{"id":363854,"date":"2023-12-01T08:12:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T13:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/identical-twins-study-shows-vegan-diets-helping-the-heart-drugs-com-mednews\/"},"modified":"2023-12-01T22:11:35","modified_gmt":"2023-12-02T03:11:35","slug":"identical-twins-study-shows-vegan-diets-helping-the-heart-drugs-com-mednews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/identical-twins-study-shows-vegan-diets-helping-the-heart-drugs-com-mednews\/","title":{"rendered":"Identical Twins Study Shows Vegan Diets Helping the Heart – Drugs.com MedNews","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm<\/a>. Last updated on Dec 1, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter<\/p>\n

FRIDAY, Dec. 1, 2023 — A new study of identical twins has provided fresh evidence that a vegan diet can vastly improve a person\u2019s heart health.<\/p>\n

Twins assigned a vegan diet for two months had significant improvements in cholesterol, insulin and body weight compared to their siblings, who ate a healthy diet that included animal protein.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on these results and thinking about longevity, most of us would benefit from going to a more plant-based diet,\u201d said researcher Christopher Gardner<\/a>, a professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s well-known that cutting back on meat consumption improves heart health, but differences between participants in diet studies — things like genetics, upbringing and lifestyle choices — make it hard for researchers to draw definitive conclusions.<\/p>\n

Gardner and his colleagues chose to study identical twins because they share the same genetics, grew up in the same household and often have similar lifestyles.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with,\u201d Gardner noted in a university news release. \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research team recruited 22 pairs of identical twins to participate in a diet-based clinical trial that ran from May to July 2022. The twins all were listed in the Stanford Twin Registry, a database of fraternal and identical twins who\u2019ve agreed to participate in research studies.<\/p>\n

One twin from each pair was assigned a vegan diet, and the other an omnivore diet.<\/p>\n

Both diets were healthy, containing lots of vegetables, beans, fruits and whole grains. The diets also limited sugars and refined starches.<\/p>\n

But the vegan diet was entirely plant-based, containing neither meat nor animal products like eggs or milk. The omnivore diet included chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, and other foods from animal sources.<\/p>\n

For the first four weeks, a meal service delivered three meals a day. During the remaining four weeks, participants prepared their own meals.<\/p>\n

Out of the 44 people in the study, 43 followed it through to completion, Gardner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur study used a generalizable diet that is accessible to anyone, because 21 out of the 22 vegans followed through with the diet,\u201d said Gardner, who is also a professor in the Stanford Prevention Research Center. \u201cThis suggests that anyone who chooses a vegan diet can improve their long-term health in two months, with the most change seen in the first month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Average \u201cbad\u201d LDL cholesterol levels dropped steadily for the vegans and stayed about the same for the omnivores.<\/p>\n

Vegans also saw a 20% decrease in their fasting insulin levels, and lost an average of 4 more pounds than the omnivores.<\/p>\n

The findings were published Nov. 30 in the journal JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Gardner acknowledged that most people are unlikely to go vegan, but said even a nudge in the plant-based direction could improve their health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s more important than going strictly vegan is including more plant-based foods into your diet,\u201d said Gardner, adding he\u2019s been \u201cmostly vegan\u201d for the last 40 years. \u201cLuckily, having fun with vegan multicultural foods like Indian masala, Asian stir-fry and African lentil-based dishes can be a great first step.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sources<\/h2>\n