What twins can teach us about healthy eating | Christopher Gardner, PhD

Episode #312. Vegan vs. omnivore: learn about the Netflix documentary “You Are What You Eat” and the associated twin study with lead researcher, Christopher Gardner PhD. You’ll learn about why Dr Gardner designed the study the way he did, unpack some key findings, and hear his response to criticisms.
From publication, this study gained major media attention that was only amplified by the release of “You Are What You Eat”. With popularity comes criticism, in this case from some big names in online nutrition spaces. Hear the truth about the controversy surrounding this study and documentary, straight from the source.

Specifically, we discuss:

Intro (00:00)

Introduction and background on Christopher Gardner's recent twin study (01:36)

Navigating the Challenges of Science Communication and Critique (08:28)

Introduction to the Twin Study and Its Unique Design (16:36)

The Role of Identical Twins and Defining Plant-Based vs. Omnivorous Diets (22:45)

Dietary Patterns and Health Outcomes: The Vegan and Omnivorous Diets (27:25)

Diet Satisfaction and Adherence in Nutritional Studies (36:34)

The Science of Study Design: Primary vs. Secondary Outcomes (42:05)

Responding to critiques on calorie differences (51:58)

Cardiometabolic Markers and Diet: A Deep Dive (55:17)

Twin Nutrition Study Deep Dive: Lipid Markers, Cardiovascular Risk, and the Impact of Diet (01:00:13)

Responding to Critiques (Peter Attia): The Complexity of Diet Studies (01:14:07)

Addressing Critique of Mark Hyman (01:29:24)

Funding from Beyond Meat and other organisations (01:38:55)

Teaching about sustainability and stealth nutrition - Nina Teicholz critique (01:44:29)

Is Plant-Based Diet good for the environmental health? (01:48:00)

Reflecting on critiques and potential improvements to the study (01:53:47)

Personal experience with the Netflix documentary (01:55:45)

Outro (01:57:54)


Connect with Professor Christopher Gardner on Twitter/X and Instagram. Head to https://nutrition.stanford.edu/ for more resources and studies, and the Stanford Nutrition YouTube channel for more videos. Listen to past episodes featuring Professor Gardner here.

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Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)
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Author of The Proof is in the Plants
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