WASHINGTON: Due to a recent health scare, Australian actor Liam Hemsworth has been rethinking a major component of his life: his diet.
According to Fox News, in an interview with Men's Health, the 30-year-old actor opened up about his life and what led him to a hospital visit in 2019.
Hemsworth discussed training for his new television show, 'The Most Dangerous Game,' in which he plays a runner. He recounted, "I spent most of the project running and getting beaten up. It was just brutal. I leaned out a lot. Running is so jarring. Your knees, your ankles, your lower back."
Afterward, Hemsworth turned to high-intensity workouts: "A mix of calisthenics, sled pulls, sled pushes, and lots and lots of free weights."
On being asked whether his diet changed, Hemsworth explained that a scary experience prompted him to focus on changing his diet and revealed, "I was vegan for almost four years, and then February of last year I was feeling lethargic. Then I got a kidney stone. It was one of the most painful weeks of my life. I was doing press for 'Isn't It Romantic.' But I had to go to the hospital and get surgery."
The 'Killerman' star noted that he's "all good now," but the risk getting a second kidney stone is 50 percent if you maintain your diet.
Hemsworth added that his particular kidney stone was a calcium-oxalate kidney stone. "It forms from having too much oxalate in your diet.
The 'Isn't It Romantic' star shared that Oxalates are really high in a lot of vegetables, specifically spinach, almonds, beetroot, potatoes. "Every morning, I was having five handfuls of spinach and then almond milk, almond butter, and also some vegan protein in a smoothie. And that was what I considered super healthy."
Hemsworth admitted, "So I had to completely rethink what I was putting in my body."
The actor shared that he made the decision to turn to veganism for health reasons. He recalled that it was right before he started shooting 'Independence Day: Resurgence.'
The first two years, he felt great. "My body was strong, my cardio was high.
"What I say to everyone is 'Look, you can read whatever you want to read. But you have to experience it for yourself. You have to figure out what works best for your body,'" he added.
The 'Paranoia' actor provided fans with one last piece of advice when it comes to diet: "And if something works well for a period, great, keep doing it. If something changes and you're not feeling great, you've got to reassess it and then figure it out."
He also said that he's been utilising ice baths to maintain his fitness and said, "When I'm working out really hard, if I'm including an ice bath among all that, my recovery is better. When you come out of an ice bath, your body feels electric and your senses are heightened."