Dr. David Jenkins, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, Canada, developed the Portfolio Diet in the early 2000s after realizing that eating different foods that can reduce blood cholesterol can help maintain a healthy heart.
These foods include legumes, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, fruits, and vegetables. The results of following this diet may be amazing, as some studies indicate that following this diet can reduce harmful cholesterol levels by about 30%, and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Jenkins and his team published the results of a small trial in 2003 that was one of the first to test the Portfolio diet, finding that it lowered cholesterol nearly as effectively as the anti-lipidemic drugs known as statins.
During the following decades, other studies were conducted to find similar results, according to the American newspaper The New York Times. What is this diet? How can it be followed?
Like the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, the Portfolio Diet emphasizes fiber, healthy fats, plant-based protein sources, nuts, seeds, legumes (especially soy-based products such as tofu, tempeh, and soy milk), and sources rich in monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil, canola oil, and avocado).
How does the Portfolio Diet reduce cholesterol?
The Portfolio Diet prioritizes foods rich in a type of fiber called viscous fiber, which is found in some plant foods such as oats, barley, okra, eggplant and chia seeds, and fiber supplements such as psyllium.
Assistant Professor of Nutrition at New York University in the United States, Andrea Glenn, said that viscous fiber turns into a gel-like substance in the intestine, where it binds to cholesterol to reduce its absorption.
A group of natural plant compounds called phytosterols (or plant sterols) are also essential components of the Portfolio Diet.
“Because these compounds have a similar structure to cholesterol, they compete with it for absorption, which helps the body absorb less cholesterol,” Penny Cress-Etherton, professor emeritus of nutrition at Penn State University, explained.
Phytosterols are found in all plant foods, including nuts, fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, and whole grains such as wheat germ and rice bran.
The Portfolio Diet discourages the consumption of animal products high in saturated fats, such as butter and red and processed meat.