Diet, lifestyle, and menstrual activity

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Nutritional Science
• Reproductive Health

Background:

• Menstrual activity is linked to body weight and influenced by nutrition.
• Previous studies noted hormonal differences during the menstrual cycle between rural black South African and white women.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a Western diet on hormonal profiles in South African black women.
• To explore potential links between diet-induced hormonal changes, menstrual irregularities, and lower disease incidence.

Main Methods:

• Observational study comparing hormonal levels in different ethnic groups.
• Dietary intervention study feeding a Western diet to vegetarian black women (premenopausal and postmenopausal).
• Measurement of plasma hormone levels including testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, prolactin, estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone.

Main Results:

• Rural black South African women exhibited lower plasma testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, and prolactin, with different gonadotrophin levels compared to white women.
• A Western diet increased plasma testosterone and prolactin, decreased estradiol, and increased follicle-stimulating hormone in premenopausal vegetarian black women.
• In postmenopausal black women, a Western diet decreased luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormone and increased prolactin.

Conclusions:

• Dietary patterns significantly influence reproductive hormone levels in South African black women.
• Diet-induced hormonal changes in black women mirrored those seen in women with menstrual irregularities.
• Further research is needed to determine if hormonal differences explain lower coronary heart disease and breast cancer rates in black women on traditional diets.