Quite a popular topic on the Internet: two twins from Britain, bloggers Ross Turner and Hugo, decided to experience the effects of a vegan diet and compare it with a meat one. This experiment was followed by scientists. Let's look at the results of the experiment, and then I'll explain why they are.
They both lead a very active lifestyle, train, travel.
One of the twins ate exclusively plant food for several months, that is, he was vegan, and the other ate regular food, with a predominance of meat products. Both started out under roughly the same conditions - 13% body fat, and weighing 79.5 and 83 kg. The experiment was as clean as possible - both brothers consumed the same number of calories per day and did the same exercises in the gym 5 times a week.
Outcome
As a result, in three months the vegan brother lost almost 2 kg, his weight was about 81 kg (was 83), his cholesterol in his blood fell sharply, his percentage of fat decreased by 1% and was 12%. He talked about a lot of energy because blood sugar was fairly stable. However, there was also a negative effect, the twin completely lost libido.
The meat-eater brother gained almost 5 kg of muscle and about 2 kg of fat, increasing the percentage of fat to 15%, as a result, his weight was almost 86 kg (starting at 79.5). His blood cholesterol did not change during the entire experiment.
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They also looked at the microbiome of the twins and found that the vegan had a lower chance of obesity and diabetes, however, the diversity of bacteria in the gut (microbiome) of both twins decreased.
Summary
In fact, the results of the experiment are not too surprising. I will list the main points.
- It is possible that the vegan lacked complete protein in their food. As we know, vegetable protein is not complete (it has a limited composition of amino acids), and requires careful mixing of products in order to obtain the desired protein rate. Also, he probably moved more and got into a calorie deficit - about which below. Hence the lack of muscle gain. Source: Amino Acid Digestibility of Proteins
- Plant foods are full of carbohydrates, so the vegan's blood sugar was stable. So the energy was full.
- There is no cholesterol in plant foods - hence the change in its level in the blood and the loss of libido in a vegan. Cholesterol is the main ingredient for testosterone production in the body. Source: Effects of Dietary Fat and Fiber on Plasma and Urine Androgens and Estrogens in Men: A Controlled Feeding Study
- Plant foods, especially dietary fiber, are great at nourishing bacteria in the gut, hence the positive effect on the vegan's microbiome.
- The only thing that confused me was that the meat-eater brother gained weight and the other lost weight, despite the fact that both brothers consumed the same number of calories and trained the same. Probably, the vegan brother tended to move more during the day, which created a calorie deficit, he ended up losing weight, and the meat-eater moved less, and gained. As an example, I can cite a study that compared the difference in daily energy expenditure of 177 men in the same room with the same diet. Where, in the end, the difference in calorie expenditure ranged from 100 to 800 kcal. Source: Determinants of 24-hour energy expenditure in man. Methods and results using a respiratory chamber.
