What Happened To Netflix's You Are What You Eat Cast?
From Nazi Germany's terrifying experiments during World War II to NASA's study on astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, science has long been fascinated by twins and how different conditions might affect them. The Netflix documentary series "You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment" offers a particularly positive and informative take on the theme, allowing pairs of twins to experience the health benefits of good eating first-hand as well as educating both participants and viewers about food production and its effect on our health and planet.
For eight weeks, one of the twins in each pair followed a vegan diet and the other maintained an omnivorous one — and the vegan ones' health improved considerably. Still, no matter how dramatic the results are, it's one thing to follow a diet plan for eight weeks of a controlled experiment and completely another to stick to said diet after the results are in and the cameras turn off. Fortunately, the "You Are What You Eat" stars have all improved their diet from what it was before the show. Here's what they've been up to.
Pam and Wendy cut their meat consumption by half
Pam and Wendy Drew entered the study as dedicated meat eaters, with Pam going fully plant-based and Wendy sticking to an omnivorous diet. Since their various businesses, including Amawele's South African Cuisine, revolve around delicious-looking food and drink, one might assume that it's incredibly difficult for them to maintain a nutritious diet. However, they've both started eating quite a bit healthier since participating in the study.
While neither Pam nor Wendy has gone fully vegan, both twins have halved their once-daily meat consumption, and they've also dramatically reduced the amount of cheese in their diet. It's also worth noting that health-conscious eating was a part of their professional ambitions even before taking part in the "You Are What You Eat" experiment, with Pam telling Good Eggs in early 2022, "Maybe we'll open a restaurant like Nando's or a healthy fast-casual chain one day."
Charlie is almost vegetarian, while Michael has ditched meat altogether
Cheese experts Michael and Charlie Kalish had a fun dietary twist on "You Are What You Eat." Before the study, Michael followed a pescatarian diet, whereas Charlie was an omnivore. However, in the experiment itself, Michael was the omnivore while Charlie went plant-based for eight weeks. Like Pam and Wendy, Michael and Charlie both improved their diets after the experiment ended.
Although Charlie has allowed some of his favorite foods that contain meat back on his menu, he leans toward a vegetarian diet. Michael, meanwhile, has taken things somewhat further and dropped even seafood from his eating habits. "Vegetarian but still looking at ways to improve my diet and reduce harm," an answer to a question about his eating habits on the brothers' Instagram account reads. "Definitely inspired by vegans!"
If one had to hazard a guess, cheese is unlikely to entirely leave the Cheese Twins' plates. Nevertheless, an increased awareness of various ethical and environmental aspects of the food industry has affected their eating habits. Michael, in particular, has restricted his cheese consumption to products that come from farms he knows he can personally vouch for.
Carolyn and Rosalyn are still omnivores but eat more plant-based food
On paper, Carolyn Sideco and Rosalyn Sideco Moorhouse — who are both omnivores — possibly had the most normal "everyman" diet out of the four pairs of twins on "You Are What You Eat." However, the twin who struggled with her diet during the experiment wasn't the one you might think. The pair's meat consumption has never been through the roof, so it was Rosalyn who had trouble eating enough meat to meet the quota of her assigned omnivorous diet.
Although neither twin turned to a purely plant-based diet in the wake of the study, they gained plenty of knowledge about healthy plant-based eating and further decreased the meat element of their dietary habits as a result. The occasional surplus of meat notwithstanding, the experiment seems to have been quite pleasant for them. "So grateful to be part of this experience and inspired by all those involved in front of and behind the cameras!" Sideco Moorhouse wrote on Instagram.
John and Jevon have also cut back on meat
Before the experiment, John and Jevon Whittington were both omnivores. Now, however, both have cut back on eating meat, driven by the climate concerns of meat production and inspired by the delicious plant-based dishes they learned how to cook during the study.
The experiment was a true change from the norm for the twins, whose diet had previously consisted of a lot of meat. "We've pretty much been eating the same thing our whole lives – our diets growing up was a lot of rice, chicken, fish, crab legs," John said in an interview with the New York Post.
Meanwhile, Jevon's comments indicated that while the brothers have limited their meat consumption, the physical benefits of a plant-based diet weren't quite impressive enough for them to ditch meat altogether. "We cut back on red meat and dairy," he said. "But [the experiment's results] proved to us that we can continue to eat [the] way we're eating."