Just months after a study of identical twins recording the effects of meat-eating and vegan diets, You Are What You Eat, the new Netflix documentary based on the research, highlights the impact of a plant-based lifestyle on health and nutrition.
Since the last Netflix vegan documentary changed the way many people looked at plant-based diets over four years ago, its director Louie Psihoyos is hoping to create a similar effect with his new docuseries, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, which started streaming on New Year’s Day, just in time for Veganuary.
The series is based on a Stanford study published in late November, which comprised 22 pairs of identical twins where one was put on a vegan diet and the other on a meat-based diet. The research aimed to control the genetic differences and influence of lifestyle factors in the findings, which reflected existing research about the impact of plant-based food on cardiovascular health – heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans.
The documentary features star turns from vegan cheese queen Miyoko Schinner, Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown, three-Michelin-starred chef Daniel Humm (of Eleven Madison Park fame), US senator Cory Booker, public health nutritionist Tracye McQuirter, Clean Disruption author Tony Seba, alt-meat company Prime Roots founder Kimberlie Le, Wicked Kitchen co-founder Chad Sarno.
Across four episodes, You Are What You Eat highlights the Stanford study, the struggles and successes of the twins, concerns about recommended dietary guidelines, shiting to plant-based cooking, and the study’s results.
What did the study find?
twin study vegan vs meat
Courtesy: Stanford University School of Medicine
The study’s results have been in the public domain for a month now. Focusing on whole-food plant-based diets and an omnivore diet comprising chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy and other animal-derived foods, it involved the participants being weighed and drawn blood from at three points. The most amount of change was seen in the first month, with those on a vegan diet exhibiting lower levels of LDL cholesterol, insulin and body weight – all factors associated with better cardiovascular health – than those eating meat.
At the beginning of the study, the average baseline LDL cholesterol level was 110.7 mg/dL for vegans and 118.5 mg/dL for meat-eaters. By the end, the former dropped to 95.5 and the latter to 116.1 (the optimal LDL cholesterol level is below 100). Additionally, the vegan participants showed a 20% drop in fasting insulin – higher insulin levels carry a risk of developing diabetes – and lost an average of 4.2 lbs (1.9kg) than the omnivores.
Those eating plant-based food had a higher intake of fibre and lower amount of saturated fat. And since grains are bulkier than meat, people could be more satiated and eat fewer calories. Cutting back on saturated fat, increasing the risk of dietary fibre and losing weight were the three most important things that the vegan participants did to better their heart health, according to lead author Christopher Gardner, who told CNN: “Based on these results and thinking about longevity, most of us would benefit from going to a more plant-based diet.”READ MORE