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Dave Bautista has revealed that he follows a strict dairy-free diet.
In a recent interview, the actor and former wrestler explained that he went dairy-free “in like 2002,” and as a result hasn’t eaten “real pizza” in more than two decades.
Read more: This Is What Lenny Kravitz Eats To Stay Shredded At 61
Bautista said that his “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time) “cheat meal” would be something without all of his dietary restrictions. He described ordering a New York-style pizza with a “super doughy gluten-filled crust,” extra sauce, and sausage.
Bautista made the comments during an appearance on COMPLEX’s “GOAT Talk,” where he answered questions with his The Wrecking Crew co-star Jason Momoa.
Momoa praised pasta as his GOAT cheat meal over pizza, but Bautista said, “I’m more into pizza,” and added, “Especially as someone who hasn’t eaten real pizza in over, I don’t know, 20 years. […] Because I went dairy-free in like 2002.”
Bautista has previously talked about finding out that he was allergic to dairy in the early 2000s after it negatively impacted his asthma. Dairy doesn’t cause asthma, but people with both food allergies and asthma often find that it triggers symptoms.
Studies also demonstrate that while the typical SAD Western diet can promote allergies and exacerbate symptoms of allergic diseases, nutritionally balanced plant-based diets can “protect from allergy and reduce the severity of allergic diseases.”
Read more: 8 Vegan Pizza Recipes
‘I completely cut meat out of my diet and went just predominantly plant-based’
In a “Gym & Fridge” interview with Men’s Health in 2024, Bautista revealed that he “mostly” eats plant-based foods. In particular, he highlighted rice and beans, a famously nutrient-dense, affordable combination of whole plant foods.
Bautista told Men’s Health that in 2010, after beginning work with gym owner and mixed martial artist Cesar Gracie, he cut out red meat and pork. He explained that the “whole team” at Gracie’s gym was gluten-free, and most were vegetarians or pescatarians, prompting him to cut back on wheat, as well as other meats.
“About six, seven months ago, I completely cut meat out of my diet and went just predominantly plant-based,” added Bautista. At the time of the interview, Bautista said that he still ate eggs every day and cooked fish one or two times per week.
The number of Americans eating plant-rich diets increased from 12.1 percent in 2019 to 25.8 percent in 2022, and around 11 percent of the population actively identifies as flexitarian. A survey from 2025 found that nearly half of Americans would consider adopting a plant-based diet to cut emissions from food production.
According to The EAT-Lancet Commission, widespread adoption of the Planetary Health Diet – a primarily plant-based, flexitarian approach to food – could prevent more than 40,000 early deaths per day, and 15 million deaths per year.
Read more: RFK Jr Reveals Carnivore Diet, Says He Only Eats ‘Meat And Ferments’
