One identical twin became vegan while the other did not. look what happened

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Healthy twins who ate a vegan diet for eight weeks had less “bad” low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol, better blood sugar levels and greater weight loss than siblings who ate a meat and vegetable diet. , a new study found.

“There was a 10% to 15% drop in LDL cholesterol, a 25% drop in insulin and a 3% drop in body weight in just eight weeks, all while eating real foods without animal products,” he said. the study’s lead author, Christopher Gardner. , research professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in Palo Alto, California.

A vegan diet differs from a vegetarian diet in that it eliminates not only animal meat but also dairy, eggs or any other ingredients derived from animals. A strictly plant-based diet may be higher in fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients compared to other dietary patterns, said Gardner, who is also director of the Nutrition Studies Research Group at Stanford.

“The results of this study confirm the benefit of current dietary guidelines in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease,” Alice Lichtenstein, director and senior scientist at the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University, told CNN in an email. She did not participate in the study.

“The diet with more unsaturated fats compared to saturated fats, more whole grains compared to refined grains, fewer calories, more fiber and vegetables, and less cholesterol resulted in a more favorable cardiovascular disease risk factor profile than the diet of comparison,” he said.

The study was unusual because it used genetically identical twins, most of whom shared similar lifestyle behaviors, including haircuts and clothing.

“The twin study design is elegant because it largely controls for genetic and environmental factors that can influence the trial results,” said Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology and chair of the School’s nutrition department. of Public Health TH Chan of Harvard. Health in Boston. He was not involved in the study.

“However, recruiting identical twins into dietary intervention studies is challenging; “That’s why the design has rarely been used in nutritional studies,” Hu said. “In addition, the findings from identical twins may not be generalizable to the general population.”

The study, published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open, involved 22 pairs of identical twins. In each pair, one twin was assigned a vegan diet, while the other was assigned an omnivorous diet. Each followed their respective diets for eight weeks. For the first four weeks, all meals were provided to each twin so they could see the types of foods they should eat.

“I feel like a lot of people who follow a vegan diet think, ‘Oh, great, soda is vegan.’ The pancakes are vegan.’ No, they are ultra-processed refined grains,” Gardner said. “So we tried to eat a healthy vegan diet and quickly show them what it was like for four weeks.”

The meat and vegetable group were also given meals that were a step up from their normal fare.

“I’m really interested in balance or balance in my studies; I don’t have a wonderfully healthy vegan diet or a shitty diet that can be knocked down,” Gardner said. “People who followed the omnivorous diet ate more vegetables, more whole grains, less added sugar and fewer refined grains than in their usual diet. They also didn’t get poor quality meat, everything was of good quality. So, they actually had some improvements in diet.”

Once each pair of twins learned the types of foods they should eat, they were asked to prepare their own meals and snacks appropriate to their diet for the second half of the study, Gardner said.

Biological markers, including blood and stool, were collected from each twin at baseline and again at weeks four and eight. Surprisingly, the twins who followed the vegan diet tested younger on measures of biological versus chronological age, data that will be presented in a future study, Gardner said.

However, improvement in cardiovascular biomarkers such as LDL cholesterol reduction, insulin resistance and weight loss was to be expected, Gardner said.

“Vegetarians consumed more fiber and less saturated fat. That will explain the LDL cholesterol. “More fiber will account for less fasting insulin because they simply have a slower release of glucose into the bloodstream,” he said. “And all vegetables, fruits and grains are bulkier than meat, so people could be more satiated and eat fewer calories.”

But as with all diets that restrict people to the foods they’re used to eating, staying on track can be difficult.

“To be honest, the twins who followed the vegan diet had less satisfaction because it was so restrictive. So there’s certainly the other side of the coin: ‘Oh, I could have eaten more, but I just wasn’t hungry for more grains and more vegetables.’

Despite the rapid improvement in health, people don’t have to go vegan to benefit from the study’s findings, Gardner said. Reducing the consumption of meat and animal by-products can be done little by little, little by little.

Harvard’s Hu agreed: “While this study showed that a vegan diet may provide additional benefits, Compared to a healthy omnivorous diet, it does not mean that everyone should become vegan or vegetarian.

“Dietary choices are influenced by a variety of factors, such as individual health conditions, personal preferences, cultural traditions, and ethical and environmental considerations,” he said.