Is living vegan better? This twin shows it

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: one of the twins went vegan, the other did not: this is the difference.

When the vegan hype was just starting to rise, I was honestly quite skeptical. Is it really that much healthier to eat only plant-based? Will your body not miss fish, meat, and dairy tremendously? This twin set out to find out.

A vegan lifestyle is absolutely not for me, but I have managed to eat more consciously and not always go for a meat option. 

Now the question: is vegan really healthier?
There are many conflicting studies and especially so many opinions. Today I came across a study on IFLS (I F*cking Love Science, definitely a fun site to follow) in which a twin participated in a study. One of the twins lived vegan for twelve weeks and the other did not. After twelve weeks, they looked at what the differences were. Sounds simple, right?

Hugo vs. Ross
The outcomes were as follows: the one who lived vegan indicated that his body had to get used to it enormously, that he missed cheese, dairy, and meat, but that he felt more energetic than before his vegan lifestyle once his body had adjusted to purely plant-based food. Additionally, his cholesterol had dropped, his blood sugar level was much more stable, and his resistance to type 2 diabetes had increased significantly. Sounds good, right?

All these conclusions were made after comparisons with his brother, who did not live as a vegan.

Fewer bacteria
Are there really no downsides to a vegan lifestyle? There are. In the intestines of vegan Hugo, many fewer types of bacteria were found than in Ross (the omnivore). This would mean that he is much more susceptible to various types of diseases.

Just a note: side notethis study was conducted with brothers Hugo and Ross because they are identical twins. But studies have also shown that there is not always the same reaction to eating the same nutrients, even if two people are genetically identical. So not a watertight study, but still interesting.