Why we should all eat less meat for our health

In a new Netflix documentary, a group of scientists, including myself, explain why cutting down on meat is good for the heart

If you’re looking for a quick and simple way to improve your health in 2024, cutting down your meat consumption in favour of a diverse range of plants may be just the ticket.

What evidence am I basing this on?

Earlier in 2023, I took part in filming for a new Netflix series, which airs on the 1st of January 2024. 

The documentary “You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment” follows Professor Christopher Gardner – Director of the Stanford Prevention Research Centre, a colleague and member of the Scientific Advisory Group at ZOE – as he runs a unique randomised clinical trial comparing omnivore and vegan diets.  

Photo by Daiga Ellaby

Christopher worked with my favourite subjects - 22 pairs of identical twin pairs. With my team I have performed hundreds of twin studies that are  a perfect natural experiment that everyone understands. One twin from each pair followed a healthy vegan diet for 8 weeks, while the other ate a healthy omnivorous diet. 

By healthy, I mean that both diets were packed with vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains and low in added sugar and refined carbohydrates. The only difference was that in the omnivorous diet arm of the study, the twins also ate chicken, fish, eggs and dairy. 

Importantly, none of the twins had any health problems.