Veganism and Pregnancy

As I was web surfing today I read that pregnant Natalie Portman has given up that vegan lifestyle that she has been following since 2009. She apparently said something about how it's hard to not eat eggs when all you want is everything in the local bakery case. Natalie, I feel you girl. I could never give up local baked goods, or eggs.

In case you were wondering, veganism can be viewed as taking vegetarianism one step further. Those who participate in veganism abstain from eating any animal product and bi-product. Like vegetarians, they don't eat meat but also stay away from dairy products like milk and eggs.

After reading that Portman gave up veganism, I came across this article that analyzes the safety of going vegan and while being pregnant. The conclusion is that it's safe as long as you are sure to get all of the typical nutrients that come from animal products (like iron and calcium) from other sources.

Personally, the thought of both veganism and pregnancy cause me to nearly break out in hives. Why? Because I'm a wimp and because I really love scrambled egg whites and the mere sight of children often sends me into a panic attack. But this is beside the point.

What I find really interesting about all of this is the way the media often promotes lifestyles like this in a way that can turn them into the newest fad. In addition to promoting veganism, celebrities are jumping on the Gluten-Free bandwagon and also talking about vegetarianism. Often times these lifestyles are brought on because of food allergies and are followed because they allow people to be at their healthiest, not because they want to lose weight.

I've always seen veganism when connected to a celebrity as simply a way to try to start a new trend. The articles don't really talk much about the benefits of veganism or ways that one can start a vegan lifestyle if they wanted to, leading me to believe that the articles are just trying to bring attention to a lifestyle that a few celebrities follow in order to make it more popular.