Alicia Silverstone Talks Veganism
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 @ 2:00pm
In her latest interview with Health, Alicia dishes on her new book, The Kind Diet, her new line of cruelty-free beauty products, and how her outlook on veganism has transcended seamlessly into virtually every facet of her life (including naked gardening!):
Q: Your book, The Kind Diet, comes out next month. What excites you most about it?
A: I'm excited about presenting something that can make you feel amazing and look your best. Once you're informed, then you can be really gentle and kind to yourself, by giving yourself all the gifts life has to offer — like mental clarity and vitality — all while making the planet better.
Q: Do you think you’d write another book?
A: Yeah, but I want to wait until I have kids and then write a book for children. I have a lot to say about kids, but I don't think anyone wants to hear that when you don’t have them! [Laughs.] So I want to have kids and go through, ideally, a whole natural-birth experience.
Q: Have you seen Ricki Lake's documentary, The Business of Being Born?
A: Yes! Isn’t it beautiful? I think I've had baby fever since I was 2. I know I want to be a mom, and I know my husband [musician Christopher Jarecki] will be a great dad. But then there’s the reality part, where I also have all these other things I feel so passionately about, so we're not at all trying. [Laughs.] I think I might be ready maybe next year.
Q: Did you have any family-health concerns that inspired you to live this healthy?
A: I was aware there is a lot of diabetes in my extended family. But I didn’t come at it, honestly, from a health point of view. I was 21 when I went vegan. And when anybody told me to be healthy, I thought people were just telling me [to lose weight] because I'm in this business. So I was like, "Go F yourself!" [Laughs.]
Yet when I look at those pictures from back then, I can see the puffiness in my eyes. It's weird to be 32 now and feel and look younger. What saved me was my love of animals. Right after I first made the switch to a plant-based diet, people were literally telling me, "What have you done? You're sparkling."
Q: You’'e said that choosing the right foods can help you feel more sensuous. How so?
A: You can hear your needs and desires more clearly. You’re just more juicy — there's just this lightness that happens
Q: You told a British publication that you like to garden naked, swim naked...
A: It's true. It probably started when I was doing my garden the first time. I'd be out there, and it would be scorching hot, so I would take off all of my clothes and garden. And then I would jump in the pool and swim — and I always get in the pool naked, because why would you want to put on a bathing suit? But I’m not a nudist at all. I'm shy. I've never done nudity in a film, ever. I don't want anybody to take a picture of me naked. But in my own home, in my garden, [nudity's] OK.
Q: Have you always been a naked fan?
A: I think it evolved through my new happiness with my body —a nd also through cool friends. I used to spend a lot of time with Woody Harrelson, and he's not afraid to get naked! So around him and his wife and their kids, I just think I got more grounded and was like, this is my body, it's not some scary thing.
Q: You slimmed down through your plant-based diet. Do you credit any exercise as well?
A: Diet first, exercise second. Exercise is fantastic, and when I need to be a certain way quickly, I amp up my exercise by walking the dogs and doing yoga.
Q: We've heard that you're coming out with eco-friendly beauty products.
A: I am! They're these beautiful makeup bags and brushes by EcoTools, completely cruelty-free and made from recycled materials, bamboo, and hemp.
Q: The White House now has an organic-vegetable garden. Have any words of advice for Michelle Obama?
A: Compost, for sure. We have a badass compost. I bought a baby bag of worms eight years ago and put it in the compost, and now there are bazillions of them. And it’s like the dirt is so delicious, you could eat it!
In her latest interview with Health, Alicia dishes on her new book, The Kind Diet, her new line of cruelty-free beauty products, and how her outlook on veganism has transcended seamlessly into virtually every facet of her life (including naked gardening!):
Q: Your book, The Kind Diet, comes out next month. What excites you most about it?
A: I'm excited about presenting something that can make you feel amazing and look your best. Once you're informed, then you can be really gentle and kind to yourself, by giving yourself all the gifts life has to offer — like mental clarity and vitality — all while making the planet better.
Q: Do you think you’d write another book?
A: Yeah, but I want to wait until I have kids and then write a book for children. I have a lot to say about kids, but I don't think anyone wants to hear that when you don’t have them! [Laughs.] So I want to have kids and go through, ideally, a whole natural-birth experience.
Q: Have you seen Ricki Lake's documentary, The Business of Being Born?
A: Yes! Isn’t it beautiful? I think I've had baby fever since I was 2. I know I want to be a mom, and I know my husband [musician Christopher Jarecki] will be a great dad. But then there’s the reality part, where I also have all these other things I feel so passionately about, so we're not at all trying. [Laughs.] I think I might be ready maybe next year.
Q: Did you have any family-health concerns that inspired you to live this healthy?
A: I was aware there is a lot of diabetes in my extended family. But I didn’t come at it, honestly, from a health point of view. I was 21 when I went vegan. And when anybody told me to be healthy, I thought people were just telling me [to lose weight] because I'm in this business. So I was like, "Go F yourself!" [Laughs.]
Yet when I look at those pictures from back then, I can see the puffiness in my eyes. It's weird to be 32 now and feel and look younger. What saved me was my love of animals. Right after I first made the switch to a plant-based diet, people were literally telling me, "What have you done? You're sparkling."
Q: You’'e said that choosing the right foods can help you feel more sensuous. How so?
A: You can hear your needs and desires more clearly. You’re just more juicy — there's just this lightness that happens
Q: You told a British publication that you like to garden naked, swim naked...
A: It's true. It probably started when I was doing my garden the first time. I'd be out there, and it would be scorching hot, so I would take off all of my clothes and garden. And then I would jump in the pool and swim — and I always get in the pool naked, because why would you want to put on a bathing suit? But I’m not a nudist at all. I'm shy. I've never done nudity in a film, ever. I don't want anybody to take a picture of me naked. But in my own home, in my garden, [nudity's] OK.
Q: Have you always been a naked fan?
A: I think it evolved through my new happiness with my body —a nd also through cool friends. I used to spend a lot of time with Woody Harrelson, and he's not afraid to get naked! So around him and his wife and their kids, I just think I got more grounded and was like, this is my body, it's not some scary thing.
Q: You slimmed down through your plant-based diet. Do you credit any exercise as well?
A: Diet first, exercise second. Exercise is fantastic, and when I need to be a certain way quickly, I amp up my exercise by walking the dogs and doing yoga.
Q: We've heard that you're coming out with eco-friendly beauty products.
A: I am! They're these beautiful makeup bags and brushes by EcoTools, completely cruelty-free and made from recycled materials, bamboo, and hemp.
Q: The White House now has an organic-vegetable garden. Have any words of advice for Michelle Obama?
A: Compost, for sure. We have a badass compost. I bought a baby bag of worms eight years ago and put it in the compost, and now there are bazillions of them. And it’s like the dirt is so delicious, you could eat it!
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