A pair of explorers set out to discover whether or not two varying diets can have a major impact on the human body—and the results may come as a surprise.
Of course, there’s no one-fits-all approach when it comes to eating.
Experts at Harvard University will tell you that you should eat whole grains, vegetables and fruits, proteins and healthy plant oils.
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But many people choose to embark on gruelling diets like Keto, Paleo and even take part in Intermittent Fasting so that they can reap the health benefits.
But can eating a specific diet really cause your body to change? Well, that’s what identical twins Hugo and Ross Turner wanted to find out.
The pair, who share the same genetic material, wanted to see whether a diet would alter their bodies over 12 weeks.
Working with Kings College London, Hugo vowed to strictly eat vegan for the duration of the experiment while Ross stuck to a diet that included meat, dairy and fish.
Before getting stuck in, the Turner twins were told they had to consume exactly the same amount of calories each day and exercise the same too—meaning the only varying factor was their diet.
In an interview with the BBC, Hugo confessed the vegan diet caused his body to take a ‘hit’.
“I think the first couple of weeks it was really craving and wanting meat and dairy and cheese. I love cheese," he admitted.
However, he later said he saw the benefits of giving up animal products.
He said: “I was now having to eat fruit and nuts and alternatives that didn’t have any dairy in them - and so that meant I was eating a lot more wholesome food, which meant that my sugar levels were a lot satiated during the day. I felt like I had more energy."
Meanwhile, Hugo's meat-eating twin said his gym performance was ‘up and down a little bit more’.
While he felt 'very energetic' on some days, there were others where he'd experience 'huge lulls'.
However, Hugo did see some downsides to veganism. He found that the diversity of his gut bacteria dropped ‘severely’, while his brother’s stayed the same, meaning Ross was less likely to pick up illnesses.
All in all, the men found that there wasn’t ‘a huge difference, if any’ between the two diets.
However, Hugo did see his cholesterol levels drop ‘off the scale’, while also losing weight and boosting his resistance to type two diabetes.
The diets also prompted Ross to realize how much processed food he was eating after checking out his brother's healthy vegan meals.
Veganism also proved to be more effective for losing body fat as Hugo dropped four pounds and lost one percent of his body fat.
By comparison, Ross put on 10 pounds of muscle but also gained fat, bringing his end body fat percentage up from 13 to 15 percent.
Topics: Health, Food and Drink, Vegan, Fitness
Ella Scott