Twin Study Shows benefit of a good diet – Bing video
One Twin Went Vegan, The Other Ate Meat. This Is What Happened.
By Tom Hale
Here’s What Happens To Your Brain and Body When You Go Vegan | The Human Body
HEALTH AND MEDICINE COMPARED TO MEAT-EATER ROSS, VEGAN HUGO EXPERIENCED A MASSIVE DROP IN CHOLESTEROL AND A SHARP INCREASE
IN RESISTANCE TO TYPE 2 DIABETES.
Healthy diet (who.int)
Identical twins Hugo and Ross Turner have submitted themselves to become a pair of human guinea pigs and investigate whether a vegan diet is healthier than eating meat and dairy. The Turner brothers are typically seen adventuring around the world, but the pair have recently been using their credentials as genetically identical twins for the benefit of science.
As part of a recent study at the Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology
at King’s College London, the twins followed two distinctly different diets for 12 weeks:
Hugo ate strictly vegan food, while Ross continued to eat meat and dairy products.
“We wanted to use the model of identical twins, who are genetic clones, to test the
effect of diet and exercise and how these individuals respond to different types of food,” explains Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King’s who also led the research,
speaking in a video for B.B.C. Reel.
Is a vegan diet healthier than eating meat and dairy? – BBC REEL
The results were subtle, but significant. Compared to meat-eater Ross, vegan
Hugo experienced a massive drop in cholesterol and a sharp increase in resistance to
type 2 diabetes. Hugo said that he struggled with the vegan diet for the first few weeks, experiencing huge cravings for meat and cheese, but he eventually got used to it and claimed to feel more energetic.
Notably, the vegan diet was associated with a steadier blood sugar level and energy level, while the carnivorous diet resulted in harsher peaks and dips of energy. Interestingly, however, the vegan diet resulted in a severe reduction in gut bacteria diversity, while it remained stable during the meat and dairy diet. In theory, this means that vegan Hugo could potentially have been more susceptible to illnesses compared to Ross.
This picture was taken after the pair completed the 12-week diet. Image credit: ©theturnertwins
Larger-scale research has revealed some surprising insights into gut bacteria and how individuals respond to food. A 2019 study by the same team at King’s College London found that peoples’ responses to the same foods are unique, even between identical
twins. Despite eating the same meals, some people have sharp increases in blood sugar and insulin, which are linked to weight gain and diabetes, while others have fat levels
that linger in the bloodstream, raising the risk of developing heart disease.
The reason for this, the study argues, is likely down to the gut microbiome – the trillions
of bacteria that inhabit the intestinal tract. Although genetics does play an important role in how we process food, the gut microbiome also has a profound effect by influencing how the food is broken down. Since the composition of the microbial colony varies from person to person, so do our responses to the same food. “We find that, on average, most identical twins only share between 25 and 30 percent of their microbes with each other,” explained Professor Spector. “We think this is why many of their metabolisms are different and why they react to food differently.”
How Tracking Your Metabolism Is the Secret to Lose Weight Fast lumen.me
Left: Viola Vaccarino. Right: Ambar Kulshreshtha
Twin Studies: A Unique Epidemiological Tool (nih.gov)
Two of a kind: Emory study of twins shows
what’s good for the heart is good for the brain.
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Megan Jentz
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Twin Study Shows benefit of a good diet
By studying pairs of twin brothers, researchers were able to observe the relationship between cardiovascular health and cognitive performance that may be explained by genetics and/or exposures or behaviors that are shared by members of the same family.
Emory University researchers are giving us double the reasons to pay attention to our cardiovascular health – showing in a recently published study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that good heart health can equal good brain health.
The American Heart Association defines ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) across seven modifiable risk factors (blood sugar, serum cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, physical activity, diet and cigarette smoking). Higher CVH scores point to better heart health and lower risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Prior studies have indicated that ideal CVH also benefits brain health and cognitive aging. However, it was unclear how genes and/or environment played into the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive decline.
By studying pairs of twin brothers from the Vietnam Era Twin (VET) registry, researchers were able to observe the relationship between CVH and cognitive performance across all participants that may be explained by genetics and/or exposures or behaviors that are shared by members of the same family.
Twin studies are a special type of epidemiological study that allow researchers to examine the overall role of genes and environment in a behavioral trait or disorder. Identical twins share 100 percent of their genetic material, while fraternal twins — share on average 50 percent of genetic material. For a given trait or medical condition, any excess similarity between identical twins compared with fraternal twins, is likely suggestive of genes rather than environment. Twin studies can serve to differentiate between “nature vs. nurture.”
“Our study across the entire sample of twins confirmed that better CVH is associated with better cognitive health in several domains,” says senior author Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, Wilton Looney Professor of Cardiovascular Research, Rollins School of Public Health, and professor, division of cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine. “The analyses further suggested that familial factors shared by the twins explain a large part of the association and thus could be important for both cardiovascular and brain health.”
To determine whether these familial factors were genetically or environmentally driven, researchers further stratified the within-pair analysis to determine whether the relationship between CVH and cognitive function was different between identical and fraternal twins.
The within-pair association was similar in identical and fraternal twins. Therefore, familial factors, such as early family environment, early socioeconomic status and education, and parenting – rather than genetics – may be important precursors of both cardiovascular and brain health – thus explaining some of the association between CVH and cognition.
“Improving population-level CVH scores. Which is extremely low in the United States,
has the potential to reduce the burden of dementia along with heart disease,” says study co-author Ambar Kulshreshtha, MD, PhD, assistant professor of family and preventive medicine, Emory University School of Medicine.
“Because CVH factors are modifiable, prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and promotion of a healthy lifestyle beginning early in life should achieve the best results
for promoting not only cardiovascular health, but also cognitive health.”
Healthy diet means a healthy planet, study shows | Food | The Guardian
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benefit of a good diet – Bing