NEW YORK —Despite saying for years he adheres to a vegan diet, Mayor Eric Adams on Monday confirmed reports that he occasionally eats fish.

“Let me be clear: Changing to a plant-based diet saved my life, and I aspire to be plant-based 100 percent of the time," a statement from the mayor reads. "I want to be a role model for people who are following or aspire to follow a plant-based diet, but, as I said, I am perfectly imperfect, and have occasionally eaten fish.”

At an earlier press event Monday, Adams railed against “food police” monitoring his restaurant orders. 

“I'm not going down this rabbit hole of, ‘Do you eat cake?’ ‘Did it have eggs in it?’” he said. “That’s noise to me. I got to get New Yorkers to eat a plant-based, -centered life.”

Earlier Monday, Adams announced the expansion of a healthy lifestyle program that connects patients with doctors, dietitians and health coaches to encourage plant-based eating, exercise and other habits aimed at eliminating chronic illnesses like diabetes. 

The effort is modeled off an existing program at Bellevue Hospital, and by the end of the year will serve adult patients at seven other city-run hospitals. 

Adams said that his interest in expanding the program came out of his experience with treating his diabetes, which he says he reversed after switching to a plant-based diet after being told by doctors he was at risk of going blind and losing fingers to amputation. 

“If I would have followed the path that I was living, I would not be standing here,” Adams said. 

Adams and other city officials did not say how much the program will cost, or how many patients it will be able to enroll. Doctors at city-run clinics can refer patients to the program, and residents can also self-refer. Adams said the city’s budget office is currently analyzing the cost. 

The program will allow patients to be evaluated for current sleep, exercise and diet behaviors, meet with medical professionals to get advice and coaching on healthy lifestyle choices and participate in group education on topics like sleep management and stress reduction. 

The program does not come with any expansion of access or subsidies for healthy foods. Adams insisted that residents in areas with a lack of access to vegan foods can find fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as various legumes, at their local bodega. 

He also said that in a few weeks he would temporarily switch to a $10-a-day menu of vegan foods to demonstrate that one can eat a tasty, plant-based diet without breaking the bank. 

“There's a myth out there that states eating healthy is expensive,” he said. “We want to show New Yorkers how you can have culturally sensitive food that is healthy.”