Alicia Silverstone on “The Kind Diet,” Healthy Eating

Yesterday, I went to “An Afternoon on the Environment with Alicia Silverstone” and it truly felt like just that; an afternoon to hang out with Alicia Silverstone. Her conversational and completely un-pretentious tone made the audience feel at ease and entertained from the beginning.

Pregnant and still beautiful as ever, Alicia began her presentation by stating that she has lately been rewired as “blood to belly instead of blood to brain” and asked the crowd to please not think of her as a “ditz”. Author of the book, The Kind Diet, the presentation was centered around details that she finds particularly important from it, as well as personal stories.

I’m sure it’s not just me, we are all used to those gung-ho vegans who will call you a murderer if you pick up a single chicken nugget. Alicia was not at all like this and it was honestly refreshing. I had prepared myself for an hour of anti-meat campaigning, but instead got an hour of insightful facts and interesting personal accounts of her battle with veganism. She states that there is no “right” way to help animals or the environment and it does not have to be “all or nothing”. Whether you are a vegan, vegetarian, or simply cut out one day of eating meat a day from your week (Meatless Monday?), you are helping. Silverstone did not once attempt to chastise the audience for not following her path of a strict plant-based diet.

From age 8 to 21, Alicia herself struggled with committing to this difficult lifestyle. She says she was an on again, off again vegetarian and vegan; sometimes in a moment of weakness asking a friend “Can I have a bite of that?” She understands how truly demanding veganism can be and that college students may have particular trouble sticking to this diet. Finally at age 21, Alicia ate her very last steak. She hasn’t looked back and has never regretted her decision since.

After only two weeks, Silverstone noticed some results. Her skin began to clear up, her nails and hair got stronger, and she constantly had more energy. She joked that even if you don’t care about saving millions of animals (which she hopes that you do), you can’t ignore the health benefits! Alicia stated that she doesn’t get sick anymore. With this diet keeping her body in perfect balance, there is no need for medication of any kind. When she got pregnant, she decided to go get blood work done “just for fun” and to no surprise, came back with perfect results.

For those in the audience who had no intention of switching their diet, Alicia provided some simple tips on how to help the environment. She said that every little choice we make matters, so never feel like that one bottle you recycle isn’t helping; it totally is!

3 baby steps towards saving the planet:

– Get an eco-friendly water bottle. Alicia showed us hers that she takes everywhere and refills.
– Unplug appliances! Charging your cell phone overnight wastes tons of energy when in reality your phone only takes an average of an hour to recharge.
– Bring your own mug to Starbucks. While Alicia states that on the vegan diet you have no need for caffeine anymore (the diet provides you with a surplus of energy) if you bring your own mug to the Starbucks on campus, they’ll give you a discount on your coffee!

If you are considering going the vegan route, Silverstone’s book provides helpful tips to staying on track, a shopping list, and tons of yummy vegan recipes. I purchased my own copy of the book for Alicia to sign after the presentation. It was exciting to meet one of my childhood idols, as well as someone who is so actively dedicated to saving the Earth.

If you want to learn even more about becoming a vegan or a super-helpful human being: check out http://www.thekindlife.com/