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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #64424
Title: CHANGES IN PLASMA LIPOPROTEIN CONCENTRATIONS AND COMPOSITION IN RESPONSE TOA LOW-FAT, HIGH-FIBER DIET ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN SERUM ESTROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Author
item SCHAEFER, ERNST - TUFTS-HNRCA
item LAMON-FAVA, STEFANIA - TUFTS-HNRCA
item SPIEGELMAN, DONNA - TUFTS-HNRCA
item DWYER, JOHANNA - TUFTS-HNRCA
item LICHTENSTEIN, ALICE - TUFTS-HNRCA
item MCNAMARA, JUDITH - TUFTS-HNRCA
item GOLDIN, BARRY - NEMC
item WOODS, MARGO - TUFTS-HNRCA
item MORRILL-LABRODE, ANN - TUFTS-HNRCA

Submitted to: Metabolism
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: We studied the effects of a low-fat, high-fiber diet in 22 normal premenopausal women. Subjects first consumed a diet similar to the average American diet for 4 weeks and then a low-fat, high-fiber diet for 10 to 12 weeks. During the consumption of the low-fat high-fiber diet, women experienced a significant decrease in the cholesterol levels in the blood. Both the levels of the "good" cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol, and the levels of the "bad" cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, were decreased. In addition, the blood levels of estrone sulfate, a female sex hormone, measured just prior to ovulation during the menstrual cycle, were decreased during the low-fat, high-fiber diet. The decrease in HDL cholesterol levels was greater in those women with greater decreases in the female sex hormone levels. The results of our study indicate that, in premenopausal women, the changes in the good cholesterol levels are, at least in part, modulated by the diet-related changes in sex hormone levels.

Technical Abstract: We investigated the effects of a low-fat, high-fiber diet on lipid and lipoprotein levels and sex hormone concentrations in 22 premenopausal women. Subjects consumed a baseline diet for 4 wks (40% fat, 16% saturated fatty acids [SFA], 8% polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA], 400 mg/d cholesterol, and 12 g/d dietary fiber) followed by a low-fat, high-fiber diet (16-18% fat, 4% SFA, 4% PUFA, 150 mg/d cholesterol, and 40 g/d fiber) for 8-10 wks. Blood samples were obtained during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle during both diets. The low-fat, high-fiber diet resulted in significant decreases in total cholesterol (TC), low- density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations during both the follicular and luteal phases (TC, -14% and -16%; LDL-C, -14% and - 17%; and HDL-C, -15% and -18%, respectively). During the follicular phase, serum estrone sulfate concentrations decreased by 25% when subjects were fed the low-fat, high-fiber diet. During this phase, changes in HDL-C levels were significantly and positively associated with changes in estrone levels. The ratio of TC to HDL-C was inversely associated with the changes in estradiol and free estradiol levels. Our data suggest that low-fat, high-fiber diets reduce estrone sulfate levels and both LDL-C and HDL-C levels without affecting the TC-to-HDL-C ratio in premenopausal women. Moreover, changes in estrone and estradiol levels are associated with changes in HDL-C and HDL-TG levels.