Overview

• A recent study of 22 pairs of identical twins over eight weeks found that a vegan diet may be superior to an omnivorous diet at boosting cardiovascular health.
• By the end of the trial, the twin who ate the vegan diet had lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) — dubbed 'bad' cholesterol as it can clog the arteries.
• The vegan participants also had lower fasting insulin levels by the end of the trial than their omnivore counterparts and lost 4.2 pounds more on average.
• However, the study noted that dietary satisfaction was lower among vegans, suggesting that maintaining such a diet could be challenging.
• Despite this, 91% of the twins assigned a vegan diet said they planned to continue the habits learned in the trial into their normal life.