A new twin study out of Stanford University was just published claiming a vegan diet is healthier than a conventional omnivore diet. Of course, this got our attention. Stanford University is one of the most respected academic institutions in the world. So, this, for sure, will influence people. We imagined all the people who will read or hear about this and decide they are now vegans.
As we try to model for our audience and clients, we put on our curious glasses and started asking questions. It didn’t take long for us to see what we suspected we’d see once we read the study.
In a nutshell, the researchers recruited 22 sets of twins. They did this to control for genetics and limit factors such as genetic differences, upbringing and lifestyle choices. These twins grew up in the same households and reported similar lifestyles. They matched one twin from each pair with either a vegan or omnivore diet. Overall, the twins on the vegan diet lost more weight, lowered their LDL cholesterol more as well as their insulin levels.“Based on these results and thinking about longevity, most of us would benefit from going to a more plant-based diet,” head researcher Christopher Gardner said.
That’s wonderful. We are huge advocates for improved health. That’s why we do what we do. We also advocate for more vegetables, especially green leafy ones as well as whole grains, and fruits. EVERYONE would benefit from this.
But wait a minute.
A few things to point out:
- This study was two months long. In the scope of health and wellness habits and changes, this is a minute amount of time. Moving from a conventional American diet to eating fresh fruits and vegetables will, of course, make someone feel better and improve their blood work numbers. What the study doesn’t do is continue after two months. Not everyone can thrive on a vegan diet for the rest of their lives. Dr. Peter Attia, Canadian physician, author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, and host of The Drive podcast, responds to this study, saying in a recent blog, “the detrimental health effects often seen with a vegan diet, such as deficiencies in vitamin B12 and iron, can take months or even years to develop, underscoring the inadequacy of an 8-week intervention for evaluating the health impacts of a plant-based diet.”
- The head researcher, Christopher Gardner, PhD, Rehnborg Farquhar Professor and a professor of medicine has been “mostly vegan” for the last 40 years. This, no doubt, influenced his wanting to do this research to begin with. His motivation for showing the world that a vegan diet is best is personal.
- During the first four weeks of the study, a meal service delivered 21 meals per week — seven breakfasts, lunches and dinners. The participants did prepare their own meals, most likely with guidance of what to eat, for the remaining four weeks. Not really surprisingly, the researchers found the most improvement over the first four weeks of the diet change.
- Not only did this study not include any fitness or other lifestyle factors, it also didn’t measure muscle loss – which should always be a part of a conversation about weight loss and health outcomes.
- There is no mention in this article about what the omnivore diet actually included or did not include.
In a world full of memes, quick reads, documentaries telling us ‘the right way to eat” and a slew of repetitive ideas telling us how we aren’t doing enough – we invite our audience to pause and look at the bigger picture of life and longevity. Step back and look at your personal story around food, diet culture, health goals and lifestyle choices.
No one knows your body better than you.
If you’ve become disconnected and confused, you are in good company. We are seeing a whiplash of information that is pushing more people to simply give up on themselves instead of doing the personal investigation that truly leads to a life of well-being.
Keep questioning everything, stay curious and experiment – look closely at your personal data to make your next choice.
