Decrease of serum total and free testosterone during a low-fat high-fibre diet.

Abstract

The concentrations of serum total and free testosterone were studied in 30 healthy, middle-aged men during a dietary intervention program. When men were transferred from their customary diet to an experimental diet, which contained less fat with a higher polyunsaturated/saturated ratio (P/S-ratio) and more fibre, there was a significant decrease in serum total testosterone concentrations (22.7 +/- 1.2 vs 19.3 +/- 1.1 nmol/l SEM, P less than 0.001). Furthermore, serum free, unbound testosterone fell from 0.23 +/- 0.01 to 0.20 +/- 0.01 nmol/l SEM (P less than 0.01). The hormonal changes were reversible. This observation suggests that testosterone activity in plasma can at least partly be modified by changing the composition of the diet.