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Actor, animal advocate, and author Alicia Silverstone has said that “everything changed” about her health when she adopted a vegan diet in the late 1990s.
Silverstone appeared on a recent episode of the podcast Armchair Expert, where she told co-hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman about how veganism had a positive impact on her health, and how simply adjusting one’s diet can tackle multiple social issues at once.
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Silverstone is known for her iconic roles as Cher in 1995’s Clueless and Batgirl in 1997’s Batman & Robin, but has also appeared in more than 40 major film roles, dozens of TV shows, several theatre productions, and more. She has written two books about plant-based health and consistently spoken out about veganism.
“Choosing this way of eating, you save so many animals,” Silverstone told Shepard and Padman. “I did this because I love animals. Period. End of story. But once I did, I ditched my asthma inhaler.”
“I had allergy shots twice a week. I was taking antibiotics two or three times a year for bronchitis, I had acne everywhere,” continued Silverstone. “And after Batman, was what they called a little pudgy. […] So here I am, and I’ve changed all of it. All of this went away.”
Silverstone also highlighted how some athletes have adopted plant-based diets to reduce inflammation and support recovery, and mentioned high-profile, rumored vegetarians such as martial arts star Bruce Lee and tennis player Martina Navratilova. She added that the potential impact of vegan diets on health was what inspired her 2009 book, The Kind Diet, and 2014’s The Kind Mama.
“My skin was glowing, my eyes were white. My nails, you couldn’t bend them, it was like, so strong,” said Silverstone. “Everything changed about my health.”
Read more: Eating Plant-Based Can Reduce Cancer And Cardiometabolic Disease Risk, Says Study
‘You can’t solve everything, but you can solve a lot’
After adopting a vegan lifestyle for the animals and experiencing a positive change in her health, Silverstone said that she began to learn about the food system’s impact on the environment, world hunger, and how diet intersects with social justice issues.
“I was like ‘oh my god,’ this choice is the most efficient way to knock out all these problems at once,” said Silverstone. “You can’t solve everything, but you can solve a lot here. And even if people just do it more than not, [that] is better, right?”
Read more: Plant-Based Diets Represent ‘Significant Opportunity’ To Address Global Challenges, Says Study
