Alyson Hannigan Drops Vegan Diet For Pregnancy
Filed under: babies and bumps, food & drink — Michael d'Estries @ 5:07 pm
January 28th 2009
Alyson Hannigan has revealed that geting pregnant made her crave meat — and ultimately drop her vegan lifestyle. “I basically went from being a vegan to… now it’s meat and cheese — and ginger ale!” she said at an event for her TV show, How I Met Your Mother. “Ginger ale, I love. Apparently, my mom craved ginger ale when she was pregnant with me! Maybe it’s a hereditary thing. But, yeah, I didn’t eat any meat or cheese before – now I have to.”
We covered other pregnancy-related veg shifts here on the ‘razz — from Jennifer Connelly to singer Carnie Wilson. As far as I can tell, there are no health-related issues with continuing a vegan diet during pregnancy. It seems Hannigan’s intentions for going vegan were probably related more to health than to animal activism. I’ve read some accounts of other vegan moms going through the same thing — but stopping short of giving in to their cravings simple because of the animal issue.
Anyone else experience something similar?
Photo: Alexis Denisof and Alyson Hannigan at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Presents An Evening With “How I Met Your Mother” on January 27th. Credit: PR Photos
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Tagged: alyson hannigan
Rubbish. What you “have to” eat are more nutrients. If you’re already eating well as a vegan that just means more food. More nutrients can be found anywhere. It certainly doesn’t have to be dead flesh or animal secretions. Saturated fats & animal hormones & etc aren’t going to be any better for babies than they are for adults (ref: China Study). I’m coming up to 8 months. No problems here, no difficulties, no weird cravings, hardly any morning sickness in the beginning, no swollen anythings or stretch marks etc now, iron levels & everything are high & stable, as they’ve always been. If you eat well, which you should if you plan to produce offspring, you don’t have problems with cravings. The book Skinny Bitch: Bun In The Oven covers a lot on how to eat well & vegan while pregnant. It’s not hard. If you’re not prepared to read a book or two &/or put a little thought into things then you probably shouldn’t be having a child.
“Vegan” means more than just a diet. If you’re “vegan for health” there’s a big portion missing & you should be using the word “vegetarian” if it’s just about your diet rather than misleading people.
What an irresponsible idiot! Way to carry on the moronic myth of this ‘need’ for eating meat!
I freaked out when I was pregnant and couldn’t eat much and I had 2 fish sandwiches, but I felt like a jerk about it. I lapsed. It was stupid and I acknowledge that I didn’t actually NEED to eat that stuff.
yeah….she just HAS to.
This means, she doesn’t really care about the animals.
My sister got through it. Her baby is VERY VERY healthy and the docs and everyone marvel at how “alert” she is for only being 3 months old. even before that.
My morals mean way more then ANY craving…no matter how bad they get.
Shame on her.
Shame on you all for telling her what she should and shouldn’t do. It’s her choice, get the frick over it.
Good for you Renee!! I haven’t read Bun in the oven yet, but the China study is amazing. Another really good reference (and short) is Vegan Diet: As a Cure for Chronic Disease. It really helped me get over so many of the myths that’d I’d been told since childhood. I’ve been vegan for almost a year and besides weightloss and feeling healthier have noticed no changes. Except everytime I donate blood they comment on how awesome my iron is!
All of these girls arent true ethical vegans.. they are on a brief vegan diet, or a quick foray into something exotic. They aren’t in it for the animals, period. If they were, no craving would come close to being worth the brutal factory farmed death of a chicken or cow. So this, although sad and terrible publicity for all the wonderful pregnant vegan girls I know, is not surprising. There are HUNDREDS of articles, sites, and books on vegan pregnancy. All you need to do is google. I have a bunch of them on my site girliegirlarmy dot com. xo
I was a veg for 15 years until I got pregnant. I craved meat all the time and ate it all the time. You cannot just someone for the choices that they make during pregnancy if you have not been pregnant yourself.Lets see you “control” your cravings when 8 months preggo.
Also, there are organic farms and free range farms, not all “meat” is from “factories”.
Tootles
to “Karly”;
I can just the choices made…I AM pregnant and a vegan. and NO craving is worth it. I’ve gotten bad cravings before, you ignore them. if you aren’t strong willed enough to give a shit about animals while being pregnant, you obviously weren’t a good vegan to begin with.
and free range doesn’t mean cruelty free.
Maybe it comes from the “non-vegan” sperm?
love it how the people telling you what you should and shouldn’t say go simply by initials. it’s always the same.
i dont mind people speakin’ their mind on this board but when they say “YOU SHOULDNT SAY THAT” it’s bs.
ERIN WITH AN E
I don’t understand why pregnant women who give up the veg lifestyle because they’re craving meat don’t eat a meat-substitute. There are some out there I can’t eat simply because they taste TOO MUCH like meat and it grosses me out! They exist and there’s no excuse for a rich celeb to be unable to find them.
The Vegan Society do a book on raising vegan children – http://www.vegansociety.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=242
maybe these celebs werent happy anymore with a vegan diet and being pregnant is just a good excuse to go public about it, even though maybe they stopped their vegan diet before while they werent pregnant yet.
Renée, you can’t say that someone who’s vegan for health reasons is not a vegan.
Vegan means that the person does not eat animals or animal by-products, period. It can be for any reason they please… veganism doesn’t automatically mean that the person has a passion for animals. You have to listen to your body. I’m a strict vegan, but if it came down to my body telling me I need meat, especially during pregnancy, I would easily chose my health over the animals.
Does that make me less of a vegan because I value my health?
I also wear secondhand leather, because buying anything secondhand is better for the environment than buying anything new, even faux-leather. Am I less of a vegan because I value the environment over animals?
There are three main reasons for people going vegan: health, environment, and animal welfare. Regardless of which reason supports your vegan diet, if you do not eat animals or animal by-products, you are vegan.
And anyways, why is this woman getting so much hack for giving up her vegan diet? Why not focus on the millions of uneducated people who would never even consider a vegan diet? This woman contributed to a cause for a long time of her life. Give her a break.
I always wondered if “Friends” was playing off of something real when Phoebe craves meat when she’s pregnant. Maybe there is some sort of correlation, I mean it’s a proven fact that PMS makes women want chocolate and salt, right? :p
If your not 100 percent committed to being vegan, I can see how a craving could change your diet.
chloe actually the person who coined the term vegan would disagree with you. vegan isn’t just about a diet at all. Read more a quick google can give you a overview and incentive to do more research:
The word vegan was originally derived from “vegetarian” in 1944 when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson, frustrated that the term “vegetarianism” had come to include the eating of dairy products, founded the Vegan Society.[11] They combined the first three and last two letters of vegetarian to form “vegan,” which they saw as “the beginning and end of vegetarian.”
[15] The Vegan Society defines veganism in this way:
[T]he word “veganism” denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.[1]
“Does that make me less of a vegan because I value my health?”
YES!!!
we vegans call people like you VEGETARIANS !! hahahahaha!!!
Renee…I can’t believe that you seriously expect people to take you seriously after you recommend the Skinny Bitch books. Really? You have made yourself look like a total idiot. As for vegan eating for some pregnant women that is great! Vegan women like me who have endometriosis is another story. There is natural progesterone in some animal products and unfortunately very little in fruits and vegetables. If anyone has any experience with endometriosis and pregnancy and veganism I would love to hear what you have to say because I am at a loss. As for Renee…..hope you don’t have endometriosis and are listening to the Skinny Bitch girls because when I looked over their book to see what kind of genius they had to offer me all I saw were weak attempts at recipes full of soy which increases estrogen levels which can be very bad for some women.
I am a vegan and was recently pregnant. I think that unless you have been a vegan and pregnant you have no right to judge anyone. It was very easy at first, despite the fact that everyone I knew was saying how horrible it was for me to be a vegan while pregnant… I was a vegan for all of the ‘right’ reasons… animal welfare and anti-cruelty. I used only vegan and cruelty free products for home and person. I have no animal products in my wardrobe. I read every ingredient in all of the food that i purchase. All went well until my seventh month. That’s when the cravings hit… and pregnancy cravings are not just ‘oh i think i want a chicken wing’… its ‘if i don’t eat a chicken wing right now i am going to rip someones throat out’. i don’t even like chicken. Faux meat did not cut it. Seitan did not cut it. I agonized for weeks over my craving versus my morals. then this vegan lady came into the bookstore where i was working and told me during her pregnancy she craved roast beef sandwiches, and that she ate just one, and it satisfied her, and she had been vegan for 20 years. Long story short i ate one chicken wing, craving satisfied, and have not touched an animal product again since. Don’t beat yourself up over it. its not a contest to see who is most vegan or most pure vegan. its a lifestyle, and sometimes you have to adapt and flex a bit.
My mum was vegetarian when she was pregnant with me, now I “feel” I need to be a vegan (she is too now). Unlike when she was pregnant with my sister she ate meat, my sister is a 100% flesh eater and no way she could go vegetarian unless she had to kill for it herself. I wonder if Alyson will raise her baby vegetarian or vegan? Somehow I’m doubting it.
She’s a moron. She said ’she had too’. Yeah I’m sure it was being forced down her throat.
There are no “right” reasons to be vegan.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. its not a contest to see who is most vegan or most pure vegan. its a lifestyle, and sometimes you have to adapt and flex a bit.”- Liz ……..she’s absolutely right.
herwin, I’m vegan.
yes, i understand that the vegan LIFESTYLE includes more than just DIET, but i don’t think that one automatically includes the other. I also don’t think that if you’re committed to the vegan diet for health or environmental reasons its makes you “less” of a vegan.
Why would anyone actually care about someone’s motivation behind doing something so great? Just accept it and be thankful, don’t knock them because its not the “right” reasons.
PS herwin, valueing animal rights over your health isn’t veganism… its moronic.
“you vegans” call me vegetarian… like KH pointed out, vegetarian includes eating dairy products etc, which i most certainly do not do. clearly i’m not just a vegetarian.
look, its not a question what or who is better, its not a contest, its simply a matter of calling things and lyfestyles the correct way, there is nothing wrong with that.
and insulting me for valuing animal rights over health, sorry to say, but its not an uncommon slur from vegetarians to vegans.
i share the same values , way of thinking, etc, with fellow vegans, but i always have this kind of shit with pseudo vegans like you, who feel attacked, and at the end always treat other vegans like they are extreme persons, “how can you value animals over your own health ?” and preach “flexibility”.
Hey, folks. I’m starting to get really irritated by the vegans here and elsewhere on the internet who think they can stop the English language from changing. A dietary vegan is a person who adopts _only the diet part_ of being vegan. The phrase has been in use for twenty years or so. It was coined to describe the people who are following a diet that has been shown to reverse heart disease, prostate cancer and type two diabetes. It is not about deceiving anyone regarding the purity of our vegan-ness. It is a practical description designed to ensure that we are not served cheese. Please just get over it.
Wow…lots of judmental people on here! I am a vegetarian – who ate a primarily vegan diet before pregnancy. Now that I am pregnant – I have an aversion to all meat and dairy subs. I am thoroughly grossed out by the tofu, soy and seitan that I loved only a few short weeks ago. This is my second pregnancy, and in my first I also craved meat – and I caved. I have fought of the meat cravings but have caved in the face of dairy. Judge if you will, but pregnancy can really do a number on your body. Though it is true you can have a very healthy pregnancy as a vegan – I know many vegetarians/vegans who have temporarily given up the lifestyle while pregnant due to overwhelming aversions/cravings.
Good God! What a way to waste my time, reading all of your self-righteous diatribes! I came onto this site for some education… I googled endometriosis and vegan, because I have personally experienced the benefits of the vegan diet on the devastating disease that is endometriosis. But, MY GOD, people! You sound like fools fighting over who is more vegan or truly vegan… it reminds me of my ex. I became vegan for my health.. first he ate cheesy, sausage pizza right there in my face. Then he decided to try it. Now that he’s on board, he’s so stuck up about it. He acts like he coined the term “vegan”. He makes me want a hotdog. So do some of you!
When did liberal ideas become so black and white?
It’s annoying. Please stop, lest you turn more people away from this kind and healthy lifestyle.
The road to “Perfection” is a long road, but any attempt to reduce suffering is praise-worthy. I hope that when I am pregnant, I am well prepared and stocked with EVERY type of vegan food, and have lots of support so I can maintain my lifestyle. Mostly, I really want every molecule of my child to be created free from suffering. Since the nature of the womb (and even the mind of the mother) is meant to impact the ENTIRE life of the person.
I’m just glad there are so many people who care; even just to comment, raise awareness and share thoughts.
My first pregnancy I was lacto-ovo-veg, and for the first trimester I could only eat super cheesy food. Fine, I did that. Now comes this pregnancy. I have progressed to being a vegan, but morning sickness has hit me. All I want is Big Macs and cheese. Last week the thought of a Big Mac would make me queasy. Now it’s the thought of Boca Patties that makes me nearly hurl.
My feeling is get through the morning sickness and get back to a vegan diet as soon as possible. Sometimes your brain can’t argue with your body.
Man, people are so judgemental! “What an idiot, she gave in to a craving while pregnant! Let’s all atack her and preach about how we’re better than all the celebs!!!” You’re the idiots. I ate meat while pregnant, and went right back to my vegetarian diet when my son was born. She can eat what she wants, you people have no right to judge. It’s disappointing that vegans & veggies, who are supposedly very conscious about world issues and whatnot, would be so close-minded to other people’s choices.
While I am also uncomfortable with the term “need” in regards to meat, I am more uncomfortable with the elitist vegan club that has been projected here. We can only do the best we can do and should support the ones around us that are attempting to follow the same path of awareness-whether it be health, environment or animal welfare. As a vegan, would you seriously tell a person they are not “good enough” to meet our standards if a person is a vegan for health reasons? For those of us that are vegan for animal welfare-that is ALL I care about-the animals, how they are treated. I am not concerned with others personal reasons for becoming vegan because we still get the same result: less animals being strung up and thrown into grinders, boiling water or throats slit. THIS is what matters-not the box you have created. As a vegan who is also pregnant, I can sympathize with thoughts of non-vegan food. I have been having dreams of eggs and right now would love some mac and cheese. It is not easy. We do the best we can and to continue to grow the vegan community, we need to support the folks around us, not alienate them-maybe to the detriment of several animals.