BBC Reel commissioned a short documentary about the twins vegan vs meat comparison.
It was the most watched piece on bbc.com last year (not only on BBC Reel but among all BBC sites)!
The Twins embarked on a trial of a vegan diet versus a typical omnivorous one, with their body composition monitored by Virgin Active and their biomarkers tested by King’s College London’s, Department of Twin Research (TwinsUK).
Men's Health caught up with them to see what they’d learnt. Read the full article here.
Gut bacteria are involved in the body’s metabolic and inflammatory processes.
So far, research has identified microbiome traits and characteristics associated with various diseases, meaning if your microbiome doesn’t have these traits, it could suggest your level of protection against specific diseases is lower.
This is evaluated on a scale of 1 to 10. This table shows the change in bacteria from a vegan and meat diet over three months between Hugo (vegan) and Ross (meat). The higher the number the better protection the body has against the corresponding conditions.
The above data was analyzed by Altas Biomed on behalf of TwinsUK/ ZOE.
How does a vegan diet affect weight?
The graph shows the change in body weight between Hugo and Ross throughout the fitness program. Hugo’s starting weight started just over 84 kgs and dropped to below 83 kgs while eating a vegan-based diet, while Ross increased weight from 85.5 kgs to nearly 87kgs eating a regular diet.
How does a vegan diet affect fat?
Hugo’s body fat percentage reduced from 13% down to below 11% with a consistent downward trend. Ross on the other hand had an upward trend in body fat, starting around 11% and increasing to 13.5% (accounting for the last data anomaly).
Does a vegan diet help reduce cholesterol?
Hugo and Ross have generally high cholesterol levels, which makes for the drop in Hugo’s level from 5.9 down to 4.9 surprising, given the short time frame in which cholesterol was monitored. Ross's cholesterol stayed level throughout at 6.5.
