To eat or not to eat vegan? The 8 biggest takeaways from Netflix’s “You Are What You Eat” food doc

The infamous Standard American Diet, better known as S.A.D., became mainstream in a post-World War II society. Many aspiring soldiers weren’t qualifying for the military because they were too thin and undernourished, explained Christopher Gardner, a nutrition scientist at Stanford University.

“And there was a huge push to get enough calories out there, be as efficient as we could,” Gardner continued. “We saw a growing availability of convenience foods, a lot of low-cost food, which then started to morph into more and more processed and packaged foods. And we saw the same thing with animal-sourced foods. Beef, pork, chicken, eggs, dairy products, cheese.”

The animal agriculture sector quickly industrialized and soon enough, factory farms took over to improve efficiency, said physician and author Michael Greger. Animal products decreased in cost but increased in availability and overall consumption.

Cheap, ultra-processed foods still remain a core part of our food system today. High consumption of such foods have been linked to an increased risk of obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

After eight weeks of following their respective diets, Pam and Wendy both lost muscle mass but increased their fat levels. Pam, who followed the plant-based diet, lost one pound of fat and almost seven pounds of muscle. Her sister Wendy, who followed the omnivore diet, lost almost four pounds of muscle and gained 0.3 pounds of fat.

It was later revealed that both sisters failed to eat all of the food that was provided to them, simply because they felt as though their individual diets contained high amounts of carbohydrates and beans. Because their bodies weren’t obtaining enough energy from food, they instead sought energy from their muscles. Most of the muscle they had built in the gym was also being used to fuel their workouts, thus explaining the loss in muscle mass and gain in fat.

To assess the diet’s impact on women’s sexual health, a thermograph was used to measure genital arousal in Pam, Wendy, Carolyn and Rosalyn. Temperature changes in each participant’s genitals were recorded while they watched their choice of pornography. The final results found that Pam and Carolyn, who both followed the plant-based diets, had increased genital arousal.

Pam experienced a 371% increase in her arousal compared to her sister, who experienced a 288% hike. Carolyn experienced an astounding 383% increase, while her sister Rosalyn experienced a 212% hike.

A plant-based diet may contribute to lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, sometimes referred to as “bad” cholesterol. Over the course of eight weeks, researchers found that LDL cholesterol dropped significantly amongst those who followed a vegan diet. 

Carolyn’s LDL levels dropped 12.9%, while her sister Rosalyn’s levels went up slightly 1.7%. High levels of LDL cholesterol can clog arteries and cause heart disease and stroke.

While the omnivores in the study saw their LDL cholesterol remain the same on average, the vegans saw their LDL cholesterol levels drop 10% on average.

Researchers studied the presence of trimethylamine N-oxide, simply known as TMAO, a substance that is produced by the body after meat consumption. TMAO is said to increase unhealthy levels of inflammation and is associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

Expectedly, omnivores had higher levels of TMAO compared to their vegan counterparts. Pam and Wendy’s results revealed that Pam’s TMAO plummeted 350% and remained low while Wendy’s increased 160%.

A healthy microbiome – the collection of all the bacteria, fungi and viruses that naturally reside in our bodies – leads to better metabolism, a stronger immune system and better overall health. 

Researchers looked at several groups of bacteria, like bifidobacterium, which helps prevent infection and produces vitamins and other vital chemicals. Bifidobacterium increased in twins who followed a vegan diet and remained level in twins who followed an omnivore diet.

Researchers differentiated between biological age and chronological age in their study. Biological age refers to how old your cells and tissues are, while chronological age is the number of years you've been alive. Biological age was determined based on the lengths of each twin’s telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of DNA strands. Lengths of telomeres decrease as we age, so longer telomeres signify better health and a younger biological age.

At the beginning of the study, each twin had telomeres that were the same length. After eight weeks, however, the vegan twins had longer telomeres compared to their omnivorous twins, whose telomeres remained unchanged. That means the vegan twins were considered biologically younger than their omnivore twins.

Although none of the twins have fully gone vegan, many said they are committed to eating more plant-based meals in their regular diets.

“For me, plant-based eating is the way to go,” said Carolyn. “I feel healthier . . . If I’m gonna put crap into my body, then I’m gonna feel like crap. But if I do the opposite, it'll be enhanced.”

As for Pam and Wendy, the sisters have been decreasing their intake of animal products. When it comes to eating meat, “less is more,” Wendy said.

“Change starts with one person,” Pam added. “With making food for other people, we realize that we don’t need so much meat.”

Michael expressed similar sentiments, saying he’s “cut out meat for the most part.”

“I think there are just too many benefits to cutting it out and not enough benefits to keep it in,” he said.