The
Portfolio Diet
The
Portfolio diet, so called because it puts a lot of cholesterol-lowering
foods together in one meal plan (like stocks in a portfolio),
has been making news. Three well-designed studies by Canadian
researchers supported the benefits of the diet. One study, recently
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
compared this diet with a more conventional cholesterol-lowering,
low-fat diet, as well as with a cholesterol-lowering drug. The
Portfolio diet, in these studies, worked as well as the drug
and much better than the low-fat diet, reducing total cholesterol
by about one-third in only a few weeks. The studies were small
and short, however, and the researchers called for more studies.
Still,
this came as good news for people who know they need to lower
their cholesterol levels, but for one reason or another resist
taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.
The
Portfolio diet is a good one, though limited in the food choices
it offers. It is vegetarian: no meats or dairy products are
allowed. Thus, it is very low in saturated fat. It is also designed
to be high in fiber—especially soluble fiber, the kind
that lowers cholesterol. The fiber comes from foods such as
soy and other legumes, oats, eggplant, okra, barley, almonds,
and cauliflower. Special cholesterol-lowering margarines containing
plant sterols (Benecol, for example) are also included. And
to really boost the fiber intake, you must consume three daily
doses of psyllium, a seed grain sold as a fiber supplement and
laxative (Metamucil is the best known brand, but there are many
others, including inexpensive store brands). Soy foods, such
as tofu and/or soy milk, are part of every meal. No sweets are
allowed (except fruit jam) and no dairy products. It’s
not a starvation diet—you get 2,000 calories a day, and
while some people would lose weight on that, many would not.
Besides
lowering cholesterol, the diet may well offer other health benefits,
such as a reduced risk of diabetes.
Pro
and Cons
So
should you try this diet? Your decision should be based on your
own circumstances, as well as consultation with your physician.
If your total cholesterol level is high, you should try to reduce
it though a combination of diet and exercise and if these don't
work you should consider medication. If you are a vegetarian,
the Portfolio diet may seem easy; if you are accustomed to eating
meat, poultry, fish, and dairy, it could be hard. And fish and
low-fat or nonfat dairy products have their own cardiovascular
benefits.
While
low-fat diets help lower total cholesterol, they may also lower
HDL ("good") cholesterol. The Portfolio diet apparently
does not lower HDL, which is a plus. But it doesn't raise it,
either (no diet raises it significantly). So if you have low
HDL below 40 for a man, 50 for a woman—this diet won’t
solve the problem. In contrast, some cholesterol-lowering drugs
do raise HDL by 10% or so. Regular aerobic exercise also boosts
HDL.
And
keep in mind that while cholesterol-lowering drugs have been
shown to reduce the risk of a heart attack and death, we don't
actually know if this diet will do so.
If
you stick to a diet consisting chiefly of okra, eggplant, beans,
and the like, with a dose of psyllium at every meal than this
may be the eating plan for you. But if your cholesterol level
is high, make this decision after seeking professional advice
and make exercise
a part of the program. Psyllium may interact with certain drugs;
discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist if you take medication.
For more details on the diet, click
here.
Reference Source 98