What does a vegan diet do to the body? Researchers have now achieved an almost optimal comparison with identical twins: while one part ate a purely plant-based diet for two months, the other ate animal products in addition to fruit and vegetables.
Eat less meat and more vegetables: a plant-based diet helps the environment, animals and health, they say. Is that correct?
Researchers from the USA have now examined the health aspect in more detail. With the help of 22 pairs of adult identical twins. The scientists at Stanford University wanted to know what effects a purely vegan diet has on the body compared to an omnivorous diet which also includes meat. The researchers presented their results at the Jama Network Open.
For the study, the diet of the 44 test subjects (34 women, 10 men) was changed for eight weeks. All twins were fed for four weeks – with predominantly healthy foods such as legumes, fruit or whole grain products. However, one person in each pair of twins only received plant-based food, while the other person also consumed eggs, meat, chicken or fish.
The remaining four For weeks, the participants prepared their own meals according to the study instructions. These included, among other things, not using heavily processed foods if possible. According to the researchers, this was checked and the correct diet was ensured by nutritionists.
The results of the twin study were clear
The twins were randomly selected. That means: after Random principle, which is intended to prevent distortions in the study results. People who weighed less than 45 kilograms were excluded as possible participants for the change in diet. Likewise, pregnant women and people who are overweight or have other health risk factors. In addition, most of the test subjects had never eaten a vegan diet before. 21 of the 22 people who ate a purely vegan diet successfully completed the study phase.
The results were clear: the test subjects who ate a purely plant-based diet were able to achieve their Significantly improve cardiovascular health. This means that insulin levels (blood sugar) fell, cholesterol levels (LDL cholesterol) improved and body weight fell by around two kilograms.
LDL cholesterol is often referred to as “bad cholesterol” because an elevated level increases the risk of cardiovascular disease due to narrowed blood vessels.
A long term too high blood sugar is also a health risk as it can damage the heart or kidneys. In type 2 diabetes (diabetes mellitus), to put it simply, the glucose – i.e. the sugar from food – is no longer metabolized properly and therefore accumulates in the blood. The body develops a kind of resistance to insulin – the hormone necessary for cells to absorb sugar.
Include more plant-based foods in your diet
At the same time, according to the study, the researchers found that meat eaters improved their diet overall, because they are more balanced than before the test phase began ate.
Therefore, Professor Christopher Gardner, nutrition researcher at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, concludes: “Our experiment shows that anyone who chooses a vegan diet can improve their long-term health within just two months.”
The results suggested that more plant-based foods should be included in the diet.
Source: Jama Network Open
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