What happened to twins that went on separate vegan and meat diets for 12 weeks?
It's long been debated what the best foods are to eat. Some folks go full carnivore, while others stick to more plant-based diets.
If you spend any time on Instagram or TikTok you'll have probably heard from so-called experts why eating a single Kit-Kat is sending you to an early grave or why eating steak eggs and avocado for every meal is definitely the best way to live your life.
At least they're not on a diet of bull testicles for every meal, like the Liver King's wife eats, but it feels like some folks really aren't all that far off just embracing the ridiculous advice we hear online.
Most scientists would tell you that a healthy balanced diet is the best thing for your health, while certain foods should certainly be avoided where possible, but it's never going to be possible to test everything on everyone.
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Naturally, people will react to different foods in different ways and perhaps the closest way of knowing whether vegan or meat-based is truly best is by asking a set of twins to undergo that challenge over an extended period of time.
Step forward Hugo and Ross Turner. Known online as The Turner Twins, the adventurous British duo have often offered up their bodies for science, testing out different methods in the gym to see if weights or duration of exercise are more important.
Back in 2021, they also tested out vegan and omnivore diets to see how their pretty-much identical bodies reacted to them, with some pretty surprising results.
During a short film for the BBC, Hugo explained: “I was on the vegan diet and it really does take a hit on your body.
“I think the first couple of weeks it was really craving and wanting meat and dairy and cheese. I love cheese.
“I was now having to eat fruit and nuts and alternatives that didn’t have any dairy in them - and so that meant I was eating a lot more wholesome food, which meant that my sugar levels were a lot satiated during the day.
“I felt like I had more energy.”
Meanwhile Ross, who was on the meat diet, said he was very up and down and while he had periods of high energy, he also experienced huge lulls.
Hugo's energy levels remained fairly stable throughout and it also had an impressive impact on his gut health, with the amount of bacteria dropping severely during the 12-week experiment.
Ross also noted that he was eating far more processed foods than his brother but when it came to the final results, it seems as if their bodies didn't change all that much.
At the start of the diet, Hugo weighed 185 pounds and had 13 percent body fat.
By the end of the 12 weeks, he weighed 181 pounds and dropped to 12 percent body fat.
In comparison, Ross also had 13 percent body fat at the start, but he put on 10 pounds of muscle, and also gained fat, bringing his end body fat percentage up to 15 percent and his weight to 189 pounds.
So, if you want to gain muscle or fat, then meat-based is probably best, but if you want to improve your gut bacteria or cholesterol levels, then maybe a vegan diet is the one for you.
Everyone knows that the best diet is just fish and rice cakes anyway.
James Moorhouse