You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment | |
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Genre | Documentary series |
Directed by | Louie Psihoyos |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Running time | 198 minutes |
Production company | Oceanic Preservation Society |
Original release | |
Network | Netflix |
Release | January 1, 2024 |
You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment is a 2024 American documentary series set for streaming on Netflix. It is based on an 8-week study conducted by Stanford University that put 22 sets of genetically identical twins on opposing (but healthy) diets: omnivore and vegan. It was released on January 1, 2024.
You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment is based on an 8-week study [1] [2] conducted by Stanford University that put 22 sets of genetically identical twins [3] on opposing (but healthy) diets: omnivore and vegan. The subjects were given their meals for the first four weeks and had to prepare their own meals during the second 4 weeks. [4] [5] [3] According to the leader of the study, Christopher D. Gardner, the twins on the vegan diet had "a 10% to 15% drop in LDL cholesterol, a 25% drop in insulin, and a 3% drop in body weight in just eight weeks, all by eating real food without animal products." [3] In addition, 21 (out of 22) of the people asked to follow a vegan diet stayed with it for the entire 8 weeks. [6] Gardner argues that examining genetically identical twins in this manner increases the level of accuracy in the data. [4]
Of the 22 sets of twins, the series focused on four pairs. Carolyn (vegan) and Rosalyn (omnivore) participated in the study with the goal of "increasing Filipino representation in scientific studies". [7] After the study, both returned to an omnivorous diet but now include more plant-based meals. [7] Pam (vegan) and Wendy (omnivore) are South African chefs who run a catering company. After the study, they returned to an omnivorous diet but reduced their intake of meat and cheese. [7] John (vegan) and Jevon (omnivore) are nursing students who also like to work out. After the study, they both returned to an omnivorous diet but cut out most red meat from their diet. [7] Michael (omnivore) and Charlie (vegan) own a cheese business and are known as "The Cheese Twins". Prior to the study, Michael was a pescatarian, and Charlie an omnivore. After the study, Michael became a vegetarian, and Charlie now follows a mostly vegetarian diet. [7]
VegNews listed it as one of "The 18 Best Vegan Documentaries to Start Streaming Now " in 2024. [8]
No. | Episode | Directed by | Original release date |
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1 | Episode 1 | Louie Psihoyos | January 1, 2024 |
2 | Episode 2 | Louie Psihoyos | January 1, 2024 |
3 | Episode 3 | Louie Psihoyos | January 1, 2024 |
4 | Episode 4 | Louie Psihoyos | January 1, 2024 |
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vegan.
A flexitarian diet, also called a semi-vegetarian or fauxtarian diet, is one that is centered on plant foods with limited or occasional inclusion of meat. For example, a flexitarian might eat meat only some days each week. Flexitarian is a portmanteau of the words flexible and vegetarian, signifying its followers' less strict diet pattern when compared to vegetarian pattern diets.
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A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. It encompasses a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. Plant-based diets may also be vegan or vegetarian but do not have to be, as they are defined in terms of high frequency of plants and low frequency of animal food consumption.
Neal D. Barnard is an American animal rights activist, physician and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Barnard has authored books advocating a whole food plant-based dietary eating pattern. His views on reversing diabetes with a low-fat vegan diet have been criticized by diabetologists as misleading as Type 1 diabetes can not be reversed.
Vegetarian and vegan dietary practices vary among countries. Differences include food standards, laws, and general cultural attitudes toward vegetarian diets.
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Louis (Louie) Psihoyos is an American photographer and documentary film director known for his still photography and contributions to National Geographic. Psihoyos, a certified SCUBA diver, has become increasingly concerned with bringing awareness to underwater life. In 2009, he directed and appeared in the feature-length documentary The Cove, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Michael Herschel Greger is an American physician, author, and speaker on public health issues best known for his advocacy of a whole-food, plant-based diet, and his opposition to animal-derived food products.
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Christopher David Gardner is an American nutrition researcher. He is the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.
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