You Are What You Eat - A Twin Experiment review | This Netflix docuseries hits close to home

3/5

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment landed on Netflix on New Year’s Day and is probably the perfect docuseries to kickstart 2024, if health features top among your priorities (well, it should!)

The limited four-part series focuses on a scientific experiment that introduced diet changes in identical twins to assess the impact on their overall wellbeing.

The first episode elaborates on the concept and method of the social experiment, along with introducing the four twin pairs and their general backgrounds. The twins start on a cheerful, albeit cautious note, as their complete diet plan is about to change. We are told that one of the twin pairs would be given plant-based food, while the other will have an omnivore diet. The twins are assigned their diet plans for eight weeks, and in the initial week they will be mailed their food.

The episode also quickly runs us through how the Standard American Diet (SAD) came into existence and why the concept of low-cost food with more calories became the norm of the day.

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The second episode records the struggles of twins as they try to stick to the recommended diet plans. The second part also takes a wider look at the impact our food choices actually have on our environment. It’s not just about what you eat, you also need to be aware of where your food came from, the docuseries insists. Some startling statistics are also highlighted as experts point out that livestock produces more greenhouse gases than the entire global transportation industry. From livestock to poultry and fish farming, everything comes under the scanner. The series also throws some uncomfortable questions your way by pointing out seemingly simple facts. 

By the third episode, the twins start cooking their own food and those with the vegan diet seek external help to make more informed choices. The last episode focuses on the results, while breaking down the impact the specific diet plan had on various health parameters from cholesterol to risks of fatal diseases. It is a no-brainer as to which emerged the better option in the vegan versus omnivore diet plan.

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The series features several experts, nutritionists and even Chef Daniel Humm, who is the owner of Eleven Madison Park in New York, that famously switched to a plant-based menu.

The informative docuseries is directed by Louie Psihoyos, who had helmed the 2018 documentary film, The Game Changers, which tracked athletes following a plant-based diet.

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment verdict

A series that begins as a reminder on how our diet governs our overall health and ultimately determines what we are, also expertly nudges us to open our eyes to the realities of climate change and its direct link with what we eat. Like what one of the ‘Cheese Twins’ in the docuseries said, this one does hit close to home. You don’t want to miss this one.

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