Brain Health Kitchen

Brain Health Kitchen

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Do you have to go vegan to be “healthy”?
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Do you have to go vegan to be “healthy”?

8 Takeaways from the Twin Study and You Are What You Eat

Annie Fenn, MD's avatar
Annie Fenn, MD
Feb 07, 2024
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Do you have to go vegan to be “healthy”?
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Image: Netflix You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment

What’s better for health: a vegan diet or an omnivorous one? This is the question at the heart of the Twin Study, featured in the Netflix series You Are What You Eat. Any study that sheds light on impacting risk factors for dementia—such as markers for heart disease and diabetes—is germane to our brain health conversation. 

Below, we’ll dive into what the study showed, a few of its surprising findings, and how this all relates to a brain-healthy lifestyle.

As for the TV show—it has become wildly controversial. A head-to-head comparison of plant-based versus animal-inclusive diets is a recipe for sensational headlines. I’ll share my thoughts on that, too, and I’d love to hear yours. 

The Twin Nutrition Study (TwiNS): Vegan vs. Omnivore

TwiNS, commonly referred to as “the Twin Study,” is a randomized controlled nutrition intervention trial conducted by Professor Christopher Gardner and his team at Stanford University. The researchers wanted to see if switching to a vegan diet impacts health biomarkers (like cholesterol and fasting insulin) in just 8 weeks. 

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