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We’ve never covered Brittany Snow, 31, on her own here, I just checked. I’ve heard of her of course but I don’t know much about her career. She’s in the Pitch Perfect movies which is why she’s doing press now, for Pitch Perfect 3. (I saw the first Pitch Perfect but she reminds me of a lot of other actresses so I didn’t remember her specifically.) She seems like a decent person and actress, but she hasn’t really stood out for me before. In a new interview with Shape, Snow gave some quotes about her body image and about social media, and this is all stuff we’ve already heard from multiple actresses. However I liked what she said and wanted to cover it. Actresses and models say things like this because they’re insecure despite how amazing they look to the rest of us. It’s not surprising since they work in an industry where appearance matters above all.
On accepting her body as athletic instead of trying to be model thin
“When I turned 30, I looked at my life and realized that I’d always been on a diet and working out to be the size of a model. I thought, I’m 5’3”, and I inherited my mom’s beautiful muscular body—it’s just not going to happen. So I began eating well to take care of myself—I’m almost 100 percent vegan, and I’m off dairy and gluten. I realized that my health and happiness were way more important than being at the gym all the time.“It’s strong not only physically but also emotionally. I used to be frustrated by my body type as a kid. I had muscles without trying and failed when I attempted to lose weight. Now I’ve come to appreciate the fact that I’m an athlete.”
On social media
“I think that as a society we’re always looking to social media to compare ourselves with how other people look and eat. I put Instagram and Twitter in a separate category in my phone, so I don’t check them all the time and am not constantly aware of what other people are doing. I think people use social media to compare themselves with others too much, and it has really negative effects on the psyche.”Her daily routine
“On days when I need to keep my energy up, I try to eat really clean. I try not to have too much caffeine besides coffee in the morning. In the past year, I’ve started meditating for 10 to 15 minutes a day, which is super important to me. I’m not a morning person, but I force myself to workout before work, which gives me an energy boost.”
I know people who have gone off dairy and gluten and have felt better because of it. My mom did it on the advice of her doctor and it helped her health issues. However giving up gluten is generally considered unnecessary and has not been shown to be beneficial for people without celiac disease. Giving up dairy as well has got to be difficult. Plus she’s vegan! I imagine there are more food options though in LA.
Snow does look model thin to me, but that must be relative where she lives. Athletic people in my area are also considered thin because people aren’t as small here. So while I look at Snow and think she looks amazing and beautiful, she’s comparing herself to her peers and some are much thinner. It just goes to show that you can’t know what is going on with someone. In terms of her thoughts on social media, those people who post the hot photos on Instagram probably have as many insecurities and are comparing themselves just as much to others too, especially because that’s what they’re doing all day.
photos credit: WENN and Getty
I love that she’s now happy with herself. But to say she’s not thin is pretty f*cked up. I get it, she’s saying by HW standards but my god. If she’s not thin, what the hell am I???
I know, it’s crazy. And while I like what she says, it seems sad how she had to go through all these mental gymnastics to justify not being a complete skeleton.
I agree. I’m recovering from anorexia, and if this woman considers herself not thin enough, this sounds like me when I was her size. I’m worried for her 🙁
Also, didn’t she struggle with anorexia for years? This is concerning
Honestly at 27 I’m going through more insecurity than I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m struggling so hard with my self image and when I read stuff like this it validates my feelings. I feel so embarrassed too because I KNOW I’m internalizing a ridiculous beauty standard. I know better. I know how to turn it off, or at least thought I did. But I’m really struggling.
Chloeee, I feel like I am listening to myself a couple of years ago. I was your age at the height of my ED, and I completely understand the struggle. I still struggle. I’ve been in therapy for over a year (dealing with my mom’s death landed me there, but started exploring self-image while there). Women are set up to have issues like this. If it helps, you are certainly not alone.
Yes my first thought exactly. She’s not muscular, but she certainly is thin. Nothing wrong with that but let’s be real here.
Maybe a warped mindset is more the culprit here. The “muscular” comment made me Google her and I’m still not seeing it.
Right? She is THIN. Like damn!🤦🏾♀️
I thought she was saying she wouldn’t be as thin as she currently is if she didn’t eat completely clean, not that she was saying she’s chubby. It sounds like she’s saying for her body type she either has to eat completely clean or be at the gym all the time and she chooses the former. I basically thought she was saying she’s not *naturally* thin like, er, Priyanka Chopra?
I thought she was honest about how she stays thin – like, this is the work she has to do to look the way she does. I remember her from the soap opera Guiding Light and I don’t recall her ever being even slightly chubby, but I suppose she started dieting at a young age.
I’m not convinced “clean” eating is all about health – especially when someone has a history of disordered eating, adopting any extremely restrictive diet seems like a red flag. From my experience, the only difference is that orthorexia is more socially acceptable/applauded where skipping meals or purging might attract negative attention/concern.
Just using the word clean makes me suspicious. I know it’s a thing, but really… what does that even mean?
@Mathilde: It means nothing. I know people come up with definitions but they vary and clean means something different for everyone. I’m also not convinced that it actually makes you healthier than someone who does eat gluten or candy or fast food (all in moderation). There are so many factors that contribute to your health, one of which is genetics. That’s the wild card. And I think as long as you eat sensibly and listen to your body, you’ll be fine. I could be wrong but there are no conclusive studies to the contrary.
from my armchair I’ll say that’s more of a body dysmorphia comment. She is thin. Really thin. She could be focusing on areas where she carries her weight and consider herself not thin.
Like a person can have thin arms, legs, fave, etc…, but have a slight muffin top. They then consider themselves less than “model thin” which is subjective.
Can I just say that Brittany Snow is gorgeous and very talented?
From her description of herself I was expecting someone like Mary Lou Retton. I think she meant ‘lean’ instead of muscular. Still some issues there.
She revealed in 2007 that she has battled depression, anorexia, and self harm for 9 years (at the time). It hurts to hear her describe herself as not living up to her ideals. My heart goes out to her.
http://people.com/archive/my-nine-year-struggle-with-anorexia-by-brittany-snow-vol-68-no-16/
My mindset was quite the same as her when I had an eating disorder. I felt “huge” despite never being bigger than a size two. I finally resolved to lose the weight after going through major life stress, tried this whole vegan thing which had me feeling great until I became absolutely scared to eat anything else and realized my life involved so much thinking about what to eat it was almost all i thought about.
i started to question why exactly I wasn’t eating sugar, grains or dairy, and thinking things like if i were to be stranded or my plane crashed, I wouldn’t eat bread or dairy or sugar because *studies say it is bad * or it would give me autoimmune disease…but I didn’t have celiac, and would it really be better to die than eat? Was eating gluten really going to give me an autoimmune disease?
My thinking was really messed up! It has taken a long time to eat those foods I had banned again, but life is so much better this way. My heart goes out to anyone who has had an Eating disorder and struggles to make peace with their body and accept that food is our friend not our enemy. Truly the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
And I do believe veganism can be great for many, just not someone with a history of an eating disorder necessarily.
She’s thin, but she’s not model-thin. Look at Bella Hadid: ever rib shows.
What does that leave for her to eat then? Fruit and vegetables?
Basically. Maybe some grains like rice or quinoa. It’s a pretty restrictive way to eat and live.
Add legumes, sea vegetables, sweet potatoes, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, nut butters, etc. Vegan food is great and much more diverse than most people think/know. Yes I am talking from personal experience.
Yes, I guess I was categorizing most of what you mentioned under vegetables, since they are vegetable protein. I have a lot of personal experience with it, too, having been a vegetarian for about 15 years. No meat, fish, eggs but the occasional yogurt and cheese are things I can’t completely give up.
I don’t find it restrictive because it’s the type of food I’ve always gravitated toward. But I know for some who are cutting out so many things, it can feel that way. Especially if you tend to eat out a lot.
Thank you, Pumpkin!
@Esmom, I was replying to @Sayrah. I used to be plant-based then plant-based plus eggs and fish. I can’t be 100% plant-based, although I really wanted to.
@Pumpkin
I also eat a whole food, plant based diet, but re-introduced eggs a few months ago (we raise our own chickens, so I know what I’m getting). Due to peanut and treenut allergies in our house, we needed the additional protein source, anyway.
Once you get into vegan eating and see all of the awesome recipes that there are, it’s not that hard or expensive.
@Heat. Sorry about the allergies, it can be a challenge especially when eating out. It’s good you get to raise your own chickens, you can control how they live and the quality of the eggs you eat.
Yes, that’s the point, eating vegan is not hard or expensive. I am utterly pissed at this BBC show, don’t recall what is called, that bashed veganism as unhealthy, difficult, and expensive. No way. A plant-based diet can be healthy, cheap – much, much cheaper than omnivore diet, and it is accessible, when people know where to shop. It’s crazy though, I sometimes go to the supermarket and find two kinds of beans – not to be misunderstood, I can deal with that, and there are about 30 kinds of cheese and about 50 kind of meat and cold cuts. Yes, I started counting once.
I love my vegan diet, but I am not the militant, so I do eat raw honey as a sweetener. I feel great, and I am never hungry. I like to cook so right now I am in a recipe adaption phase. Latest hit with my little critics was vegan shepherd’s pie and chocolate cake. I make a lot of Indian and Meditteranean food.
I don’t find it limiting even when I travel overseas.
What happened was as I kept going the other food groups ceased to exist, and I don’t miss them. I merely broadened my diet to include more unusual fruits and vegetables. I never have an issue with restaurants even French, so it isn’t inconvenient.
You’re not restricted in flavor or options with being vegan or gluten free.
Personally, I have only 1 food allergen to capcaisin for which I have an epi pen.
I have tried gluten and dairy free lifestyles. Separately and together. It ended up very damaging to my body. Even with dietition consultations. It helps some. It’s not good for all.
I have strong feelings on “diets” and feel if you listen to your body. Heed medical advice. Make smart choices. You don’t need to cut out most staples. It truly is a case by case. What works for 1 may not for the other.
I am a life long vegan. No problem finding food nor is my diet restrictive. Even when i eat out.
I find often that meat eaters label my diet restrictive because they are uninformed about the range and variety of fruit, vegetables and grains. They probably restrict their fruit and vegetables to only 2 or 3, 4 if they are adventurous, and assume that is all there is.
And if you flip the argument around and look at the range of meats and fish and diary they eat, it’s actually pretty limited because it’s the same things from a very narrow range of choice.
Take that away, together with their limited knowledge of fruit, vegetables and grains, and they struggle with a vegan diet.
I’m only now finding out how many options there are if you want to eat vegetarian or vegan, at least in a big city.
I feel much healthier too, now that I eat almost no meat. I’ve taken some other people to vegetarian restaurants too, and they were all surprised how good the food is and at the range of options.
I can’t imagine making that work in a small town that has super varying seasons. Rural NS does not lend many options for cutting out that many things. Of course you can manage it – but you’re going to need to google the crap out of recipes because I can’t think of a single vegetarian/vegan geared restaurant within 2+ hours of where I live. And we’re not as lucky as someone in say California – we’re getting our fruit/veggies flown/trucked in and in winter you really don’t have amazing options. Plus, holy expensive. My cousin is vegetarian, but she now lives in ‘the city’ so she has a lot more options than she ever used to.
Erinn, what is rural NS?
I live in the Atlanta suburbs, and I’m amazed by the vegetarian and vegan options.
I lived in Halifax for a few years and there some good veggie eat out options, but since ive moved to a bigger city I’ve been amazed at the choices. In NS you gotta basically really lean into the root vegetables 🙂
@babykitten. My sister lives in Atlanta and when I would visit we’d eat out every meal, so many fantastic veggie options. And the Decatur Farmers’ Market, omg, HEAVEN!!
Jerusha I lived in Decatur for 10 years and I miss that farmer’s market SO MUCH. I feel like people cannot understand my pain unless they’ve been to it. Decatur is the ideal place to live, IMO. Between the farmer’s market tnad the square, all the independent restaurants, the drive-thru dry cleaner and excellent nail salon I WEEP with longing for that place!
@Embee. I say Atlanta, but my sister actually lives in Decatur, within walking distance of Fernbank Science Museum. It’s a great place, with a small town feel, and then drive a couple of miles and you’re in the big city. My BIL owns a business in Little Five Points, another area I love.
babykitten et al, NS is Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s beautiful Maritime provinces. Halifax is its chief city.
Testing myself:
ON = Ontario
BC = British Columbia
NF = Newfoundland or NFL = Newfoundland & Labrador?
NB = New Brunswick
MB = Manitoba (or it is MT?)
SK = Saskatchewan (“easy to draw, hard to spell”)
AB = Alberta
PEI = Prince Edward Island (Green Gables)
QC = Quebec.
Canadian people, did I get it right?
Also
NWT = Northwest Territories
YK = Yukon
Nunavut = ??
All right, I’m done.
MB is indeed Manitoba 🙂 Awesome prairie province and way more beautiful than people give it credit for.
And we have amazing plant-based options here – lots of CSAs in the summer and a number of year round organic delivery services (some local/hydroponic grown options and some imported) and lots of great restaurants with plant-based options.
@Erinn – my family is from NS – and I agree – it can certainly be a real challenge and can get very expensive though if you happen to be close to Wolfville or Antigonish, they have more options (to cater to the University crowd, I imagine).
@babykitten I think it’s rural Nova Scotia (correct me if I’m wrong! Going based off her weather references and getting stuff imported).
Sorry guys – thanks to those who clarified – Rural Nova Scotia.
OriginalLala – my cousin is currently living in Dartmouth – so she has some amazing options. I’m actually 3 or so hours away from Halifax though, so it’s pretty limited when it comes to access. And really… I only make it to Halifax once or twice a year. I like the city, but I hate city driving, and being stuck in a car for 3 or so hours drives me nuts. And then winter is hard travel wise, as well, so that cuts out a good chunk of time.
Nicole (the Cdn One) – I went to Acadia before switching my career choice – so I was living in Wolfville for a few years. I looooved the valley. Amazing fresh produce EVERYWHERE.
I’m in a fishing community – which is great for seafood lovers. We import a good deal to the US and everywhere else. But I only like so much seafood, so that’s a slight issue. There’s only so much lobster you can eat before you start getting sick of it too.
At this point, I’m trying to find more veggie heavy options – and try more things that I would have never tried as a picky kid. I’ve gotten better about trying food, but a lot of my issue is texture. I feel awful eating meat, but I don’t know if I’ll ever fully give it up. I eat a good deal of chicken – and we bought a bunch of meat from a local small farm a couple of weeks ago – so I at least am able to support local, and I know what I’m eating has been raised in good conditions.
We had a small garden last summer – didn’t go super well, but I did get a ton of carrots out of it. Our dog loved that. But I also lost a ton of veggies to deer and other wildlife. I actually had a family of deer who decided to take one bite out of every single cucumber I had growing. I’m tempted to try to do some indoor planting as an experiment as well, but I have to find a spot with lots of sun where my cats and dog can’t get ahold of it, ahah.
@Erinn, don’t give up on your garden! Try to make it work!
Natalie Portman mentions she gets Vitamin B12 shots. I don’t know how regular people deal with their diets, but when I read Portman gets Vitamin B12 shots to supplement her nutrition I felt less uneasy about myself not being able to do that kind of diet. I’d like too, but my body can’t sustain it with the amount of work I feel I have to do in a day.
What? Eating vegan isn’t restrictive any more than refusing to eat human meat…
I eat mostly vegan myself and it’s easy to get needed protein and calories. You don’t even have to carefully balance amino acids in a single meal, the body holds on to those building blocks long enough to catch what it needs to make our own proteins in a later meal that day or within a few days.
My basic food groups are:
Fruit
Vegetables
Grains
Nuts
Seeds
Misc (nutritional yeast, added oils/fats, etc.)
I have a problem with something in wheat (including the older spelt and kamut, but not the gluten part) so I have to be careful not to eat it too often. Not at every meal and not every day. Not feeling deprived. I have no trouble with rice, wild rice, millet, teff, amaranth, corn, sorghum, oats. I use mostly wheat-free crackers (used to make them myself, it’s not hard) and taco shells and tortillas and some really good gluten-free (and therefore wheat-free) breads, rolls, muffins, and pitas that I keep in the freezer after an occasional mail-order expedition. Since I can eat wheat occasionally, I just wrap up individual slices of good wheat bread and keep those frozen also. I would do this even if not avoiding wheat overload since it means no spoilage worries.
I don’t understand the obligatory snark of eating gluten-free if not celiac. People can also have allergies or intolerances to gluten or (as in my case) some other component of gluten-containing grains. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — but if you have chronic problems that could be related to food, trying gluten-free for a couple of weeks isn’t a bad way to start your detective work. There is no minimum daily requirement for wheat. Just make sure you make up the difference in protein, fiber, and calories with other foods. If no improvement, then gluten isn’t a problem. Likewise eliminating dairy and then egg would be good next steps for such a trial elimination. Then test for other major allergens in your area (foods used very frequently) or any food you’ve suspected. Herbs and spices can be culprits also. If you react to the regular form of the food (in a non-life threatening way, of course), don’t cross it off your list until you’ve tried the organically grown version because you might be reacting to pesticide residues. Wheat in particular is heavily dosed with pesticides in the US, which may explain why so many people are feeling better without it. Some wheat-sensitive people find that organically grown wheat or just European wheat products in general don’t bother them. Also you may tolerate cooked but not raw or vice versa, fermented but not unfermented. These different forms also have different forms of the components, especially the protein.
If you have any food allergy, a varied diet can be helpful for controlling development of new ones from overexposure. Avoid eating the same thing at every meal or every day if you can, there are plenty of different foods to enjoy.
Perplexed- Portman gets injections because she has a real B12 deficiency. My neighbor, a dedicated carnivore, had the same problem and got regular injections.
Our food supply is relatively clean nowadays, and B12 is actually produced by bacteria. Its presence in meat products is incidental and probably isn’t reliably high today because antibiotics are used to enhance growth. So most people would probably benefit from B12 supplementation as insurance. The whole B complex is useful especially if you are under a lot of stress. If you eat dirt… such as by not cleaning off carrots from the garden too thoroughly before munching on them, you may be getting enough. A lot of commercial products aimed at vegans today are supplemented in B12.
Vegans don’t normally get B12 injections. You can buy inexpensive tiny sublingual lozenges as B12 supplements, and they are not needed every day. Probably at least once a week is enough, or 2-3 times if you want. A good multivitamin or B-complex supplement will include the recommended daily amount also (cheaper ones won’t).
The problem with so many people suddenly abstaining from gluten for a sundry of reasons, a large number of them nothing to do with allergies or celiac disease, is that it makes life harder for people who actually suffer from celiac disease. Yes, since gluten free is now a fad there will be more gluten free products. But there is also a huge risk that restaurants will no longer take the illness as seriously as they should. Cooks know that celiac disease is serious business, and that serving such customers requires among other things a second set of expensive kitchen equipment and no contamination in between. Pretty irritating then to bring the painstakingly prepared gluten free meal to the table just to discover the customer nibbling on bread sticks. When that happens often enough the real sufferer will no longer be getting truly gluten free meals but meals that cater to a fad. They are then left with less choices and more suffering.
@babykitten: you are welcome!
@Who ARE These People it’s NL for Newfoundland and Labrador now 🙂
Vegan food is awesome, but it takes a lot of time to learn how to prepare and what to use. But the main issue is that many regular places only have vegetarian meals.
I’m not doing vegan thing for my weight but for the love of animals, so it wasn’t hard for me to give up milk, eggs, or whatever it is majority eats.
Milla – I am extremely kitchen -challenged. Vegan eating is easy for me. How hard is it to just put fruit (fresh or dried) and some nuts or seeds or legumes or legume/nut/seed butter on a plate? I also invest in good vegan jerky for a quick fix. If I’m ambitious, I’ll chop some carrots and onions and mix with peanut or nut/seed butter, eat with crackers or bread or just by itself…. That’s good with bagged broccoli slaw or just shredded cabbage also. Add beans and/or tahini and/or avocado to a salad and it’s a meal. Add pieces of bread and it’s a sandwich in a bowl. I like the commercial Vegenaise as salad dressing, but I know how to make my own from blending tofu with oil and lemon juice and mustard. I also even know how to make truly instant pudding from tofu– just blend with any vegan-friendly boxes powder or your own concoction. Or just add sweetener and cocoa powder….
I just toss things together if I’m “cooking” without fancy sauces. Just veg and some protein food (beans, peanuts, commercial veggie burgers chopped up) and some grain if I want, maybe some nuts or seeds. A little oil if it needs it. Same with salad type things. I consider myself overexerting just to wash off the veg and slice it…. I get frozen veg blends on sale and use them in cooking. I also will cut up veg and fruit and package them in sealed sandwich bags for tossing into blender drinks, sometimes with a vegan protein powder.
And of course I’m in heaven now that both Ben & Jerry’s AND Breyers have nondairy ice cream that even my local grocery store carries! I have an ice cream maker, but a rat chewed the power cord while I was temporarily catless and I haven’t figured out how to get it fixed for a price less than the cost of a new unit. It’s really heavy, has its own compressor.
Anyway, simple vegan eating isn’t hard at all. Today there are also loads of good vegan cooking videos on YouTube. I like to watch them in the same spirit as people watch sports even though they don’t play…. .
I am a meat eater. However, I respect those who can give it up. But at the same time I can’t imagine what it takes to get enough protein in your diet with grains, fruits and veggies. I am also against eating too much soy product like tofu bc studies have indicated it can be bad in large amounts. I also hate tofu lol. I can see doing away with all meat, but eggs and dairy no way. I love them too much.
I can see subbing some vitamin supplements if you are that passionate about animal rights but its not something I would willingly choose. I think for me the healthiest I could go would be eggs, cheese, dairy and then lots of seafood.
Angela82 – I actually track my food for various reasons. The recommended protein daily requirement for me is 40 grams. It is not hard at all to meet that on a vegan diet and even sedentary me goes over that often. Just eat a variety of foods. It’s not rocket science. You must be thinking of people who forget we are not cows and think they can subsist on grass….
Protein is abundant in vegan-friendly foods. Beans, nuts, seeds, grains have plenty, and even fruit and veg contribute more than you would think if you eat sufficient quantities. I tallied up the protein in about 1.5 to 2 cups of frozen fruit and veg I was blending in my vitamix for a drink and it added up to at least 5 grams of protein. They weren’t extreme amounts either, just a handful of this and a handful of that. I could also have eaten that amount easily.
Americans tend to eat way too much protein, mainly animal protein, which can be hard on the body. But even athletes and people building muscle find that it’s not hard to get their much higher protein requirements from a vegan diet, even when traveling. Nomeatathlete.com has plenty of ideas for anyone interested.
What? Eating vegan isn’t restrictive any more than refusing to eat human meat…
I eat mostly vegan myself and it’s easy to get needed protein and calories. You don’t even have to carefully balance amino acids in a single meal, the body holds on to those building blocks long enough to catch what it needs to make our own proteins in a later meal that day or within a few days.
My basic food groups are:
Fruit
Vegetables
Grains
Nuts
Seeds
Misc (nutritional yeast, added oils/fats, etc.)
I have a problem with something in wheat (including the older spelt and kamut, but not the gluten part) so I have to be careful not to eat it too often. Not at every meal and not every day. Not feeling deprived. I have no trouble with rice, wild rice, millet, teff, amaranth, corn, sorghum, oats. I use mostly wheat-free crackers (used to make them myself, it’s not hard) and taco shells and tortillas and some really good gluten-free (and therefore wheat-free) breads, rolls, muffins, and pitas that I keep in the freezer after an occasional mail-order expedition. Since I can eat wheat occasionally, I just wrap up individual slices of good wheat bread and keep those frozen also. I would do this even if not avoiding wheat overload since it means no spoilage worries.
I don’t understand the obligatory snark of eating gluten-free if not celiac. People can also have allergies or intolerances to gluten or (as in my case) some other component of gluten-containing grains. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — but if you have chronic problems that could be related to food, trying gluten-free for a couple of weeks isn’t a bad way to start your detective work. There is no minimum daily requirement for wheat. Just make sure you make up the difference in protein, fiber, and calories with other foods. If no improvement, then gluten isn’t a problem. Likewise eliminating dairy and then egg would be good next steps for such a trial elimination. Then test for other major allergens in your area (foods used very frequently) or any food you’ve suspected. Herbs and spices can be culprits also. If you react to the regular form of the food (in a non-life threatening way, of course), don’t cross it off your list until you’ve tried the organically grown version because you might be reacting to pesticide residues. Wheat in particular is heavily dosed with pesticides in the US, which may explain why so many people are feeling better without it. Some wheat-sensitive people find that organically grown wheat or just European wheat products in general don’t bother them. Also you may tolerate cooked but not raw or vice versa, fermented but not unfermented. These different forms also have different forms of the components, especially the protein.
If you have any food allergy, a varied diet can be helpful for controlling development of new ones from overexposure. Avoid eating the same thing at every meal or every day if you can, there are plenty of different foods to enjoy.
I feel like the only person on the planet who’s annoyed by those Pitch Perfect movies. Well, at least the first one. I never bothered seeing the second and won’t be seeing the first.
I like Brittany Snow. She seems nice normal. But vegan and gluten free seems extreme.
Well she’s almost 100 percent vegan, whatever that means.
I guess that if she’s 95 percent vegan (my personal traduction of almost 100) that leaves room for 5 percent of the otherwise forbidden products.
It could be something simple like having a bit of honey or wearing leather shoes.
Some people are not only vegan eaters but the entire lifestyle. I am 99 percent diet but lower on the lifestyle. I buy cruelty-free, but I do wear leather and wool though I research the sources. It is where I am comfortable and what I can live with at the moment.
I would never give up gluten. I love fresh French and Italian bread. All kinds of pasta but lately I like gnocchi and polenta better. I love to eat so no about the gluten. I donate my leather and animal hair or wool items, so they are at least recycled.
Even if a person started with 2 or 3 vegan days a week, they would be making a positive impact on the planet, animals, and health. If someone wants to make a change, there is no need to make it miserable. I think it is best to start with what is natural and achievable. Eventually, increase to more meals and days that are vegan until it is complete.
I’m about 80% vegan, which means that 17 out of 21 meals I eat during the week are vegan. I love animals and I feel better when I eat vegan, but sometimes you just want a really good hamburger, steak or grilled salmon.
I’m also gluten and dairy free, and it’s not extreme. There are so many options for us nowadays. I weaned myself off dairy and now I actually don’t miss it.
I recommend trying to go dairy free and seeing what happens. For me, my skin has improved drastically and I no longer have belly bloating.
I liked the first one…but the second one was horrible in my opinion. I’m really surprised they made a third one.
She was really good on al old indie movie called the Vicious Kind with Adam Scott. She was so go in that, that I forgot all Pp3.
She was good in the movie version of the musical version of Hairspray.
Yes, she was great in that movie. She started as a child actor in soaps, was in a great TV show called, American Dreams, and as stated above, really good in Hairspray.
I LOVED AMERICAN DREAMS. I’ve met Brittany (along with her friend Shanae Grimes) at Barney’s Beanery in Weho. She’s a petite girl.
She was great in American Dreams, a tv series set in the early Sixties that aired 2002-2005. Loved that show.
Me too!
That show was amazing, that Will Estes guy was gorgeous
Actually there are more studies supporting the benefits of giving up gluten than harm involved in giving it up.
Replacing wheat flour with other junk flours like rice and corn isn’t good. But eating whole foods and avoiding gluten has been shown to be beneficial.
Face it, avoiding gluten means no more donuts, cookies, cakes, bread, and pasta. And none of those foods are necessary or healthy and they can all make you fat.
Eh, I feel like the science isn’t settled on gluten, other than it’s truly toxic for people with celiac.
I have an inflammatory bowel disease called Crohn’s. It requires strict, never -ending dietary restrictions just to stay out of the hospital. Why anyone would self-diagnose a GI condition and voluntarily restrict diet makes me roll my eyes.
Moderation in all things, healthy people out there. And if you truly think you have digestive issues, see a specialist. For real.
Non-celiac gluten intolerance is definitely not an imaginary condition. The problem, in short, is that certain people can’t properly digest gluten (and other veggies). Instead there is basically a fermentation process going on with glutane (part of gluten) in the colon, which makes people gassy and uncomfortable.
(Google FODMAP if you’re interested).
The science is settled on celiac, highly suggestive on non-celiac gluten intolerance, and the FODMAP thing is interesting, yes? There is also a small group of people with fructose intolerance; a larger group with lactose intolerance; and on and on. We were raised to view the intestines as hollow stupid tubes and in reality they’re exquisitely sensitive organs. Digestion is only in part a mechanical process; so much more it’s physiological and absorption is central to our good health.
It’s hard to reconcile medical experts estimates that celiac disease is grossly under-diagnosed with the apparently rampant self-diagnosis. It’s got to be that a lot of people are walking around with disease but asymptomatic or with misunderstood or misdiagnosed symptoms, while others are walking around with something else but thinking it’s gluten, and then there are fad eaters who think gluten is the devil. It’s not the devil. It’s a protein in wheat, rye, barley and a few other things such as blue-veined cheese (who knew?).
Pet peeve: restaurants that offer “gluten free friendly” salads that include bleu cheese.
And there is no “friendly” there is either gluten or there is no gluten. “There is no try.” ; )
@WATP: my pet heeves, albeit not gluten related:
“I am all for veganism, (animal foods) consumption is so bad for animals and the environment, but I can’t live without cheese” – people said that to me with a really stressed out face at the thought of not eating cheese.
“I am vegetarian, but I eat chicken”. I heard that more than once.
At work-related events, when we had individual dishes catered for us, with only this much food, no extras, omnivores suddenly want to eat something vegetarian “for a change” – their words, and guess what, they take the vegan or vegetarian dish and leave the meat dish for the vegan-vegetarian to eat. This has happened to me. Not that they believe that someone is actually a vegetarian or a vegan. I was left with no food, once when somebody just took my dish because I was not sitting at the table when they brought the dishes, and another time I felt bad, I FELT BAD to say no.
Yep, the only reason to be Gluten free is if you have Coeliac Disease – otherwise you’re just wasting your money.
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/risks-of-a-gluten-free-diet/
A recent systematic review of gluten rechallenge studies did not find significant evidence for NCGS. They conclude:
The prevalence of NCGS after gluten re-challenge is low, and the percentage of relapse after a gluten or a placebo challenge is similar.
This is a pattern of evidence that is consistent with the null hypothesis, that NCGS does not exist – results are all over the place, with better-controlled studies tending not to show an effect, and on average there is only a tiny signal that does not reach statistical significance. The most parsimonious interpretation of available evidence, therefore, is that NCGS does not exist. Despite this fact, roughly one third of the population report that they are trying to avoid gluten.
I am coeliac and while it is amazing there is awarwness now, its also highly problematic.
Places will call fries gf when theyve been deep fried or other things along breaded items (NOT GF!!!) and when confronted say ohhh well yeah there is a chance of trace gluten in everything. What am I supposed to do with that information??! Theyll use the same knives to cut bread, the same chopping boards…. ugh
Youve got to be careful but also if i was militant Id never get to leave the house and restaurants think almost GF is close enough becauae of all the trendy gluten avoiders who wont actually get sick….
I had a restaurant serve me GF pasta that had been cooked in the same water as normal pasta FFS! Soaking in gluteny water, they didnt see the problem. Boy, was I unwell!
@Pumpkin, that happens all the time and it drives me crazy. A work group would refuse to order meatless pizza, but when multiple pizzas arrive, the meat eaters go for the only pizza I can eat. I don’t know what they’re thinking.
I have to avoid gluten for medical reasons and there is no shortage of junky, sweet, fatty GF foodstuffs available. But, it’s expensive. There are some decent pastas though made with quinoa, veggies, other alternate grains.
A GF diet can be deficient in iron, folate and
other B vitamins, and fiber so it helps to use fortified or nutrient-rich grains and build in nutrition in other parts of one’s diet.
I hope this actress get sufficient calcium, too. Small-boned white woman…risk of low bone density.
It is weird when people talk about “going off” major food groups. It’s food not drugs.
Yes. Giving up gluten is beneficial to everyone. Multiple studies have shown this. Gluten has a negative impact on the brain, the nervous system, not just the digestive system. There’s an excellent book out called Grain Brain, written by a neurologist, Dr Perlmutter, that cites studies to that effect. Although the book is primarily about the effects of carb, there is a chapter about gluten. Another book by a doctor on gluten is Wheat Belly, also worth reading.
My parents decided to give up gluten and reduce carbs and it has changed their lives completely. In the course of a few months, my dad’s chronic shoulder pain was all but gone and within a year, my mom’s many problems -knee pain, back pain, neck pain, arthritis were significantly improved. Their quality of life is so much better.
I’m about oh… 80% gluten free now and I see a significant difference as well. But still. Cake must be had sometimes.
“Multiple studies have shown this.”
citations from peer reviewed literature please?
That’s great, but this makes it very tough for celiacs. A celiac cannot even have a crouton touch their salad or a breadcrumb on their plate, or they end up very ill. It’s nice that you can enjoy cake, but restaurants don’t truly understand gluten free because of people who just decide to give it up because they feel it.
I’d like the peer-reviewed literature too, please. Those books have been very successful but so have a lot of other “health/diet” books that haven’t been supported by the evidence.
And my medical situation requires a gluten-free diet, but I’m also a health sciences writer.
A gluten free diet is the only treatment available for people who must not ingest gluten. Most people can eat gluten, but some feel worse eating it because it’s harder to digest due to the proteins. Also, look at packaged breads and related products: Most these days have added gluten, on top of the wheat/rye/barley flours, to make them ‘tougher’ and have longer shelf lives. It’s driven by the needs of the food industry and distribution. Eating bread without that added level of gluten might be more tolerable.
Anything that helps people focus on what they’re eating, and bumping up the vegetable and fruit content of their diet, can feel good. Reducing a lot of processed carbohydrates can feel good. It’s hard to say whether someone had undiagnosed gluten intolerance and their ailments were related to that.
Also, be aware that some subset of gluten intolerance attacks the nervous system – it’s called gluten ataxia.
But self-diagnosis is not the way to go because what if something else is causing the problem? I was fortunate to see one of the world’s experts in small intestines – yes, that’s a thing – and he explained that GI symptoms tend to be so similar on the surface; the trick is to find the underlying problem that’s causing them — differential diagnosis. And at least with me, he was very good at that.
If what you’re saying is true, shouldn’t it follow that I, who has consumed tons of gluten my whole life, should be riddled with health problems? How come I don’t have weight or health issues despite my diet that includes plenty of gluten?
I think it’s dangerous to make these broad claims. My son is on the autism spectrum and when he was young I heard so much about how eliminating gluten could “cure” his autism. If that was true, as his developmental pediatrician said, why hasn’t this been plastered on the covers of all medical journals? And why is the incidence of autism only increasing even with so many parents forcing their kids to go gluten free?
Claims like this make worried parents susceptible to “snake oil” type replacements at worst and a child with a needlessly restrictive diet at best. I knew a mom whose non-verbal autistic child basically only ate white rice. His development and functioning didn’t improve; arguably he was more miserable because the foods he enjoyed were taken away from him.
I heard about the Wheat Belly book but didn’t read it. And I don’t think I will because there is so much fear-mongering when it comes to the most basic thing ever, food. I would go crazy. I can can’t do with eliminating foods. If I don’t eat bread for example, I feel less bloated, but as some posters commented here on another article – @jwoolman, where are you? carbs absorb more water so eating carbs will make you feel more bloated. But it’s not gluten that makes me feel bloated. And I don’t have digestive issues at all. One thing that stuck with me though after I read some criticism on wheat is that nowadays, the wheat we eat is so distorted through genetic modification that our bodies doesn’t recognize it anymore – it’s is not the same wheat our ancestors ate. Plus, lots of additives are added to commercial flour and bread – more gluten, vitamins, minerals. Somebody I know, knows a baker who says he never ever eats commercial bread, not even from “nice bakeries”. I don’t know what to think.
Even if I gave up bread – I eat only whole-wheat and sourdough, and not every day, I have no idea how to go about it when I travel. I can’t do only with bananas and nuts, or I am too scared of going hungry when I travel. I will give it a try next time.
Thanks esmom, pumpkin for your helpful comments. It’s true, these are scare tactics and scare tactics are never based on science. If only we’d be so scared about antibiotic overuse and under-vaccination. ; (
As for rice, pediatricians are really concerned about high arsenic levels due to rice from the American South being grown in areas treated decades back with arsenic to kill the boll weevils that ate cotton. Brown rice actually absorbs more under the husk, so that’s not the solution. High arsenic intake is associated with, among other things, bladder cancer. Feeding babies and children high-rice diets is harmful. Unless there’s a known medical condition, other cereals are available, not only wheat.
And let’s have a shout out for buckwheat, which is NOT a wheat, and has highly usable plant protein. Yum yum!
Eh, I listen to how I feel after I eat something. Gluten doesn’t bother me but it does bother my nephew. He doesn’t have a disease he is just allergic. They tested him, and it was positive. If it doesn’t bother someone, I see no reason to stop eating something.
White sugar is something I avoid as much as possible but if there is a bakery that makes insane vegan peanut butter cookies and I refuse to give them up.
@Who ARE These People?
“Digestion is only in part a mechanical process; so much more it’s physiological and absorption is central to our good health.”
That’s right. And we have to feed our “gut” the right foods – as in prebiotics and probiotics to facilitate nutrient absorption. Fiber and fermented foods, to translate.
I agree. We eat fermented foods, higher fiber foods and get our pre and probiotics from food sources. My kids get their extra nutrients from smoothies and fresh juices. They do eat what they want to try at someone else’s house because I don’t want to them to feel stressed about food in social situations. But they usually just want to taste cheese or fish. Meat is not something they want.
The only meat in my house is for my pets. When someone tries to make their cats exist on a vegan diet, I want to slap them. Cats don’t raid garden vegetables for a reason.
@magnoliarose: That’s a great choice. Parents should not vilify foods, or they do their children a great dis-service.
I ferment my own veggies- cabbage, cucumbers, peppers, radish, and I am quite happy with the result. I also love miso dressings and miso soup. There is this Korean fermented soy paste, I don’t remember what is called, but it’s so good on veg.
I would slap them too. Cats are carnivorous animals.
Lol at the vegan cats. I had a vet suggest feeding my dog vegetarian food. My pup sometimes vomits for an undefined reason, and the vet suggested the vegetarian food. When I told my dad (retired vet) this, he scoffed at the idea. Apparently vegetarian pet food can contain more additives than regular pet food. Cats are obligate carnivores anyway.
Actually, for decades now there have been vegan cat foods that have added the two essential amino acids for cats that they can’t get by eating sufficient quantities of plant food. They have been thoroughly tested on many generations of cats. I actually tried a bag of a dry version on my crew and they gave it multiple paws up. It was expensive at the time and the cat who needed the calories most tended to go off foods once I bought in quantity (it’s as though he got copies of my order ahead of time), so I didn’t keep it up. But it certainly would be healthy for them. They don’t all have problematic additives.
The reason cats are obligate carnivores is because they need those two amino acids and in the wild can’t get them from plants. But humans can extract them in sufficient quantities and add them to their feline friends’ food.
Dogs are not true obligate carnivores and are actually able to live quite well on a proper vegetarian diet. Don’t know about vegan. But dogs do have protein needs significantly lower than cats, hence warnings not to routinely feed dog food to cats. It won’t poison the kitties but won’t provide enough protein for them.
Our old vet had a recipe for homemade cat food that actually was only about 1/3 meat.
Didn’t she suffer from an eating disorder? I could google it but… But yeah, when someone with an ED history cuts a ton of food groups out I don’t think that’s smart.
http://people.com/archive/my-nine-year-struggle-with-anorexia-by-brittany-snow-vol-68-no-16/
It’s also very strange she didnt mention her history of ED. 9 years is a long time and overcoming that is a huge part of one’s body acceptance and finding balance in diet and exercise.
As someone recovered from an ED I look at elimination diets with strong suspicion. I actually had to stop being vegan because I would use it as an excuse until finally my rules were getting so ridiculous it was undeniable.
Same. Elimination diets are often just calorie restriction hidden under a more socially-acceptable term.
She probably did mention it and Shape left it out…
This is my experience as well. That veganism often is ED masquerading as a socially acceptable dietary change. It’s like carte blanche to not eat. Last time I heard someone tell me they were vegan, they also told me they’d only had a baked sweet potato all day to eat.
Now obviously not all vegans, but a key indicator to me is lifestyle.
Veganism is incredibly hard to balance nutrient wise, you basically need to have a nutrition background or a lot of training so you don’t miss amino acids and other key nutrients. It’s concerning to me so many people adopt it but have low nutritional literacy. It’s a drastic nutritional change, and is ideally monitored by a health professional, at least for the beginning.
I used to follow vegan youtube channels for a while and most of them – I am referring only to women, admitted they suffered from EDs in the past. Actually from all those people I followed, only one of them had no ED history. I am not saying it’s a rule.
The people I know well who are eliminating whole food groups for “health” reasons are using it as a socially acceptable way to exert control when they have issues around body image and mental health.
I tried to follow a vegan girl on youtube, but she was only eating raw,which I found so limiting. Then she accepted food cooked in other ways, but still couldn’t get her tips. She struggles a lot with food, I don’t want to wake upnissues in me.
Seems like it. “Everything in moderation.” A lot of people think I’ve given up a food group because I must avoid gluten, so I have to educate them on the fact that I eat bread, cake, cookies (too many), doughnuts (they do exist!), pasta, scones, cupcakes, pretzels, chips, pie, crackers and on and on … they’re just made with other ingredients of varying nutritional content.
We seem to think that flour can only be made from wheat.
And people also forget that gluten is not only found in wheat; it is also in barley and rye. In fact my lifelong reaction to barley was more severe than to wheat. Watch out for licorice, Ovaltine, coffee substitutes, barley soup…
WAtp, I love barley and am fine with it but it really upsets my son’s stomach. He can eat every other grain, though, we have tried everything we can find. Interesting how different people react.
@Ennie. I followed most “prominent” vegan youtubers, and now I only follow one of them because she is very scientific and critical, presents arguments for everything she says. And if she realizes she is wrong about things she said, she will make a video about that. Be careful, raw veganism is very, very restrictive and can lead to health issues. I also think that raw vegans on youtube play on peoples vulnerabilities and emotions.
Esmom, that’s interesting. Your poor kid. At least he can eat all the other grains. I’ve retroactively seen that some of my worst episodes were related to barley, and hidden barley at that – barley syrup and so on. No malted anything for me!
We stock up on amaranth ( a seed), millet (fluffy, good rice substitute), buckwheat and so on. I actually don’t like the taste of quinoa and use it sparingly. I have a bag of teff and need to experiment with that, too.
Millet’s my all-time favorite! Flax is another seed that I have a real problem with. Major digestive upset. With is too bad because I love the taste and texture. Oh and my son cannot tolerate coconut oil at all.
I love millet. I make it with sesame seeds and chunks of cauliflower in a pressure cooker. I make a shitake Asian sauce for it.
I’ve known plenty of people who eat vegan and none of them had an eating disorder. Their plates were always piled high. I eat practically vegan and also have used eliminate/reintroduce ways to test for food intolerances and allergies (much more reliable than lab testing, I am a chemist and know their limitations). I have never had an eating disorder. However, I have run into people who assume eating disorder even with lots of visible padding simply if you don’t eat meat…. Must be pathological, right?
Really, subsisting on one baked sweet potato for a day is not what vegans do. Many anorexics are carnivores, also, so I doubt that there is a correlation. The eating disorder comes first. People with it might use various excuses to get you off their back, but that doesn’t mean their problem is vegan eating. Their problem is not eating enough for other reasons.
And no, vegan eating does not require tons of nutritional expertise. Just eat a sufficiently wide variety of foods in sufficient quantities and you will do fine. The species would never have survived if things were that complicated. In dirtier times, they were even getting enough B12. Humans couldn’t really do well with uncooked meat because of the health risks, so discovery of fire made the big difference in their ability to make meat stolen from carnivores at least digestible and relatively safe.
@Kitten, it’s called Orthorexia and I think it’s why being raw, vegan and gluten-free are suddenly so popular. It’s just a “healthy” way to restrict calories down to nothing. A lot of these people are going to be extremely deficient of nutrients as they age.
Even though the correlation between what we eat and our brain development is still debated in scientific circles, there is no doubt that manipulating food through deconstructing it and adding heat certainly played a part in our evolution. I can’t think of another animal that does either of those things at all. So it would stand to reason that it has something to do with the development of our frontal lobes.
I also never understood how a diet that involves you having to take a million supplements to replace the vitamins and minerals in food is considered healthier…
I am not an expert, but as far as I’m concerned, omnivorous diet, included cooked foods, made us who we are. I refuse to accept any other point of view.
Raw vegans are the worst based on what I used to watch on youtube. They have no nutritional training and try to convince other people that raw veganism is the way. The crown is taken but a raw vegan who had several related businesses and gives advice such as: if you are cold (in winter) (you don’t need cooked food to warm up) – just light a candle or take a hot bath or and have a cuddle under the blanket. But be a raw vegan.
Categorizing foods into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is orthorexia.
And no-one should take supplements unless they have a test and their doctor tells them to. I have being there, done that.
I find this so depressing. As someone with a very active ED, but a desperate desire to recover I find these people who recover and just turn to socially acceptable restriction so depressing. Do these issues ever go away? Is this just it forever? I would love for Brittany to have conquered her demons but her words here prove that she hasn’t. Perhaps her body is at a healthier weight than when she was actively anorexic, but eliminating entire food groups, denying that she is thin… she doesn’t sound recovered to me… quasi recovery at best, and that is not a good way to live.
Love that blue dress!
I know I’m being a grumpy monkey but when people talk about being dairy and gluten free it makes me roll my eyes just a smidge. I get that for some people it’s truly necessary but usually it just seems self righteous and preachy. Anywhos, she’s beautiful and I’m happy she’s learned to love her body.
Double-edged sword for pepole with celiac or non-celiac gluten intolerance: one the one hand , there are a lot more good food products and cookbooks available; on the other we are questioned (even interrogated) and treated as if we’re among the fad food crowd. It would be so much less open to public ignorance and intrusion if we had pills as with lactose intolerance.
That’s why my eye rolls are small and internal only; I’m not going to try to guess who actually needs to eat gluten free and who wants to feel special (except among my friends. I know when a friend has just decided not to eat something).
Someone not eating something doesn’t mean they have to feel special. You are not by definition humble because you eat like the majority.
Flan. I know my friend.
I could never do that diet. Eating gives me too much joy
She also mentions accepting her body and that she doesn’t spend her life in the gym anymore. But then she mentions working out every morning and her vegan diet! Isn’t that contradictory?
She “forces” herself to work out, she says.
Yeah she has had body image issues for years, which she has publically commented on. Her quotes here make me think she is using the fad of elimination diets as another way to “control” how and what she eats.
I mean, I look at her and in no way do I see a muscular body type. She’s extremely thin. And her comments about it give me pause. I hope she is in as good of a head space as she says.
That all said, PP3 looks like an utter train wreck and I wonder if the cast is a bit embarrassed that this is what it has come to. I can’t see Anna Kendrick putting up a good front a few years down the line when discussing the last leg of this franchise retrospectively.
I’ve cut down on dairy and considering going completely dairy free next year. I feel so much better. Less stomach problems.
I cut down dairy too and less bloating for me. I cut down on soy too (tofu and sushi are my favourites). But I can’t go completely soy and dairy free. Soy is super hard to eliminate for an Asian country diet.
Cutting out milk and ice cream solved a lot of my GI issues. I have found that I can still eat some yogurt (like nonfat plain greek yogurt) and some cheese once in awhile and be ok. I feel like life is too short to give up cheese completely!
So many products have added milk solids, whey etc. We’ve been reading labels and eliminating those as much as possible. Been fine with aged cheddar and kefir (w Lactaid tabs) and new lactose free milks, cottage cheese, yogurt. Greek yogurt seems easier too but check for fewest ingredients.
WAtp, yes. Although for me cottage cheese still wreaks havoc with my digestion. Sadly because I used to love it with fresh tomatoes and basil.
Another cottage cheese fancier! Sorry to hear it. My supermarket sometimes carries a lactose-free version but I know somehow that’s still not enough for everyone. My husband is highly sensitive to lactose and there are certain things that I can handle (even with gluten intolerance because the lactose problem was likely secondary and there’s been some healing) and he can’t, because it seems reversed for him.
Fun fact, Nixon ate cottage cheese with ketchup. I tried it a few times – not bad! Tangy. I’m going to try it your way.
My children do like goat or sheep feta or goat cheese now and then at their grandparent’s house.
I’m pretty much dairy free anyway – I’ll randomly have some cheese in the winter and ice cream in the summer, but that’s like twice, maybe thrice a year. And honestly, I don’t miss it. But I know some people would collapse without it.
I would breathe easier without dairy but my bones …. I just can’t eat enough kale and almonds to make it up, and it’s more easily absorbed from dietary calcium than from supplements.
Signed, one of the many many people with absorption issues who was not only underweight too long but also developed low bone density until diagnosis and management…
Which is partly why I expect people to respect that I know what I need to eat for my health. !!!
I cut down on dairy because it exacerbates my fibriod. I want to completely give it up but I just can’t (I love pizza), so I cut back on it and eat it moderately compared to before. I have noticed a slight positive change.
That’s not surprising. Lactose intolerance is the natural norm for most people past adolescence. The ability to tolerate dairy products into adulthood is the result of a gene mutation more commonly found in African and European backgrounds, but it’s not the general rule for the global population. I would think most people have some level of lactose intolerance, but dairy is just so ingrained as part of the American diet that most don’t consider it.
But like what does she eat then? Vegetables and nuts! No shade. Just… what does she eat?!
I don’t know what she eats. But you can check out some vegan websites and be ready for a mind-blowing experience.
I don’t think it’s the vegan part that’s the issue, there are plenty of things to eat aside from animal products for sure but being vegan AND avoiding gluten seems like a very restrictive diet plan. Having to go GF because of a bowel condition is one thing, but going gluten-free as a way to, possibly, avoid carbs is a red flag for ED… Grains are a great source of fibers, complex sugars that your muscles and brain need, they’ll help you feel full and they should be part of your diet unless you have a specific illness. Some also contain amino acids and minerals that you need if you’re following a vegan diet and so cutting them out could be dangerous.
One of my ex was allergic to nuts, lactose intolerant and was thinking about going vegan. Because of the nut allergy, that was about the only time where I was “but honey, what will you eat?”
I am a fully committed carnivore, but one of the best meals I have ever eaten was at a vegan restaurant in San Francisco. It was mind blowing-ly delicious. It’s no longer the case that eating vegan means subsisting entirely on nasty looking tofu and some soggy steamed broccoli.
I don’t think it ever was that way.
Vegan food is usually just fine, although it’s usually “just fine,” not nearly as delicious as people make over it (not that I doubt that your meal wasn’t fabulous. I’m pretty convinced fancy restaurants could serve cardboard as a main course and they’d treat it in such a way we’d love it).
@Betsy, I’ll admit my perception may have been colored by a few factors – I was on a long-overdue vacation, was with friends whom I adore, and I had sampled a few of the restaurant’s delicious cocktails at the bar before the meal. I’m under no illusions that an average home cook could recreate what I ate on a daily basis (I know I couldn’t), but it opened my eyes to what was possible. It bore no resemblance to the stuff my vegetarian college roommates had to survive on back in the dark ages.
It looks like the place has relocated to Oakland from SF, but have a look at their food here. http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/ It tasted just as good (if not better) than it looked. I had no idea it was one of the best vegan places on the planet when I ate there. *this is not an ad, I just really loved their food.
I drew the line at vegan for my teen. She won’t eat any meat or fish and drinks soy “milk” but I insist on a few eggs a week, on the advice of her doc, as long as they are free range, pasture fed she’ll do it, and she’ll eat a little cheese here and there. She eats mostly rice for carbs but will sometimes eat heavily seeded wheat bread and sometimes a slice of pizza, so almost no gluten. She eats A veggie and fruit smoothie with added oil for breakfast. A salad, trail mix, protein bar and fruit during the day and usually curried or Mexican style beans with rice for dinner. Couple times a week beans are replaced with Spanish omelette and toast with avocado. She claims to feel less tired, her acne is bettter, and with the help of a trainer she is ripped. She does well in her chosen sport so her diet is not inhibiting her physical abilities. I wish I had the will to eat like that.
you can do it! I’m an ovo-vegetarian (no meat, or dairy but i do eat eggs) and I used to love meat and dairy but once I realised what my consumption of these products meant for the animals I had to quit eating them. I thought it would be harder, but it’s not, i promise! veggies, legumes, grains, nuts – so many delicious combinations! I’m working on going totally vegan, it’s a process, I started by cutting out mammals and went from there. Anyone can do it!
I also recently started making an honest to goodness gooey-melty mozzarella cheese from cashews and tapioca starch that I saw on a blog and it so blew my hubby (an omnivore) away, he stopped buying cheese!
Vegan is my goal, too!
I find all the ‘well then what does she eat? Veg and nuts?’ Comments so funny. I’ve been vegan for years, and I have never felt limited in my food choices.
For everyone saying they can’t be vegan because of where they live….can you buy fruit, veg, grains, nuts and seeds where you live? Then you can go vegan.
@Jordana – you can find them funny all you like, or you can acknowledge that for some of us and how we feel when we eat, subsisting on fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains would not feel right (even the “rare” ones like triticale and amaranth and ramps and passion fruit etc…). I love vegetables, but I discovered while I was pregnant that I absolutely need meat to feel great. If I had to exist without that, I would feel cruddy.
@Betsey do you look for ways to get offended? I was just saying that it’s relatively easy and there is a ton of food that isn’t meat eggs and dairy. I don’t know you and I don’t care about your need of ‘meat’. Yes, that was SUPER offensive. Omg. Smh eye roll.
@Jordana I’m glad you live in a place where fresh and varied produce is available year long and where imported products are high quality, widely available and cheap.
Many of us don’t have that luxury. I certainly don’t in my country. If something’s out of season, you won’t get it unless you shell out a lot of money, and then you get an inferior product. The selection of imported goods is not wide outside specialty shops or in the capital city (where I don’t live). And in specialty shops, once again you pay a lot of money to maybe, MAYBE get a product that tastes like food and not like boiled ass.
Fact is, where you live and your financial limitations affect how diverse your table can be, and saying otherwise just shows how lucky you are that you don’t come across such issues. Congratulations.
Your attitude is condescending.
@Shijel I said there is a lot of food that isn’t meat or dairy. And this is true. There are thousands of edible plants. You and Betsy look for ways to get offended on facts. Nothing to do with where I live or my income. But it felt good to attack me, right? Feel better now? Good.
The wheat and dairy board sure would like us all to think there are no benefits to giving up either. Let’s be honest with ourselves, any food that has to be super refined to eat is likely not the healthiest option. Be it gluten free bread or wheat bread, it’s s sponge in the system. Tastes good – often fortified (little nutritional value on its own) but slightly useless. It’s the stuff you put on it that counts.
Just sounds like a controlled diet under the guise of health. Lots of people do it.
As shes wearing leather shoes and carrying a croc skin clutch I assume the vegan diet aspiration is more for health (dietary control) reasons as well.
That’s possible, but there are lots of non-leather accessories that look like leather.
It is hard to do if fashion is a big part of her life. I am not there yet, but I do look for other options. Boots are my weakness, but I am hoping more options become available that I like soon.
@Magnoliarose – have you heard of Matt & Nat? They make vegan leather purses, accessories and shoes, Montreal based designers. I buy their purses and they are lovely! I’ve been eyeing their knee high boots
https://mattandnat.com/
She’s so funny and has a great singing voice. I know she’s suffered from eating disorders, so I can understand where she’s coming from.
I admire her discipline. I’ve been a lacto-ovo vegetarian my entire adult life, and my goal is vegan. I gave up eggs for an entire year, as well as cheese, but I wasn’t disciplined enough to completely eliminate dairy products.
And by the way, I’m beyond tired of people who think that vegetarians and vegans are being “preachy”. It’s a decision I’ve made on principle, and I’m making a moral decision to give up meat. Why others find this offensive and feel they have the right to weigh in on my decision is beyond me. In the twenty years I’ve been a vegetarian, I’ve been harangued, lectured, shamed, and informed by meat eaters that I’m a bad person for caring about the condition of factory farmed animals. I’m beyond tired of it, and frankly if you’re so offended by my choices, I imagine it’s your own guilt for contributing to the problem. I’m done apologizing.
And I’ll also add, that I’m tired of the people who lay in wait to point out that vegetarians and vegans may wear leather, and gleefully label them hypocrites. When you choose this lifestyle for moral reasons, it’s all about minimizing the suffering. Leather is a by product of the beef industry, and until enough people give up beef, animals will not be butchered for leather. I don’t seek out leather, but I’ve not eliminated it from my wardrobe. If need be, I will.
I do think a lot of vegans are preachy. I respect that people can eat whatever they want but lets be honest, most vegans tend to push others to go vegan too. I’ve gotten comments on social media by people saying I’ll go to hell after posting a picture of a steak.
And I’ve seen a lot of false information be given by vegans. For example there is one girl on YouTube called Sophia who is struggling with cancer. So many vegans are in her comment section telling her that her cancer will be cured if she goes vegan. And I’ve had several friends who are vegan swear that you can lose so much weight if your vegan. But the reality is that you can still be overweight if your a vegan too.
I’m honestly sorry if you’ve felt preached to by meat eaters but please don’t act like vegans don’t do the same thing.
I don’t think it’s preachy for people to want to eliminate animal suffering and torture. I have honestly never been preached to about food as much as I did when I became veggie, by meat-eaters. I stop eating meat and all of a sudden everyone around me is a dietitian telling me that my dietary choices are dangerous! even family members who literally eat pizza and guzzle coke by the gallon preach to me about the dangers of being a vegetarian.
so ya…I’ll take vegans “preaching” about ending the systemic abuse of millions of animals any day.
Thank you OrinalLala! I agree with everything you’ve said. You would think that vegetarians and vegans were out there raping the earth and destroying mankind. It’s ridiculous how people respond to those who choose not to eat animals.
@Lola, you are right. There are vegans that are ultra preachy and militant and insist that veganism cures everything. That’s so dangerous.
@OriginalLala: “I don’t think it’s preachy for people to want to eliminate animal suffering and torture”.
Please don’t get me wrong, this is not against you. I have an issue with the “preachy” part, because this is exactly what militant vegans do. They preach. I want those preachy vegans to direct their efforts towards policy and law, should those be related to reduction of environmental damage resulting from raising animals, standards applying to how animals are raised and killed for food, education on health and nutrition, raising the availability of plant-based foods, to name a few areas where **actual** work can be done. And encouraging other people to eat less animal products. This **is** realistic. What some vegans want is to eliminate animal foods/biproducts consumption all together, which is not going to happen unless there would be a horrifying sci-fie scenario.
I’ve actually been asked if I would eat my dog by a preachy vegan. They also claimed I didn’t care about my body or health. So, yes, they are preachy and super irritating and it’s really rude, since it’s none of their goddamned business anyway.
It’s just like religion; I don’t mind you sharing your viewpoint, but as soon as it turns into an overly pseudo-concerned insult-fest because I believe differently, I’m not even listening to you anymore. I don’t know why what you eat even came up in the first place, but I can guarantee I didn’t bring it up! Weird how you ALWAYS know when someone’s vegan/vegetarian, huh?!
I find meat-eaters often preachy or downright hostile. And I still eat some meat and say that.
When I said I would go vegetarian for a month, I got lectures, angry apps from family members, or telling me to stop being preachy.
The only thing I said was that I would like to try being vegetarian for a month. I hadn’t even given a reason yet, when the barrage began.
I agree with babykitten; it’s the guilt.
Originallala- that reminds me of when I arrived to visit my aunt. She was all concerned to see me eating a cup of garbanzo beans. Well, I like garbanzo beans and I was hungry. Yet she didn’t blink an eye when my brother passed by with a pint of ice cream in a bowl as a snack…. Families get so weird about food.
Jayem- you always know when someone is vegan or vegetarian only because either they need to tell somebody they don’t eat meat (in a restaurant or when picking a restaurant or invited to dinner or when asking about food in a cafeteria etc.) or you notice what they are not eating. That has happened to me many times. I’m happily eating my food and then start getting grilled by the carnivores. I don’t ask them why they are eating dead animals, but my not eating dead animals then becomes the big topic of conversation.
Most of us don’t preach, the ones who do are just looming large in your mind because they’re annoying. That’s often the case with new converts in any context and some people are just control freaks no matter what they eat. But at least some of them probably started out as quiet veggies and then decided to be proactive… Really, you have no idea how annoying and hostile some carnivores can be. You would think I was telling them to drop the burger at gunpoint. Just the simple act of not eating a burger can set them off. Some people are just awful about any differences. Even I have been tempted to casually ask “Have you tried baby human? I hear it tastes like chicken.”
@jwoolman, I agree that people who are preachy in any subject are memorable for their annoyingness, but you can’t deny that Vegans and Vegetarians LOVE to tell people, in a tone that implies that they are better than you, about their food choices. And I can say for a fact that 90% of the people who told me they were vegan did so outside of an eating environment. In fact, they announced it, completely unprovoked. Unfortunately, a couple bad apples ruin the bunch, and it’s now a meme.
I have never said anything to anyone about their eating habits, and I think it’s incredibly rude to do so in any manner, especially with such ridiculous hyperbole. The only people who have even food-shamed me are people who don’t eat meat and think it’s murder. NO ONE else. EVER.
I’m sorry you’ve had that experience. In my 15 years of being a vegetarian, no one has given me a hard time at all. In fact a couple people have said they wish they could give up meat, as if I’m doing something really difficult. I don’t miss meat or eggs at all, but I know everyone’s different.
Thank you, Esmom, I guess the criticism has piled up over the years. I actually have an uncle who insists that God, and the bible, require us to eat animals. I’ve had another uncle brandish his shotgun and state he was going out to kill Bambi. I’m the least preachy person in the world, yet people are so offended by my choices. People always demand to know why I don’t eat meat.
My family never bothered me and always had plenty of veggies available at meals and I never glared at them. No problems and I’ve been vegetarian for 34 years. Almost vegan. Occasionally a teaspoon of honey or potato salad at my daughter’s house with non-vegan mayo.
@babykitten – imgoing to assume those warm cuddly creatures to whom you’re related don’t limit their anusholery to that. I know someone who shares the beliefs that the Bible intends us to eat (“we were given dominion over the earth! It’s right there in Genesis”) and his aggressive behaviors definitely aren’t limited to policing the food choices of others. Sorry you have to live with that.
@Betsy, the shotgun uncle was an affectionate uncle, but old-fashioned and southern. If he were alive today, I’m sure he would have voted for Trump. He did like to tease and push my buttons.
I think the broader issue is that we shouldn’t be commenting on what other people eat. Hard stop. If someone asks me why I eat the way I do, I tell them, but I don’t volunteer or comment on why other people should or should not be eating what they do.
My thinking on food and what works best for me has evolved and is a combination of what makes me feel my best and my principles. I also have the luxury of not worrying about the cost of my food choices. So I figure other people have their own journey and they’ll take it at their own pace, and I’ll join them if they invite me. I once read somewhere that it is only help if the person asks for it, so I wait until asked.
And I haven’t met anyone who wants to pounce on hypocrisy (maybe I’ve just been lucky) nut most of the people who ask questions about my philosophy just want to know what it means in practice. Most people are genuinely surprised how many great options there are for vegan handbags/shoes and cruelty-free products and, after answering their questions, a lot of people have looked at their purchases differently and adopted some changes. I think every choice that helps the environment or animals is a great choice. If we stop thinking in absolutes and just make the next best decision we can, I think they add up and we make a difference.
I stopped explaining why I eat what I eat. First of all, I have been bashed a number of times and I don’t deserve that. Second, it completely changed the topic of conversation. Tragically enough, I can make a case against eating animal products but I don’t shame people who do eat meat and other animal products.
@Pumpkin – that is awful – I’m so sorry to hear that! You would think that people who ask would at least be open to the information they receive. I feel bad for those people – you have a lot to share and they could have learned a lot. They are missing out on the awesomeness that is you – I hope the rest of your community is more supportive!
@Nicole the Cnd one, thank you so much, that’s so sweet of you. I do not have vegan or vegetarian family and friends, but they respect my choices. Some of them did chose to eat less meat/animal products and they are happy about it. I do not try to educate or persuade people to adopt a vegan diet. I used to “explain” myself in the past, only when people asked if I was vegan. I also used to be upset at how ignorant people are – not that I am an expert, which I am not – including people who accept the fact that animals are tortured for food. I do draw a line when somebody calls me crazy and this is when I decided to not talk about my diet. I was called a hippy too but I don’t have a problem with that. I am not fully vegan anymore, because I can’t, and there are people who might have an issue with that too. Actually, I also used to hate it that people asked me if I was on a diet when I was ordering salads – because that was the only option. And that even came from an over-weight meat eater who was ordering two meat dishes for lunch. But anyways, that’s not my problem. And support can come unexpectedly from many places, even here on CB. So I am very happy about that. And thank you to all nice vegan people here.
I hate the smell of cooking meat and bones on a plate make me gag. But I don’t say anything because it is rude and controlling.
Being a vegan seems to throw people off, and they get emotional and defensive about it. I don’t engage. I don’t argue. I just hmmm and nod and let a nice long uncomfortable silence hang until they get the message. I find that nips it in the bud and they never do it again.
Mafia Mommy brigade at one of the schools doubles as a judgy nutrition police squad. They are obsessed with my diet and weight as well as my children’s.
If I have a drink, they want to know what it is. If I have a muffin, they want to know what kind. Why am I vegan blah blah and then sneak in some expert advice.
I guess one wanted to challenge my ability to be silent and uncomfortable and I felt like saying bitch I can do this all day. She didn’t realize I can be stubborn and I wanted her to shut her trap and stop annoying me every dam day.
Food and diet is a national obsession.
Wow. I confess that is totally bizarre to me – I guess I’m really lucky I have never had those kind of experiences. I feel stupid for saying that I did not realize how unique my experience is but I don’t do anything online except CB and I’ve got a small but supportive community.
Good on you magnoliarose for freezing them out – they must be dying that you won’t engage – such sweet punishment for their rudeness!!
I’ve had similar experiences! When i told a friend I was vegetarian she said “Oh, as long as you’re not vegan, I hate vegans”. … um wtf? Surprisingly, we are no longer friends
I think many people who have issues with gluten actually have issues with the pesticides. They use pesticide for growing and then they put some chemical on it to kill it and dry it out. The second one I think is more harmful. This is loud at least in the USA, instead of going gluten-free, people should buy flower and other such items Those produced in great Britain or other countries that don’t allow these pesticides.
This information is not based in science.
Other grains are grown with pesticides and people with gluten intolerance can handle them.
Pesticides are a problem, but for other reasons.
Unless you are a biomedical researcher with expertise in this particular specialty, please don’t undermine known medical science in celiac disease, which is an auto immune condition with serious health consequences if left untreated. SoOmeone with celiac should not eat wheat, rye or barley grown under any conditions.
Gippy- that’s certainly a possibility. I read something by a wheat farmer who developed an allergy to wheat, and he speculated that it might actually be the pesticides. He said so much is applied throughout the growing cycle and there is really no way to remove it.
Strawberries are apparently the same way. I don’t have trouble with them myself, but I don’t eat them all the time. I’ve heard recommendations that buying organic for such heavily dosed foods is a good idea even if you can’t afford it for all foods.
Also definitely I’ve heard from people sensitive to US wheat who can eat organically grown wheat or European wheat. Decades ago, it was recommended that when testing for allergies by elimination /reintroduce, try the organically grown version if you react to the regular one. Some people are just very sensitive to pesticide residues, just as some people react to meat from animals raised with penicillin if they are allergic to penicillin.
My body looks pretty damn close to hers and I’m 5 foot 2 and 110 pounds. I try to lay off the carbs and go to the gym but I don’t have a fancy diet or a celeb personal trainer – I feel like she doesn’t super duper need a diet like that to look like that unless she’s vegan for moral reasons. My doc says too much thinner and I’d be unhealthy. I don’t know what to say if she thinks she’s fat. I think she looks nice.
Scarlett Johnannesen is heavier and everyone thinks she’s still hot.
I’ve made peace with my body. But yah, when you’re short, is sooo easy to over eat – 5 pounds does show.
You think Scarlett is considered “heavier”?! 😳 That chick is TINY.
She’s curvier.
I think Brittany Snow may have a more toned-looking physique, which makes her look smaller.
not heavy, just curvier than a Victoria Secret model. She’s still tiny tho.
It’s important to point out that restrictive diets sometimes provide a mask of acceptibility to some people with eating disorders.
True.
The issue I’ve had is that my medical condition led to my being underweight, and then people drew the wrong assumptions. I’m quite pleased to have obtained a proper diagnosis and feel better and have gained weight and look more normally middle-aged now.
Best to just let people be. Occasionally I see someone so thin that I wonder about their mental state, especially if they’re at the gym a lot, but for most I tend to think that’s either their natural body type or that they may have inflammatory bowel disease or a different medical condition that interferes with adequate nutrition. They could also be on a certain medication, undergoing chemo, severely stressed, etc.
I love Brittany Snow! She has been in the game for a long time. She was on Guiding Light as a kid which was one of my favorite soap operas growing up. And she was on American Dreams. She was also in the film version of Hairspray.
American Dreams was seriously underrated and ahead of its time. Fantastic series
As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder, I always side-eye those who go “vegan” or any other fad diet while discussing their weight/exercise/eating struggles, but saying their ultimately doing it for their health. These diets are used to mask eating disorders, and it sounds like this is a case of one here.
I agree with her about social media — I’m now more vain now than when I was a teenager and I suppose that’s from looking at pictures all the time. I would never want to be an actress because of the pressure to be thin all the time, but now that we’re having our people take our photos all the time and tag them on Facebook, I feel I’m much more conscious of how I look.
How about actresses who are “heavier”? Rebel Wilson comes to mind. She makes her own choices, but I hate it how “heavier” actresses-actors are portrayed in comedies.
And I am so over about “thin” people being considered the standard for beauty. All of them are probably on a daily “torture” regimen, physical and mental. Starving themselves, doing cleanses, obsessing over a bit of a muffin top, going crazy about how thick their thighs are. I am ranting here.
** I **, as a consumer, am not asking for stick thin people on the screen.
Muscular body?? She’s more thin than muscular but if that’s how she wants to define herself, more power to her. As many noted here, restrictive eating is in the same area as over working out[hours and hours at the gym]. I like her, so hoping she is healthy physically & mentally and remains so while she continues in Hollywood
THAT is not thin?
um ok.
and i see no muscle. why do actresses always BS about this
eye roll
They mean when they flex they have line of definition.
It’s so frustrating. I live in LA and orthorexia is a way of life here, for many men and women. And it sells (restaurants, diets, accompanying insane exercise classes). Of course I am not equating vegan with being orthorexic, but a person who is probably body dysmorphic (what muscle?) and has a history of ED and is now restricting animal products, gluten, and dairy? Textbook orthorexia, textbook LA/HW. I have seen this in real life here (and elsewhere, but REALLY heavily here) so much. It’s hard not to get pulled in to the disordered thinking, even as a person with a medical degree and a basic understanding of marketing. I feel so much can be accomplished when we focus on our minds, our abilities, our relationships, and our personal development. Setting incredibly hard boundaries on our food intake needlessly takes away from all that. It restricts personal development because it demands so much of a person’s attention and energy. I’m only referring to this person’s quotes, her image, and her history. Even establishing what constitutes “clean” is dangerous. Different bodies need different things to feel their best. I get suspicious when every single female actor in LA/HW seem to ascribe to one very specific, restrictive way of life as a means of looking and feeling their “best”. I don’t accept that there isn’t something psychological going on. I hope she gets the help she needs.
Side note: An increase in diagnosed cases of orthorexia has been correlated with increased presence of food-related documentaries.
what is orthorexia?
Mary, orthorexia is “an obsession with eating foods one considers healthy” (Google definition). It is a relatively newly diagnosed eating disorder, that, like its more traditional counterparts (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) has a significant psychiatric counterpart. People who suffer from orthorexia are preoccupied with eating the “right” foods, and they arbitrarily determine what those are. This often leads to a very narrow range of foods that are considered acceptable to the the person.
As a result of watching the documentary “What the Health,” my daughter and her boyfriend went totally vegan a few months ago. My husband and I tried for two weeks then added back some fish and eggs only. I haven’t eaten beef in 30 years. We had an absolutely amazing vegan thanksgiving that was in no way light on the calories — just light in my conscience. Vegan does NOT necessarily mean light on calories. She often makes a vegan macaroni and “cheese” that is the best I’ve ever had as well as other delicious recipes. It is not all about salads.
For those of you interested in the gluten/wheat debate, according to my GI doc it wasn’t a problem until 1982 when we started genetically engineering our grains and to make the grain less susceptible to diseases, they also (unfortunately) made it less digestible to a large(r) portion of the population and thus the onslaught of digestive issues over the last 30 years.
She also told me she has Celiac patients that have travelled to Italy and been able to eat lots of pastas, breads, etc., as over there, their wheat isn’t GMO.
I’m not a GI doc, just repeating what mine told me. For what it’s worth, I’ve been on the elimination diet since Nov 1 (trying to diagnose my myriad GI issues) and giving up gluten for 30 days was SHOCKINGLY easy. I thought I was going to die, lol.
I agree w/ LAK.
I find it funny when non vegans call my diet “restrictive”. I don’t know what’s so restrictive about eating all the grains that exist: hemp, quinoa (contains all essential amino acids necessary for humans), barley, oats, couscous, sorghum, bulgur, millet, just to name a few. And I am blessed to be able to do so.
I just made a “cheesecake” using millet. Absolutely delicious.
And, the abundance of vegetables and legumes, and seeds, at my finger tips, not to mention there’s tofu, (I can make my own) seitan and tempeh.
I definitely don’t find my diet “restrictive”. And I live far out North in CA (before diving into the Atlantic and “swimming” to Ireland).
I was always allergic to eggs and dairy. So, I’m pretty happy eating the way I do.
My partner is vegetarian and my son is vegan. I cook everyday and I love experimenting and making these awesomely nutrient dense dishes that don’t rely on the suffering of sentient beings to satiate me.
Anyway, to each ‘his’ own. But, I love how I eat.
-N
vegan nutrition for children is a type of child abuse
She looks thin, I might be wrong but my impression was always that athletic people have more muscle than what we see on Brittany. Don’t know how people manage to maintain those restrictive diets – I did bouts of that but eventually always gave up and just try to generally choose healthier options when I can and not overeat. I actually tend to overeat on healthy food when dieting.
Christ, I do not want to imagine how expensive it is to be vegan AND gluten free. I have a GI disorder that generally makes a lot of “superfoods” (lol @ pseudoscience) completely unpalatable for me, so processed carbs are some of my best friends. I’d love to go more ketogenic with my diet given that that diabetes runs in the family, but it’s expensive and exhausting to constantly juggle food categories. Giving up dairy doesn’t surprise me since lots of people are lactose intolerant (myself included), but man, giving up gluten was really difficult for me when my doctor thought it was potentially celiac’s making my life miserable.
Veronica, you can maybe find a nutritionist who can advise you on what to eat. Just be persistent about it. It can be done.
This “superfoods” myth has been debunked by nutritionists, there is no such thing as a superfood.
Veronica – vegan eating is not expensive if you avoid processed convenience foods. I went carnivore for a year while allergy testing after several years vegetarian. (Found out I was allergic to eggs and dairy….) My food bill doubled that year. The cats were thrilled, though. It was a relief to me financially, tastewise, and spiritually when I wandered back to vegan eating, but the cats never forgave me.
If someone is on a tight budget, they can generally get the biggest bang for the buck by eating vegetarian or vegan or at least mostly so. I used to even cook up dry beans in a pressure cooker in my more organized days, although I can now get a nice variety in cans. I spend money on commercial foods now because they’re readily available and I’m still making money, but if I have to stop working entirely then I’ll be back to making things from scratch.
And yes, for certain inflammatory conditions in the intestinal tract, white bread can be much better than whole grain. Something about the soluble fiber vs insoluble fiber. Heather at helpforibs.com recommends starting a meal with insoluble fiber.
Oops, meant starting a meal with soluble fiber in that last sentence…
Scary stuff. I’ve seen her movies and the pictures here, it sounds like she is in the midst of an eating disorder or some kind of body dismorphia.
The pics are fine. It’s how she describes her eating coupled with her history of anorexia. Cutting out huge groups of food in the name of ‘clean eating’ and ‘health’ is such a common way to get people off your case because you’re ‘eating healthy’, while still restricting and playing the “safe foods” game.
She sounds like* all the girls who want to recover, but switch to orthorexia instead, and still remain extremely slim, just not emaciated.
*sounds like. I don’t know her so I’m not assuming anything. It’s just having lived with anorexia myself and having been in the ‘community’ so to speak, I know this shit.
A famous food nutritian (with a respectable university degree) dared to suggest that a lot of vegetarians / vegans chose their food habits because they have psychological problems which they merely mask with this eating style. He suggested that a lot of vegetarians were actually anorexic and such and by becoming vegetarians they could cut out all animal fat and protein without being suspected of an eating disorder.
Needless to say the pc brigade did shoot him down pretty quickly.
“I inherited my mom’s beautiful muscular body” – something you’ll never hear any of my children say.
I think it’s easy (with a big budget) to eat well, and eat tasty good, as a vegan in cities like NYC and LA. Plant-based stuff is everywhere.
She’s thin but you hear about how stick thin women feel pressure to be even thinner in HW.
I have loved her since she was on Nip/Tuck a million years ago, bleaching her skin and being a psycho (her character). God that show really launched some of my favorites – Peter Dinklage, too!
Anyway, good for her for finding what works. I’ve given up sugar and other things and feel amazing, but can’t go full vegetarian or vegan no matter how hard I’ve tried.
Cali- if you’re occasionally trying vegetarian/vegan eating, make sure you are getting enough fat. I think some “failures” in such a change from a carnivore diet are related to a sudden decrease in fat intake, which is easily remedied. Nowadays you can get free food trackers to figure out how much fat you’re getting in your carnivore diet and then match it if you go veggie.
You also might be running into an allergy or intolerance to a food you eat more of when going veggie.
Thanks! 🙂
I get what she means about her body type. No she’s not really muscular, but she does have that sort of athletic physique, and when you’re only 5’3 it doesn’t take that much for it to really show. I think that’s something a lot of people don’t get about being shorter. The kind of muscles that make you look just a little toned and lean if you’re 5’8 can just make you look a bit chunky and stocky at 5’3, the same way gaining 10lbs looks very different depending on your height.
Compare her to her cast mate Anna Kendrick, who’s about the same height, and has a naturally slight frame. Brittany has broader shoulders, a broader waist, thicker thighs etc. Both women are tiny, and both look great, but Anna’s shape is more typical of petite actresses, so you can see why Brittany would be aware of her shape even though she’s not big by any standard.
When growing food there are a lot of pest that needs to be killed: plant louse, caterpillar, slug and snail, mice, rats, hare, rabbit, wild boar and deer. Because otherwise farmers wouldn’t harvest any food because the pest got the food.
Therefore the logic conclusion is: a lot of animals are killed for vegan and vegetarian food. They just don’t eat them.
Food production produces a lot of by products which aren’t suitable for human consumption: fish bone and head, press cake from production of vegetable oil, spelt and other inedible parts of grain production, feed grain, gras and hay, undersown crops and more. That stuff is usually fed to animals and then humans eat those animals. If this wouldn’t be done any more (if the whole world would go vegetarian/vegan) then we would produce a lot less food on this planet. As food is already not grown in abundance the renunciation of animal breeding would result in a severe food crisis: a deficit of 15-25% of the worldwide food production would be missing and consequently millions of people would starve to death.
I met lots of vegans and vegetarians who considered themselves to be morally better than me because they didn’t eat animal nor animal products. When pointing out the above they do usually get very miffed because it means they aren’t much better than me and they “lose” their special status.
It’s been interesting reading the comments. I have so many allergies I can’t be vegan, but I have been trying to eat less meat.
I have to comment on the body shaming. I was a skinny thing, not anorexic, and got so many negative comments on being skinny. I gained ten pounds, and then got shamed for that too. We have to stop judging each other and ourselves based on our weight.