Two British doctors, twin brothers Chris and Alexander Van Tulleken, conducted an interesting dietary experiment for themselves. Alexander reduced the amount of carbohydrates he consumed and Chris – fat.
Since both men are genetically identical and lead very similar lifestyles, the responses of their bodies to dietary changes could be easily compared.
The experiment lasted a month. Besides Alexander gave up carbohydrates and Chris gave up fat, the brothers could eat as much as they wanted.
Though Alexander could eat meat, fish, eggs, and cheese, he wasn’t feeling well. – I was never hungry, but I became sluggish, I felt tired and had bad breath. He was also constipated, while Chris on a low-fat diet was not doing better either – he was always hungry and had to bite all the time.
After 4 weeks, they both lost weight but found eating no longer enjoyable. The lack of carbohydrates badly affected Alexander both physically and mentally. He lost to his brother in both mental acuity and fitness tests. Moreover, his body obtained some of its energy by burning protein in the muscles. Both diets turned out not to be very healthy.
So which foods make so many of us gain weight? According to Dr. Alexander Van Tulleken’s main reason for gaining weight is the combination of sugars and fats contained in foods. That is why we like chocolate, ice cream and fries so much.