From nypost.com
The vegan diet is twice as nice as experts previously thought.
They share not only a genetic background, but identical twins also share the same upbringing and environment, making them ideal study subjects to test the viability of a particular diet.
So researchers chose twins when they devised an innovative study to compare the benefits of an omnivore diet including meat with an entirely vegan diet.
The results? Shuddup and eat your spinach.
The study revealed that although a strict vegan diet is healthy — duh — participants who were assigned to eat only vegan meals were much less satisfied with their diet than omnivores.
Published today in JAMA Network Open, the team from Stanford University in California gathered 22 pairs of identical twins, all of whom were healthy and had no cardiovascular disease.
One twin from each pair had a strictly vegan diet provided by a meal delivery service for four weeks, while the other was given a healthy omnivore diet that included dairy, meat and other animal products along with fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
After the four-week period, each twin was asked to continue with their assigned diet for another four weeks, but by making their own food instead of relying on the foods provided by the meal delivery service.
Finally, after eight weeks, the twins were tested for low-density cholesterol levels (LDL, the “bad” cholesterol), insulin levels, body weight and other factors.
The vegan-diet twins experienced an average drop in LDL levels that was 13.9 mg/dL greater than the omnivores. The vegans also had about a 20% drop in fasting insulin — thereby reducing the risk of diabetes — and lost an average of 4.2 pounds more than the omnivores.
Yet to the surprise of virtually no one, the twins who followed the omnivore diet were much more satisfied with their diet after eight weeks than those who followed the strict vegan diet.
Especially when eating out or planning and preparing meals, the twins assigned to eat vegan were significantly less satisfied with their diet, while the omnivores were largely pleased — especially when eating out.
One of the 22 vegans dropped out of the study early (presumably to grab a cheeseburger and some nachos).
“Not only did this study provide a ground-breaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with,” lead study author Dr. Christopher Gardner of Stanford University told South West News Service.
“They dressed the same, they talked the same and they had a banter between them that you could have only if you spent an inordinate amount of time together,” Gardner added.
Though Gardner — who’s been a vegan for 40 years — acknowledges that most people probably won’t go completely vegan, he feels that any move in the right direction could improve their health.
“What’s more important than going strictly vegan is including more plant-based foods into your diet,” he said. “Luckily, having fun with vegan multicultural foods like Indian masala, Asian stir-fry and African lentil-based dishes can be a great first step.”
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