Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-94d59 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-26T19:51:34.134Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of replacing meat with soyabean in the diet on sex hormone concentrations in healthy adult males

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Raymundo C. Habito
Affiliation:
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Joseph Montalto
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Eva Leslie
Affiliation:
School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Madeleine J. Ball*
Affiliation:
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: Professor Madeleine Ball, fax +61 3 9251 7048, email mjbikr@deakin.edu.au
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A randomised crossover dietary intervention study was performed to evaluate the effects of replacing meat protein in the diet with a soyabean product, tofu, on blood concentrations of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, androstanediol glucuronide, oestradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and the free androgen index (total testosterone concentration/SHBG concentration×100; FAI). Forty-two healthy adult males aged 35–62 years were studied. Diets were isoenergetic, with either 150 g lean meat or 290 g tofu daily providing an equivalent amount of macronutrients, with only the source of protein differing between the two diets. Each diet lasted for 4 weeks, with a 2-week interval between interventions. Fasting blood samples were taken between 07.00 and 09.30 hours. Urinary excretion of genistein and daidzein was significantly higher after the tofu diet (P<0·001). Blood concentrations of sex hormones did not differ after the two diets, but the mean testosterone:oestradiol value was 10 % higher (P=0·06) after the meat diet. SHBG was 3 % higher (P= 0·07), whereas the FAI was 7 % lower (P=0·06), after the tofu diet compared with the meat diet. There was a significant correlation between the difference in SHBG and testosterone:oestradiol and weight change. Adjusting for weight change revealed SHBG to be 8·8 % higher on the tofu diet (mean difference 3 (95 % CI 0·7, 5·2) nmol/l; (P=0·01) and testosterone:oestradiol to be significantly lower, P=0·049). Thus, replacement of meat protein with soyabean protein, as tofu, may have a minor effect on biologically-active sex hormones, which could influence prostate cancer risk. However, other factors or mechanisms may also be responsible for the different incidence rates in men on different diets.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Adlercreutz, H (1990) Western diet and Western diseases: some hormonal and biochemical mechanisms and associations. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation 2011, 323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adlercreutz, H, Honjo, H, Higashi, A, Fotsis, T, Hamalainen, E, Hasegawa, T and Okada, H (1991) Urinary excretion of lignans and isoflavonoid phytoestrogens in Japanese men and women consuming a traditional Japanese diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54, 10931100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akazaki, K and Stemmerman, GN (1973) Comparative study of latent carcinoma of the prostate among Japanese in Japan and Hawaii. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 50, 11371144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akiyama, T, Ishida, J, Nakagawa, S, Ogawara, H, Watanabe, S, Itoh, N, Shibuya, M and Fukami, Y (1987) Genistein, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine-specific protein kinases. Journal of Biological Chemistry 262, 55925595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, DC (1974) Sex-hormone-binding globulin. Clinical Endocrinology 3, 6996.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, KE, Rosner, W, Khan, MS, New, MI, Pang, SY, Wissel, PS and Kappas, A (1987) Diet-hormone interactions: protein/carbohydrate ratio alters reciprocally the plasma levels of testosterone and cortisol and their respective binding globulins in man. Life Sciences 40, 17611768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Armstrong, B and Doll, R (1975) Environmental factors and cancer incidence and mortality in different countries with special reference to dietary practices. International Journal of Cancer 15, 617631.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Belanger, A, Locong, A, Noel, C, Cusan, L, Dupont, A, Prevost, J, Caron, S and Sevigny, J (1989) Influence of diet on plasma steroids and sex hormone-binding globulin levels in adult men. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry 32, 829833.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brawley, OW, Ford, LG, Thompson, I, Perlman, JA and Kramer, BS (1994) 5-Alpha-reductase inhibition and prostate cancer prevention. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention 3, 177182.Google ScholarPubMed
Breslow, N, Chan, CW, Dhom, G, Drury, RA, Franks, LM, Gellei, B, Lee, YS, Lundberg, S, Sparke, B, Sternby, NH and Tulinius, H (1977) Latent carcinoma of prostate of autopsy in seven areas. International Journal of Cancer 20, 680688.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burke, CW and Anderson, DC (1972) Sex-hormone-binding globulin is an oestrogen amplifier. Nature 240, 3840.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cassidy, A, Bingham, S and Setchell, KD (1994) Biological effects of a diet of soy protein rich in isoflavones on the menstrual cycle of premenopausal women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 60, 333340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coffey, DS and JRajfer (1986) Endocrine control of normal and abnormal growth of the prostate. In Urologic Endocrinology pp. 170-195 [Rajfer, J, editor]. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders.Google Scholar
Coward, L, Barnes, NC, Setchell, KDR and Barnes, S (1993) The antitumor isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, in soybean foods of American and Asian diets. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 41, 19611967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorgan, JF, Judd, JT, Longcope, C, Brown, C, Schatzkin, A, Clevidence, BA, Campbell, WS, Nair, PP, Franz, C, Kahle, L and Taylor, PR (1996) Effects of dietary fat and fiber on plasma and urine androgens and estrogens in men: a controlled feeding study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 64, 850855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, JF, Nisula, BC and Rodbard, D (1981) Transport of steroid hormones: binding of 21 endogenous steroids to both testosterone-binding globulin and corticosteroid-binding globulin in human plasma. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 53, 5868.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eldridge, AC (1982) Determination of isoflavones in soybean flours, protein concentrates, and isolates. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 30, 353355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, BA, Griffiths, K and Morton, MS (1995) Inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase in genital skin fibroblasts and prostate tissue by dietary lignans and isoflavonoids. Journal of Endocrinology 147, 295302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleiss, JL; (1986) The Design and Analysis of Clinical Experiments. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Fotsis, T, Pepper, M, Adlercreutz, H, Fleischmann, G, Hase, T, Montesano, R and Schweigerer, L (1995) Genistein, a dietary-derived inhibitor of in vitro angiogenesis. Journal of Nutrition 125, 790S797S.Google ScholarPubMed
Gann, PH, Hennekens, CH, Ma, J, Longcope, C and Stampfer, MJ (1996) Prospective study of sex hormone levels and risk of prostate cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 88, 11181126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gates, JR, Parpia, B, Campbell, TC and Junshi, C (1996) Association of dietary factors and selected plasma variables with sex hormone-binding globulin in rural Chinese women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63, 2231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giovannucci, E, Rimm, EB, Colditz, GA, Stampfer, MJ, Ascherio, A, Chute, CC and Willett, WC (1993) A prospective study of dietary fat and risk of prostate cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 85, 15711579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, GR, Black, AE, Jebb, SA, Cole, TJ, Murgatroyd, PR, Coward, WA and Prentice, AM (1991) Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology: 1. Derivation of cut-off limits to identify under-recording. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 569581.Google ScholarPubMed
Gormley, GJ, Stoner, E, Bruskewitz, RC, Imperato-McGinley, J, Walsh, PC, McConnell, JD, Andriole, GL, Geller, J, Bracken, BR, Tenover, JS, Vaughan, DE, Pappas, F, Taylor, A, Binkowitz, B and Ng, J (1992) The effect of finasteride in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The Finasteride Study Group. New England Journal of Medicine 327, 11851191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grulich, AE, McCredie M and Coates, M (1995) Cancer incidence in Asian migrants to New South Wales, Australia. British Journal of Cancer 71, 400408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamalainen, E, Adlercreutz, H, Puska, P and Pietinen, P (1984) Diet and serum sex hormones in healthy men. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry 20, 459464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammond, GL (1978) Endogenous steroid levels in the human prostate from birth to old age: a comparison of normal and diseased tissues. Journal of Endocrinology 78, 719.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horton, R, Hawks, D and Lobo, R (1982) 3 alpha 17 beta-Androstanediol glucuronide in plasma. A marker of androgen action in idiopathic hirsutism. Journal of Clinical Investigation 69, 12031206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hsing, AW (1996) Hormones and prostate cancer: where do we go from here?. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 88, 10931095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchinson, GB (1976) Epidemiology of prostatic cancer. Seminars in Oncology 3, 151159.Google Scholar
Key, TJ, Roe, L, Thorogood, M, Moore, JW, Clark, GM and Wang, DY (1990) Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, calculated free testosterone, and oestradiol in male vegans and omnivores. British Journal of Nutrition 64, 111119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinouchi, T and Horton, R (1974) 3 Alpha-androstanediol in human peripheral plasma. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 38, 262268.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lookingbill, DP, Demers, LM, Wang, C, Leung, A, Rittmaster, RS and Santen, RJ (1991) Clinical and biochemical parameters of androgen action in normal healthy Caucasian versus Chinese subjects. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 72, 12421248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loukovaara, M, Carson, M, Palotie, A and Adlercreutz, H (1995) Regulation of sex hormone-binding globulin production by isoflavonoids and patterns of isoflavonoid conjugation in HepG2 cell cultures. Steroids 60, 656661.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mahoudeau, JA, Bardin, CW and Lipsett, MB (1971) The metabolic clearance rate and origin of plasma dihydrotestosterone in man and its conversion to 5α-androstanediols. Journal of Clinical Investigation 50, 13381344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meikle, AW, Collier, ES, Middleton, RG and Fang, SM (1980) Supranormal nuclear content of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone in benign hyperplastic prostate of humans. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 51, 945947.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meikle, AW and Stanish, WM (1982) Familial prostatic cancer risk and low testosterone. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 54, 11041108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mousavi, Y and Adlercreutz, H (1993) Genistein is an effective stimulator of sex hormone-binding globulin production in hepatocarcinoma human liver cancer cells and suppresses proliferation of these cells in culture. Steroids 58, 301304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muir, CS, Nectoux, J and Staszewski, J (1991) The epidemiology of prostatic cancer: Geographical distribution and time-trends. Acta Oncologica 30, 133140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Noble, RL (1977) The development of prostatic adenocarcinoma in Nb rats following prolonged sex hormone administration. Cancer Research 37, 19291933.Google ScholarPubMed
Partin, AW, Oesterling, JE, Epstein, JI, Horton, R and Walsh, PC (1991) Influence of age and endocrine factors on the volume of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Journal of Urology 145, 405409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peterson, G and Barnes, S (1993) Genistein and biochanin A inhibit the growth of human prostate cancer cells but not epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation. Prostate 22, 335345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petrakis, NL, Barnes, S, King, EB, Lowenstein, J, Wiencke, J, Lee, MM, Miike, R, Kirk, M and Coward, L (1996) Stimulatory influence of soy protein isolate on breast secretion in pre- and postmenopausal women. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention 5, 785794.Google ScholarPubMed
Raben, A, Kiens, B, Richter, EA, Rasmussen, LB, Svenstrup, B, Micic, S and Bennett, P (1992) Serum sex hormones and endurance performance after a lacto-ovo vegetarian and a mixed diet. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 24, 12901297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, MJ, Cheng, RW, Simmonds, M, Richmond, W and James, VH (1987) Dietary lipids: an additional regulator of plasma levels of sex hormone binding globulin. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 64, 10831085.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rittmaster, RS, Zwicker, H, Thompson, DL, Konok, G and Norman, RW (1993) Androstanediol glucuronide production in human liver, prostate, and skin. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 76, 977982.Google ScholarPubMed
Ross, RK, Bernstein, L, Lobo, RA, Shimizu, H, Stanczyk, FZ, Pike, MC and Henderson, BE (1992) 5-Alpha-reductase activity and risk of prostate cancer among Japanese and US white and black males. Lancet 339, 887889.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shimizu, H, Ross, RK, Bernstein, L, Yatani, R, Henderson, BE and Mack, TM (1991) Cancers of the prostate and breast among Japanese and white immigrants in Los Angeles County. British Journal of Cancer 63, 963966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shutt, DA and Cox, RI (1972) Steroid and phyto-oestrogen binding to sheep uterine receptors in vitro. Journal of Endocrinology 52, 299310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sinclair, AJ, O'Dea, K, Dunstan, G, Ireland, PD and Niall, M (1987) Effect on plasma lipids and fatty acid composition of very low fat diets enriched with fish or kangaroo meat. Lipids 1987, 523529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slattery, ML, Schumacher, MC, West, DW, Robison, LM and French, TK (1990) Food-consumption trends between adolescent and adult years and subsequent risk of prostate cancer. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 52, 752757.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snowdon, DA (1988) Animal product consumption and mortality because of all causes combined, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer in Seventh-day Adventists. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, 739748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Talamini, R, La Vecchia, C, Decarli, A, Negri, E and Franceschi, S (1986) Nutrition, social factors and prostatic cancer in a Northern Italian population. British Journal of Cancer 53, 817821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wei, H, Wei, L, Frenkel, K, Bowen, R and Barnes, S (1993) Inhibition of tumor promoter-induced hydrogen peroxide formation in vitro and in vivo by genistein. Nutrition and Cancer 20, 112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whittemore, AS, Kolonel, LN, Wu, AH, John, EM, Gallagher, RP, Howe, GR, Burch, JD, Hankin, J, Dreon, DM, West, DW, Teh, C-T and Paffenberger, RS (1995) Prostate cancer in relation to diet, physical activity, and body size in blacks, whites, and Asians in the United States and Canada. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 87, 652661.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilding, G (1995) Endocrine control of prostate cancer. Cancer Survey 23, 4362.Google ScholarPubMed
Yu, H, Harris, RE, Gao, YT, Gao, R and Wynder, EL (1991) Comparative epidemiology of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and breast in Shanghai, China versus the United States. International Journal of Epidemiology 20, 7681.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zaridze, DG, Muir, CS and McMichael, AJ (1985) Diet and cancer: value of different types of epidemiological studies. Nutrition and Cancer 7, 155166.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zumoff, B, Levin, J, Strain, GW, Rosenfeld, RS, O'Connor, J, Freed, SZ, Kream, J, Whitmore, WS, Fukushima, DK and Hellman, L (1982) Abnormal levels of plasma hormones in men with prostate cancer: evidence toward a 'two-disease' theory. Prostate 3, 579588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar