He laughs, cries and damages his liver

They've previously tested the effects of faddy diets on the body and here, with the UK's drinking guidelines under review, they gave booze the twin treatment.

They've previously tested the effects of faddy diets on the body and here, with the UK's drinking guidelines under review, they gave booze the twin treatment.

Published May 26, 2015

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London - Xand and Chris van Tulleken's parents must be proud: two Oxford-educated doctor sons who spend their lives helping sick people all around the world alongside being intrepid, authoritative telly stars.

They were at it again on Horizon: Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad? This time, doing the very British and less parent-friendly pursuit: getting smashed in the name of science. And entertaining, revealing science it was too.

The twins are genetically identical, making them useful human guinea pigs, and Ben Affleck lookalike Xand has a fetching beard, handy for viewers. They've previously tested the effects of faddy diets on the body and here, with the UK's drinking guidelines under review, they gave booze the twin treatment.

They tasked themselves with drinking the recommended 21 units (for men) a week. Chris would spread his evenly over the seven days, with Xand sinking his quota in one evening. They'd then look at the impact on their health, while attempting to debunk other drinking myths.

We watched them both downing vodka shots, ending in Xand stumbling to the taxi. The morning after, Chris showed him video footage from the night before. One minute Xand was singing along to country tunes, the next he was a weeping mess. Funny to watch, yes, but scarily Xand couldn't remember a thing. Even less funny was learning that at one point his blood alcohol level put him in the danger-of-death category when he was asleep.

There were no lolz to be had in the denouement either. While Xand's Saturday night-style binge had more of a damaging effect, the brothers both showed increased systemic inflammation. In short: binge drinking can scar your liver and put increased pressure on your heart, among other horrors. This was explained in the twins' accessible just-another-day-in-the-med-school-doctor's-mess manner, with the help of some snazzy graphics. Even the professor analysing the results was “flabbergasted”.

You got a sense no one would be heading to the pub to get over their shock.

 

The Independent

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