Are Aleve Tablets Vegan?

Okay, so depending on your definition of "Vegan," some medications are vegan. However, it should be known that the Food and Drug Administration requires medications to be tested on animals before distributing them to the general public.

Active Ingredient
Naproxen sodium

Inactive Ingredients
FD&C blue #2 lake - I couldn't find anything saying that this dye contained animal products. I did find that FD & C Red #40 is vegan and not made from cochineal or carmine as I had previously thought.

hypromellose - emulsifier, thickening and suspending agent, and an alternative to animal gelatin

magnesium stearate - used as a filling agent in the manufacture of capsules and tablets, such as vitamins, the source of this ingredient is typically bovine. But there are versions that are not, this is what I am waiting for Bayer to answer.

microcrystalline cellulose - basically cellulose and is derived from high quality wood pulp. Microcrystalline Cellulose can only be derived from a special grade of alpha cellulose.

polyethylene glycol - lots of crazy science junk that I didn't understand, no mention of being derived from animals

povidone - derivative of iodine

talc - metamorphic mineral resulting from the metamorphism of magnesian minerals and other similar minerals in the presence of carbon dioxide and water.

titanium dioxide - derivative of titanium

Day One

So yesterday was the dreaded "Day One." I don't think I've gone a day of my life without an animal product, yesterday was the first. Over the course of the day, in my downtime at work, I tried to educate myself about which of my favorite products contain animals products, namely candy, pain killers and booze. A friend named Amy sent me over to the kids' section of the PETA Web site (http://www.petakids.com/candy.html) and to this AMAZING site called Barnivore (www.barnivore.com). Airheads AND Blue Moon?!?!? They're both vegan friendly? Absolutely made my day.

I don't think I really got an answer about the headache medicine. A few people suggested feverfew, but Jewel doesn't really carry that. I've written to Aleve to see if their tablets contain animal products, but no answer yet, I'll keep you posted. But who really needs headache medicine when you have beer?

Energy level was about normal for the day, but it was probably because I was stuffing my face with almonds and green peppers all day as snacks. Made the most delicious meal for lunch, some Palak Alu with some extra garlic and onions (http://vegweb.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=665661daa4de50c124dd6d2ccfcdfc75&topic=10917.0).

Headache...

Oy, do I have a headache! I highly doubt it's "The Great Vegan Experiment" related, but to any vegans out there, what the hell do you take when you have a headache? Neither Advil nor Tylenol are vegan friendly, any suggestions?

Where's the protein?

Grains
Barley
Corn Meal
Oats
Rice
Pasta
Whole Grain Breads

Legumes
Beans
Lentils
Peas
Peanuts
Soy Products

Seeds & Nuts
Sesame Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Walnuts
Cashews
Other Nuts

Vegetables
Leafy Greens
Broccoli

Rumor has it, if you pick one from two of the bolded lists you will get all of the essential amino acids that you would get from animal products.

T-Rex to Brachiosaurus

Throughout my life I've been an incredible omnivore with heavy emphasis on meat & cheese and general junk (think McDonald's on a regular basis, gourmet burgers and pizza galore). In an attempt to reset my kitchen, reboot the tastebuds and redesign the diet, I'm going vegan for a month.

Although I'm a firm believer that blogs, Web sites about yourself and Twitter are huge exercises in vanity, I'm willing to admit my vanity in order to properly document this experiment. Yes, this blog is about me, but it's also about a lifestyle change and I'll document how the change affects my mood, energy level etc.

I hope you enjoy.

-Alison