36-year-old brothers Hugo and Ross Turner have become known as a pair of human guinea pigs in recent years, with the pair allowing themselves to be monitored during a series of lifestyle and fitness tests in the name of science.
The brothers have climbed Europe’s highest mountain in different sets of clothing order to understand the impact of high-altitude on the body, uncovered whether it’s better to work out for 20 or 40 minutes as well as comparing vegan and omnivore diets.
The brothers are known for performing experiments on their bodies (Instagram/@theturnertwiins)
So it’s fair to say their nickname of ‘Adventure Guinea Pigs’ is one which is well-earned.
For their latest experiment, the brothers were once again testing the impact of diet on our health – this time comparing the merits of high-fat versus high-carb diets.
Explaining the experiment in an interview with Business Insider, the twins revealed that Ross had added 500 calories of carbs to his diet while Hugo did the same with fats. The rest of their respective eating schedules remained fairly similar.
The brothers then performed similar workout routines throughout the experiment in order to ascertain whether or not it was better to have more fats or more carbs.
So which diet is best for our bodies?
Well, it looks like the long-held demonisation of carbs has been an unfair one.
Scientists monitoring the pair at the University of Loughborough acknowledged the experiment wasn’t big enough to confirm whether one diet could be considered ‘better’ than the other.
However, there were differences in how both the brothers were feeling at the end of the process.
Results revealed that Hugo was able to gain more muscle by consuming a larger amount of high-fat foods such as olive oil, butter, nuts, eggs, and avocado, but the adventurer had admitted that he’d felt more fatigued on the diet.
Scientists found variations between the brother’s bodies but stressed a balanced diet is best overall (Getty Stock Images)
“I just never felt good,” he admitted. “I was eating at least six times a day and never felt full or satisfied, hence I was constantly hungry.”
Meanwhile, Ross saw less muscle growth but also lost body fat and performed better on tests. He was able to feel fuller from the meals but also had cravings for higher fat foods.
So what does this mean for those of us mere mortals who are just looking to get healthier but don’t have access to laboratory-run tests? According to the scientists who ran the test, not much beyond the fact that’s important to follow a healthy and varied diet.
But you probably knew that anyway.
