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As an inductee into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and an Officer of the Order of Canada, his achievements span decades of innovation, including his team developing the concept of the glycemic index, a method to rank carbohydrate-containing foods and how they impact one’s blood sugar level. He is also the creator of the Portfolio Diet, which involves eating vegan foods like nuts and oats to lower cholesterol. His accolades include the prestigious Robert H. Herman Award from the American Society for Nutrition and the Health Research Foundation Medal of Honour.“If you look at Canada’s Food Guide plate, it’s an excellent example of going in this direction, very strongly. Their cutting out of meat as the protein source was a big change. Soy and vegetable protein foods in that space is very good.”Transitioning to a vegan diet is made easier for the public when the food industry makes abundant options available. In the past, Dr. Jenkins collaborated with the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws in developing vegan food products. In turn, Dr. Jenkins and his team asked study participants to exclusively eat these items and other vegan dishes the researchers created with the goal of demonstrating improved health status through vegan food consumption. Dr. Jenkins’s insights reveal the importance of external support systems in helping people stick to healthier dietary choices. “They thought about ways in which we could run the studies and gave their experience in what people liked to consume to us. We made it what we wanted them to consume from the health point of view. We brought the two things together – the desire to eat it and the requirement for health. It was very much a partnership. Various sorts of legume soups, pea bean soups and lentil stews, these were things they could make. And we also were able to cook our things with them, because they had made all things available for us and portion them so that they could all be packed and sent to the patients. So they just had to be reheated.”Dr. Jenkins’s work reminds us that small steps can lead to profound change. Making vegan options more available will empower more people to stick with the lifestyle – an approach that benefits both individuals and the planet.
