Getting To Know Portfolio Diet, Effectively Lowering The Risk Of Heart Disease

JAKARTA - Consuming many fruits and vegetables is indeed good for the health of the body. Rarely eating fruits and vegetables and often eating high-fat saturated foods can increase the risk of developing heart disease. This is the main cause of death in the US according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Therefore, the plan to eat that focuses on consuming vegetables and fruit can protect heart health. This diet is known to be effective in controlling risk factors for heart disease, such as hypertension and high cholesterol. In some cases, treatment is also needed.

The Mediterranean diet is often considered a good approximation to heart health, but there are other options that may also play an important role in reducing cholesterol and the risk oftenuic arteries, namely on a portfolio diet.

"The Portfolio diet was first introduced some 20 years ago, and has many similarities with healthy diets to other heart, such as Mediterranean Diet, DASH Diet, and plant-based full-food-based diet," said Dr. Sarah Hull, a professor of medical medicine in the field of cardiology from the Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, quoted by VOI from the HuffPost page on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

"The name 'Portfolio' is taken from the fact that this diet includes various types of foods that can lower cholesterol, especially bad cholesterol," said Kristina Petersen, a professor at the Department of Nutrition Sciences, Pennsylvania State University.

The Portfolio diet consists of four main types of foods that reduce cholesterol, namely plant protein, plant sterol (natural components that help reduce cholesterol), soluble fiber, and single unsaturated fat.

"This means eating lots of foods such as nuts, lentils, soybeans, seeds, fruit, vegetables, and whole grains to get these components, which are actually similar to a plant-based whole-food-based diet," explained Dr. Sarah Hull.

While some healthy heart diets, such as Mediterranean Diet and DASH Diet, include animal products such as fish, poultry, as well as dairy products such as yogurt and cheese, Portfolio diet is a vegan diet which means you need to remove all animal products if you want to follow this diet appropriately.

The Portfolio diet, especially focuses on reducing cholesterol, so it is a good choice if you have problems with high cholesterol.

According to Kristina Petersen, the Portfolio diet can provide great benefits for heart health.

"Some studies show a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) with this diet," explained Kristina Petersen.

"In the initial study, the decline reached around 29% within four weeks," he continued.

In a subsequent study, the Portfolio diet was compared to the lovastatin, a pharmaceutical drug to lower cholesterol. The results show a fairly comparable decrease in LDL.

"We have a lot of evidence that this diet lowers LDL cholesterol, which is indeed the hallmark of this diet," added Petersen.

Even if you just add parts of the Portfolio diet to your lifestyle, there are still health benefits.

"Each component of this diet can lower cholesterol levels by about 5-10%," said Melissa Prest, a clinical nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietics.

"Reducing bad cholesterol is an important part of preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes," said Hull.

According to the American Heart Association, research shows people who follow Portfolio diet have a 14% lower risk of developingcut heart disease and stroke.

"In addition, the Portfolio diet has other benefits. This diet is anti-inflammatory and can help people achieve their daily fiber needs", Hull said.

Women need about 21-25 grams of fiber every day, while men need 30-38 grams of fiber.

"Thinking about making changes gradually, not big changes at once, is one of the most important principles to remember," said Hull.

"The first step is to think about what are the biggest obstacles in adopting healthy changes," he continued.

Hull said that if the problem is the budget, consider buying frozen fruit and vegetables as an alternative, because they are usually cheaper and last longer than fresh ones. Dry clumps in large quantities, such as nuts and lentils, are also more economical.

If the problem is time, consider preparing meals on weekends and looking for plant-based recipes that can be prepared first. If you don't know how to prepare plant-based foods, talk about this with a doctor or nutritionist.

You can start by focusing on one meal a day. For example, you can start eating oatmeals with a peanut topping or whole grain for breakfast, or try to take a Portfolio diet during lunch by making a bowl of rice with quinoa or red rice, plus chicken beans, vegetables, and tofu.

Snacks such as unsaltened beans, apples with peanut butter, or carrots with hummus are also included in this diet.

Switching from a meat-based diet to a vegan diet is a big challenge. However, you don't need to be a total vegan to benefit heart health.

"I think you can still integrate the main features of Portfolio diets (such as whole grains, nuts, vegetables, nuts, and fruit) without eliminating animal products if you want to enter them," said Petersen.

"We have a lot of evidence that thick fiber, plant sterol, soybeans, and nuts can lower cholesterol, so if you eat more of these foods, you will feel a decrease in cholesterol," he continued.