on Alicia To Tell All About Veganism at 20:54 11/18/2008

I've never posted on Perez Hilton before, but I absolutely needed to do so after reading this. First, the obvious: This isn't the best pic ever of Alicia, admittedly. I've been a vegan for three years, and I'm hardly a sickly waif. I'm a size eight and recently ran a marathon. Regular blood tests show me to be in great health, with extremely low cholesterol and healthy iron levels. I take one vitamin a day to make sure I'm getting adequate amounts of B12, the one nutrient that's difficult to get without any animal products. As with any way of eating, there's a better way to do it and a worse way. Potato chips and protein bars are vegan, but a diet based on these alone wouldn't be healthy. And to tell you the truth, I respect my brother-in-law -- who's a hunter and fisherman -- for playing an active role in the demise of the animals he eats rather than just picking up his meat in shrinkwrap from the grocery store. Plus, he can be fairly aware that the turkey and deer he hunts aren't pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, which is more than most meateaters can say. A final note: My mom works at a cancer center at a very well-regarded hospital (with no activist ties, mind you), and the nutritionists there advocate a vegan diet to fight current cancers and prevent future ones.