The health and well-being of our cat companions depends upon the health and welfare of us, their caregivers. If we aren’t healthy and reasonably active, we might struggle to discharge our responsibilities towards our cat companions to keep them healthy and content. That’s why I write about human health. This is another article in the series. I think this story is very important and it is a mini-diet of sorts which should not be too challenging for many people but the benefits are going to be very real.
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The health correspondent of The Times reports that if you switch to a vegan diet for just two months you can cut the risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study scientists employed the services of 22 sets of identical twins. One of each pair of twins remained on a conventional diet of meat and dairy products while the other went entirely vegan.
The vegan group saw improvements in cholesterol, blood sugar and weight loss. The expert said that this shows that “most of us would benefit from going to a more plant-based diet”.
The group on a vegan diet benefited from a significant drop in their levels of bad LDL cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol can cause a buildup of fatty deposits in the blood vessels which increases the risk of a stroke and heart attack.
Those on the vegan diet showed a drop in blood sugar levels as indicated by a drop of 20% in “fasting levels of insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar”.
Also, those in the vegan diet lost 2 kg of weight compared to their twins. Both groups were given guidance on food preparation and how to cook healthily.
The lead author of the study, Christopher Gardner, said: “This suggest that anyone who chooses a vegan diet can improve their long-term health in two months, with the most change seen in the first month. Based on these results and thinking about longevity, most of us would benefit from going to a more plant-based diet.”
The study is published in the journal JAMA Network Open. Using twins means that each participant on the non-vegan and vegan side of the aisle had the same genetics.
Gardner added that: “Not only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with. They dressed the same, they talked the same and they had a banter between them that you could have only if you spent an inordinate amount of time together.”
The participants were aged 40 on average and were all generally healthy with no history of heart disease. A vegan diet has other improvements to health including an increased gut bacteria and the reduction of telomere loss which slows ageing in the body.
