and big cheat meals fuel this physique.”

The science saysMostly fuel, not magic. Protein helps muscle only up to a point; the rest is energy for elite training, and the cheat-meal-as-engine idea is untested.

Why this scoreProtein helps only up to a point.

Verdict: Eat like a mountain only if you train like one.

Paul McCartneyAge 83
3/10Science Score

Paul McCartney said“McCartney says that beyond his ethical reasons, a health argument entered the picture once he heard that eating a lot of red meat isn't good for you.”

The science saysCohort studies link high red and especially processed meat intake to modestly higher mortality, though the certainty for unprocessed red meat is low.

Why this scoreLarge prospective cohorts and meta-analyses; a recent systematic review rated the certainty of the mortality link as low.

Verdict: Cutting back on red meat, processed meat most of all, is a reasonable bet, but the size of the personal benefit is modest and uncertain.

Lenny KravitzAge 62
9/10Science Score

Lenny Kravitz said“Kravitz says the muscle he carries at 62 was built with training and food alone, without peptides, growth hormone, or testosterone, and that the drug-free route is harder but fully attainable.”

The science saysResistance training reliably builds and preserves muscle and strength well into later life, so the habit behind the claim is on genuinely solid ground, even though no outside party can audit whether any individual is actually drug-free.

Why this scoreMeta-analyses of randomized resistance-training trials in older adults, plus large prospective cohorts linking muscle-strengthening activity to lower mortality.

Verdict: The training science is about as settled as it gets: the 'all natural' half is a claim only he can audit.

Erling HaalandAge 25
0/10Science Score

Erling Haaland said“Haaland says milk, specifically the raw unpasteurised milk he buys direct from a farm, is a superfood that benefits his stomach, skin, bones and muscles.”

The science saysMilk is a genuinely useful source of protein, calcium and iodine, but the raw and unpasteurised element adds documented infection risk without a demonstrated nutritional advantage.

Why this scoreBacked by dairy-science review and outbreak surveillance data; the farm-milk allergy signal he echoes comes from childhood cohort studies, not adult athletes.

Verdict: The milk earns its keep; the word raw is the part the evidence does not pay for.

Lewis HamiltonAge 41
3/10Science Score

Lewis Hamilton said“Hamilton says switching to a fully plant-based diet made him feel physically better than at any point in his life, with higher energy, more strength in the gym, and no bloating.”

The science saysWell-planned plant-based diets are reliably linked to better cholesterol and lower cardiovascular risk, but the specific claims about energy, strength and skin are personal impressions rather than tested outcomes.

Why this scoreMeta-analysis of randomized feeding trials on blood lipids, plus large prospective cohorts on coronary heart disease; nothing comparable on energy, gym performance or skin.

Verdict: The heart numbers hold up better than the mirror does.

Bryson DeChambeauAge 32
6/10Science Score

Bryson DeChambeau said“DeChambeau bulked up on six to seven protein shakes a day to add driving distance, and has since said the way he was eating was improper and left him feeling unwell.”

The science saysProtein supplementation reliably improves muscle and strength gains alongside resistance training, but the measurable benefit plateaus at around 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight a day, well below what this approach involved.

Why this scoreMeta-analyses and meta-regressions of randomised resistance-training trials establish both the benefit and the ceiling; no trials support extreme intakes.

Verdict: The training built the driver swing; the seventh shake was along for the ride.

Dan BuettnerAge 66
2/10Science Score

Dan Buettner said“Buettner says the single biggest longevity move available to most people is learning to cook a whole-food, plant-based diet at home, which he estimates is worth six to ten extra years.”

The science saysThe direction of the advice matches large diet-and-mortality datasets, but the specific six-to-ten-year figure comes from computer modeling of observational data, not from anyone actually living longer in a trial.

Why this scoreLarge prospective cohorts and one widely cited life-expectancy modeling study; no randomized trial has ever measured lifespan from a diet change.

Verdict: Right direction, borrowed precision: the years are a simulation, not a stopwatch.