Twin Brothers Compare The Effects of A Vegan Diet Vs. An Omnivorous Diet
The turners are two adventure-seeking twin brothers who have trekked across the globe—sometimes for research, and other times, for charitable causes. Recently, both brothers decided to run an interesting experiment—one that they said, was inspired by the popular Netflix documentary, “The Game Changers.”
For a 12-week period of time, both brothers decided to compare the physical effects of eating a typical omnivorous diet, to the effects of going vegan. While conducting the experiment, the Turner twins decided to supplement their diets with a corresponding fitness program. The experiment ran from January to March of this year.
According to Insider, the twins “wanted to take bias and opinion out of it, and take
While the pair logged their results, their research was also monitored by scientists at Kings College, who spent time tracking data points such as weight and muscle mass.
Interestingly, the results were quite compelling.
It should be noted first, however, that the brother who did 12 months on the vegan diet experienced higher energy and more lost fat. Prior to the experiment, Hugo weighed in at 185 lbs and 13% body fat. After the 12-week period, he measured in at 181, after dipping to as low as 175 during that time. As far as his body fat percentages, they dropped by 1 full percentage point to 12%.
Outside of the physical improvements, Hugo also reported having more energy and mental alertness. According to Insider, Hugo said that he “didn’t have the mid-afternoon energy dips, and felt a bit more charged.”
However, he did report having a sharply lowered libido. While the brothers’ test did not measure aspects such as blood pressure and testosterone, they suggested that these could be aspects worth examination for potential future experiments. It should be noted, however, that Hugo made significant dietary changes to replace his usual animal-based protein: Eating Jackfruit, Tempeh, and Tofu. The reason why this matters is that Tempeh and Tofu are both soy-based foods, which possess isoflavones that mimic estrogen, and may be connected to reduced testosterone outputs—though much more research is needed.
Interestingly, the brother on the omnivorous diet gained more mass. Starting at 175 lbs and 13% body fat, Ross put on 10 pounds of muscle, along with a little more than four pounds of fat. Because of a balanced diet and regular exercise, his cholesterol levels stayed consistent throughout the 12-week duration.
These results matter for a couple of reasons. While they are fairly limited, and diets affect people in different ways, what they do tell us is that neither an omnivorous diet nor a vegan diet, is demonstrably better than the other. They both have their respective positives (such as increases in muscle mass, and decreases in body fat percentages), just as much as they have their negatives (such as increases in fat percentages and decreases in libido). In summation, the Turners’ study shows that no matter what your culinary preferences are, everybody benefits from a nutritionally balanced diet. Even in the case of Hugo, who was on the vegan diet, he needed to experience even greater nutritional variety in order to get a sufficient amount of plant-based protein.
Ultimately, the brothers felt that the duration of their study was too short to have reliable data on the long-term effects of each dietary regimen. If they could do it over, they have gone on the record saying that they would prefer to engage with a study that lasted 6-12 months. Ultimately, while the dietary changes were not necessarily permanent for either brother, they have said that they plan to incorporate more vegan foods—especially snacks—into their daily diet.
For more information on the Turners, as well as their story, check out Insider.com. (via Insider)
