EFFECTS OF DIETARY-FAT AND FIBER ON PLASMA AND URINE ANDROGENS AND ESTROGENS IN MEN - A CONTROLLED FEEDING STUDY

We conducted a controlled feeding study to evaluate the effects of fat and fiber consumption on plasma and urine sex hormones in men. The st udy had a crossover design and included 43 healthy men aged 19-56 y. M en were initially randomly assigned to either a low-fat, high-fiber or high-fat, low-fiber diet for 10 wk and after a 2-wk washout period cr ossed over to the other diet. The energy content of diets was varied t o maintain constant body weight but averaged approximate to 13.3 MJ (3 170 kcal)/d on both diets. The low-fat diet provided 18.8% of energy f rom fat with a ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat (P:S) of 1.3, whereas the high-fat diet provided 41.0% of energy from fat with a P: S of 0.6. Total dietary fiber consumption from the low- and high-fat d iets averaged 4.6 and 2.0 g . MJ(-1) . d(-1), respectively. Mean plasm a concentrations of total and sex-hormone-binding-globulin (SHBG)-boun d testosterone were 13% and 15% higher, respectively, on the high-fat, low-fiber diet and the difference from the low-fat, high-fiber diet w as significant for the SHBG-bound fraction (P = 0.04). Men's daily uri nary excretion of testosterone also was 13% higher with the high-fat, low-fiber diet than with the low-fat, high-fiber diet (P = 0.01). Conv ersely, their urinary excretion of estradiol and estrone and their 2-h ydroxy metabolites were 12-28% lower with the high-fat, low-fiber diet (P less than or equal to 0.01). Results of this study suggest that di et may alter endogenous sex hormone metabolism in men.