Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods and urinary phytoestrogen concentrations in the US. Participants from cross-sectional 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey aged 6+ years, selected to measure urinary phytoestrogens and with one 24-h dietary recall were evaluated (2692 participants). Food items were classified according to NOVA (a name, not an acronym), a four-group food classification based on the extent and purpose of industrial food processing. Ultra-processed foods are formulations manufactured using several ingredients and a series of processes (hence “ultra-processed”). Most of their ingredients are lower-cost industrial sources of dietary energy and nutrients, with additives used for the purpose of imitating sensorial qualities of minimally processed foods or of culinary preparations of these foods. Studied phytoestrogens included lignans (enterolactone and enterodiol) and isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, O-desmethylangolensin and equol). Gaussian regression was used to compare average urinary phytoestrogen concentrations (normalized by creatinine) across quintiles of energy share of ultra-processed foods. Models incorporated survey sample weights and were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, family income, and education, among other factors. Adjusted enterodiol geometric means decreased monotonically from 60.6 in the lowest quintile to 35.1 µg/g creatinine in the highest, while adjusted enterolactone geometric means dropped from 281.1 to 200.1 across the same quintiles, respectively. No significant linear trend was observed in the association between these quintiles and isoflavone concentrations. This finding reinforces the existing evidence regarding the negative impact of ultra-processed food consumption on the overall quality of the diet and expands it to include non-nutrients such as lignans.
Highlights
Phytoestrogens are the most abundant class of natural xenoestrogens, a group of estrogen-mimicking compounds structurally or functionally related to the human sex hormone17β-estradiol with the capacity of binding to estrogen receptors [1]
This study aims to expand the knowledge on the impact of ultra-processed food consumption on dietary quality by assessing its relationship with urinary concentrations of phytoestrogens in the
The survey included an interview conducted in the home and a subsequent health examination performed at a mobile examination center (MEC), including blood and urine collection
Summary
Phytoestrogens are the most abundant class of natural xenoestrogens, a group of estrogen-mimicking compounds structurally or functionally related to the human sex hormone17β-estradiol with the capacity of binding to estrogen receptors [1]. Phytoestrogens are the most abundant class of natural xenoestrogens, a group of estrogen-mimicking compounds structurally or functionally related to the human sex hormone. Phytoestrogens may modulate the concentration of endogenous estrogens by inducing sex hormone binding globulin or through the inhibition of enzymes such as aromatase. In addition to tissue-specific hormonal effects and estrogen receptor-specific effects, phytoestrogens may exert other biological effects via antioxidant mechanisms [2,3]. Studies have shown that consumption of foods rich in phytoestrogens may protect against diseases and dysfunctions related to aging, mental processes, metabolism, Nutrients 2017, 9, 209; doi:10.3390/nu9030209 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients. Even though studies have reported that isoflavone (a type of phytoestrogen) intake has the potential benefit of preventing colon, endometrial and ovarian cancer, the effects on breast cancer risk are more controversial [3]. Further details on the effects of each type of phytoestrogen have been described elsewhere [1,2,3]
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