Insights & Discussion
The consumption of tree nuts is associated with increased levels of sex hormone-binding globulin in premenopausal women.
In a cohort study of 2699 adult women participants from the 2013 to 2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the association of tree nut consumption with sex hormone-binding globulin levels was assessed. Tree nut consumers were identified as those who ate tree nuts within the two 24-hours recall days. The associations between tree nut consumption and sex hormone-binding globulin were studied using least squares regression.
Results showed that among the participants, 234 women consumed tree nuts and tree nut consumption was positively associated with the levels of sex hormone-binding globulin. On further analysis, it was found that this positive association was present in premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women. Furthermore, tree nut consumption remained independently related to higher circulating levels of sex hormone-binding globulin in premenopausal women irrespective of the percentage of energy derived from tree nuts or daily tree nut intake amount.
Discover Related Insights
Tree nut consumption is inversely associated with the prevalence of hyperestrogenism and circulating estradiol levels in men.
2022 Nutrition Research Tree nut consumption is associated with a lower risk of hyperestrogenism in men Wang Y, Fang Y
Cohort Study Hyperestrogenism Hyperoestrogenism Men's Health
This cross-sectional study utilized data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013 and 2016, and involved 3340 men aged 20 years and above. The associations of tree nut consumption with circulating estradiol - a form of the female sex hormone estrogen - and the prevalence of hyperestrogenism - a condition characterized by excess estrogen - were analyzed using weighted linear regression and binary logistic regression, respectively.
Tree nut consumption was observed in 207 of the participants, with the average usual intake amounting to 34.2g per day. The study noticed an inverse relationship between the typical intake of tree nuts and levels of bioavailable estradiol, even after taking into account all confounding factors. Regular consumption of 30g/day or more of tree nuts was associated with significantly lower risk of hyperestrogenism. Furthermore, higher consumption of tree nuts was linked with higher levels of circulating folate, which was in turn inversely related to circulating estradiol. Therefore, the study concluded that increased tree nut consumption could potentially lower the risk of hyperestrogenism in men by reducing circulating estradiol levels.