Remember all the heat Alicia Silverstone took way back in the day when she gained a few pounds? She responded to the criticism by adopting a vegan diet. The benefits of her vegan diet were far more than weight loss.

"You can hear your needs and desires more clearly," she reveals.
"You’re just more juicy—there’s just this lightness that happens.  It’s weird to be 32 now and feel and look younger… Right after I first made the switch to a plant-based diet, people were literally telling me, 'What have you done? You’re sparkling.' "

Alicia also credits her vegan lifestyle with keeping her "more in tune with her needs and desires." As a matter of fact, she's so comfortable with herself, she even gardens naked, telling Health Magazine.

"this is my body, it’s not some scary thing."

Now that's some comfort with yourself! But Alicia made it clear that she won't do nudity for a movie, so it sounds like she still values her privacy :)

Alicia was so inspired by her vegan lifestyle that she wrote a book, 'The Kind Diet,' that comes out next month. Then she's coming out with a line of eco-friendly beauty products, including make-up bags and brushes by EcoTools. They're cruelty free and made from recycled materials, bamboo, and hemp.

You can read Alicia's entire interview in the September issue of Health, which hits newsstands August 25.

Photos by Wenn.com