Bruce Springsteen Needs ‘Well-Balanced Diet’ but Is ‘Telling Friends He’s Just Not Hungry’

Bruce Springsteen‘s ongoing health issues have run the singer down, and now his gaunt appearance and obsession with staying as “lean and mean” as he possibly can is adding new worry to a long list of concerns.

“He’s always been a stickler for a clean and green diet, but now he’s skipping meals and focused on his music — telling friends he’s just not hungry [and that] his lyrics feed him,” an insider exclusively tells Closer.

Just months after the “Born to Run” singer was forced to cancel a slew of U.S. concert dates due to a crippling peptic ulcer, the 75-year-old rocker axed a string of European shows in late May and early June for what his management called “vocal issues.”

After the missed shows, the Boss has been so focused on the ongoing Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour that his diet is suffering.

“People say it’s fine he’s a vegetarian and more power to him, but at his age they feel he needs a well-balanced diet, [including] three nutritious meals a day,” the source continues. “He looks like he needs carbs and calories and healthy fats. He’s doing himself no favors running around on steel wheels with hunger pains. His metabolism must be challenged.”

Adds the insider, “The hope is he realizes what he’s doing is no good and changes while he still can.”

In his storied career, Bruce has played more than 3,500 concerts, marathon affairs lasting between three and four hours. And fans across the globe began to fear the canceled shows were signaling the end of his touring glory days.

Last fall, the “Dancing in the Dark” hitmaker faced the grim notion he might never sing again because of the pain caused by his peptic ulcer. “You sing with your diaphragm,” Bruce explained. “You know, my diaphragm was hurting so badly that when I went to make the effort to sing, it was killing me, so I literally couldn’t sing at all. You’re thinking, am I ever going to sing again?”

Peptic ulcer disease is caused by “open sores that develop on the inside lining of your stomach and the upper portion of your small intestine,” per Mayo Clinic. A common symptom of the condition is stomach pain.

Sources previously told Closer in June that doctors managed to get that medical issue under control with antibiotics and diet, but Bruce was working hard to satisfy fans during his current tour with the E Street Band.

“The biggest problem is that his ulcer pain can flare up at any time and he’s got to pull back and address it,” said the insider. “It just guts him to have to disappoint a stadium crowd by canceling a show right under their noses. Bruce comes from a working-class home and he knows fans take time off work, hire babysitters and book hotels to see his shows.”

The Springsteen and E Street Band Tour began February 1, 2023, in Tampa, Florida, and it is currently scheduled to conclude on July 3, 2025, in Milan.