A Quick Visual on the Portfolio Diet and Cholesterol
Education, Research
It’s been 15 years since researchers in Toronto developed the portfolio diet, a plant-based way of eating that can dramatically lower cholesterol. But evidence continues to show that foods in the diet, which include nuts, legumes and cereals, fruits and vegetables, and meat alternatives, have positive effects on cholesterol and that together they can be as effective as drugs in lowering some major cardiovascular risk factors.
That’s why researchers at the Lawson Centre recently partnered with the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, St. Michael’s Hospital and Reframe Health Lab to create a portfolio diet infographic, which quickly conveys ways to incorporate aspects of the diet into daily living for people at every stage of life.
Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that palmitic acid, one of the most common fats in human milk, meats and dairy products, is made by the liver and sent to the developing brain when it’s low in the diet.
The Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition at the University of Toronto has created five fellowships to tackle nutrition education and child health in Canada and globally, with a broad focus on practitioner knowledge, health systems and public health.
The 2023 Food as Medicine Update, recently hosted by the University of Toronto and Unity Health Toronto, drew 300 health-care professionals, researchers and learners interested in the pivotal role of nutrition in patient care.