Updated

The list of celebrity vegans is expanding, with names like Bill Clinton, Russell Simmonds and recent Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway. In the current issue of MY Lifestyle Magazine, we asked HLN Anchor Jane Velez-Mitchell to be a guest contributor and she wrote a heartfelt piece called “Why I’m a Vegan.”

With all of this attention on a plant-based diet, we had to wonder whether eliminating animal products could help us as Americans to overcome some of the health problems we’re facing like obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. A recent study showed that as many as 10 percent of Latinos in this country over 20 years old are affected by Type 2 diabetes.

To help us figure this all out, we spoke to Gene Baur, a man who Time Magazine called “The conscience of the food movement.” He is author is the book “Farm Sanctuary: Changing the hearts and minds about animals and food.”

Click on the video to learn why more celebrities are becoming vegan, and how more Americans switching to a plant-based diet can lower healthcare costs and much more.

Also this week, MY Lifestyle Extra was on the red carpet in Los Angeles to cover the 85th Academy Awards. To find out our picks for best dressed and celebrity videos, go to mylifestyle.us.