His lack of proper rest and a healthy diet led the musician and mentor on 'The Voice U.K.' to develop a series of health issues.

• Aug 14, 2018

AceShowbiz - will.i.am ditched his penchant for bingeing on processed foods and surviving on only four hours of sleep a night after discovering it was turning his insides "toxic".

The Black Eyed Peas frontman admits his hectic work schedule left him with little time to really think about how he was treating his body, until he realised his weight had ballooned to 210 pounds (95 kilograms).

"I was eating bad, sleeping bad. No regiment," he told Arianna Huffington on her Thrive Global podcast. "I was going to sleep around five in the morning... I would argue with people like, 'All I need is like two hours a day.' Like boom, a catnap and... I'm just ready to go."

His lack of proper rest and a healthy diet led the musician and mentor on The Voice U.K. to develop a series of health issues.

"I was creating different types of disorders," he said. "And starting with my high blood pressure and my cholesterol... I had acid reflux, nasal drip... When you have so much acid in you that means your body is fighting off inflammation and mucus and that is a toxic environment that leads to other diseases."

A timely trip to the doctor's office scared him into overhauling his lifestyle: "I went to my doctor and he said, 'Hey. Your high blood pressure is like you're 60. And your cholesterol. Where heart disease and diabetes runs in your family, you should take control of that,'" he recalled.

will.i.am took immediate action and adopted a vegan diet more than a year ago, when he also decided to cut out sugar and processed foods, and he quickly shed 20 pounds (nine kilograms) from his frame.

"I switched my regimen, went plant-based and it changed my life. I lost 20 pounds," the rapper shared. "My cholesterol came down; my high blood pressure came down. My stress levels came down naturally. I have more energy. My sleep regimen is awesome."

The 43 year old is now urging fans to reconsider eating meat too.

"It (going vegan) changed my life, and I would encourage everybody to have a plant-based regimen," will.i.am explained. "You don't need the meat, you don't need to have decaying flesh in your body. The more I think about it I was like, 'Ew.' I was just, I had death in me. Decayed flesh and crazy chemicals I can't pronounce. You wouldn't put that s**t in your car."