Most people change their diet for health reasons, whether it be weight loss, disease prevention, or simply getting on track. Others examine what they eat and how it impacts their environment and local community. While yet another large group is primarily concerned with animal welfare, shifting their focus to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. But Alicia Silverstone tackles all three in her latest book, and she does it with celebrity power. The famous vegan starlette has just released The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet.

Silverstone's new book, which has surged into the best seller's list in its very first week of sales, focuses on a lifestyle and the reasons for transitioning your diet, more than simply providing recipes. She shares, "Eating "Kind" is about being really, really good to yourself and the planet via the foods you put into your body. A plant-based diet filled with whole and organic foods will give you tons of energy, mental clarity, gorgeous skin and a zest for life." ...

What many readers will also like about this book is the suggestive approach. Rather than implying that an 'all or nothing' approach is the only way to go, Silverstone gives you three steps, "flirting," "vegan," and "superhero." Flirting is for those who aren't quite ready to take the vegan plunge, but are set to dabble in a plant-based diet. Vegan would be the elimination of all animal-based products (dairy, egg, meat, fish, etc.), while Superhero is based on the principle of macrobiotics, focusing on whole grains and vegetables.

Newbies to the health food arena should be warned that The Kind Diet does take health to the next level with many unique foods. If ingredients like umeboshi vinegar and wakame cause you to turn and run for the nearest McDonalds, then you may want to warm up a bit to macrobiotic foods before diving into The Kind Diet. But, if you are ready for some new healthy inspiration, this just may be the cookbook you have been waiting for.