Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
A health docu with strong pro-vegan themes; references porn.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
What's the Story?
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: A TWIN EXPERIMENT, an installment of the You Are What You Eat franchise, features adult identical twins as test subjects in a short-term research study to evaluate the impact of eliminating animal-based foods from the human diet. The show focuses on four sets of twins who participated in a Stanford University-sponsored study known as the "Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS)," which, in part, is designed to determine potential connections between diet and aging. Profiles that record behaviors and environments that impact how each participant's genes work are created with the help of a DNA lab, noting the amount of overall fat, visceral fat, muscle, and, in the case of women, level of sexual arousal each person has. Over an eight-week period, one member of each twin pair eats a prescribed healthy omnivorous diet, and the other is assigned a prescribed vegan one. After two months of following this eating regimen and exercising, epigenetic data is again collected to determine if the amount of fat, muscle, and sexual arousal has changed. Throughout it all, the impact that meat has on the body, the economy, and the environment is discussed, as are the benefits of a vegan diet. Some of the efforts being made to provide viable and good-tasting options for plant-based meals are also highlighted.
Is It Any Good?
The decidedly pro-vegan docuseries contextualizes the call for a plant-based diet by using a science experiment, and by showing the negative impact eating meat and dairy has on our bodies and our planet. It discusses how the U.S. population has been conditioned to believe that meat and dairy products are necessary food staples, and how increased consumption of them has led to health epidemics, deforestation, and other environmental calamities. However, it does not spend a lot of time discussing what vegan diets may lack, or other genetic factors that can play a part in our health. It also glosses over the fact that the director of the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS) runs a plant-based initiative, and that the study is being funded by a vegan food company. Nonetheless, if you can get past these conflicts of interest, it does offer some interesting information about vegan vs. omnivore diets, and how to think about weight gain, fat, and muscle. Of course, seeing how the test subjects fared is entertaining. You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment shouldn't be a source of medical or nutritional advice, but it may get you thinking more about some of the foods you're consuming.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the amount of animal-based foods they eat compared to the amount of plant-based foods. How can healthy eating habits be improved without eliminating meat? Or can they?
What is the purpose behind You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment? Do the results of the study support this goal? Should there even be a goal?
TV Details
- Premiere date : January 1, 2024
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Reality TV
- Topics : Cooking
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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