Many of those who thrive do cheat with different kinds of animal products. But that doesn't mean your cousin does. She might be able to supplement vital nutrients.

That's apparently when most vegans hit a wall, with B vitamins not able tobe absorbed without an accompanying food source.

I've known happy vegetarians who eat eggs and cheese. It wasn't enough to keep me healthy but I didn't doubt the people for whom it worked.

There's also the known pretending people do. Like the all too common "I won't have meat in the house" but they get a steak when they go out.

Like that doesn't count.

Very true, and not living with her or even around her at all (last time I saw her I was 12 years old!), who knows what she really does. I do see her Facebook posts, though, and there are plenty with memes about alcohol and chocolate and sweets.

If she's eating milk chocolate, it doesn't have a lot of milk in it, but perhaps just enough to provide nutrients missing in a vegan diet. Other sweets often have butter, or milk, eggs, cream cheese, or heavy cream in them. (Alcohol, not so much, unless we're talking about like mixed drinks that have milk or cream in them. And who knows what animal products she might be eating when she's under the influence of alcohol, and not thinking about sticking strictly to her vegan diet.)



Or she could be like my elderly friend who "doesn't eat meat",and "prefers a nice green salad" to anything else, but if she has one of her kids visiting, she makes sure to have meat on hand for him... which she also eats. If she goes out to eat and there's steak on the menu, she eats steak. She hates breakfast, and especially "hates eggs" , but if she goes out for breakfast with someone, she orders a cheese omelet.

Either she hates these things and never eats them - or she does.

And she does eat them, even if on a limited basis.