Abstract/Summary

Objective: A phytoestrogen-rich diet has been suggested to protect against a variety of common diseases but UK intake data on phytoestrogens or their food sources is sparse. This study aims to estimate the average intake of isoflavones, lignans, enterolignans and coumestrol from 7-day food diaries (7dFD), and to provide data on total isoflavone, lignan and phytoestrogen consumption by food group. Design: Development of a food composition database for twelve phytoestrogens and analysis of soya food and phytoestrogen consumption in a population-based study. Setting: Men and women, aged 40-79 years from the general population participating in EPIC-Norfolk between 1993 and 1997, with nutrient and food data from 7dFD. Subjects: A subset of 20 437 participants. Results: The median daily phytoestrogen intake for men was 1.20mg (interquartile range (IQR) 0.93-1.54 mg; mean 1.50 mg, SD 1.50 mg) and 0.89 mg for women (IQR 0.71-1.14 mg; mean 1.20 mg, SD 1.70 mg). In soya-consumers (SC), median daily intakes were higher: 2.86 mg in men (IQR – 1.30-7.27mg; mean 5.05 mg, SD 5.03 mg) and 3.14 mg in women (IQR – 1.09-7.33mg; mean 5.40 mg, SD 6.09 mg). In both men and women, bread made the greatest contribution to phytoestrogen intake – 40.7% and 35.7% respectively. In SC men and women, vegetable dishes and soya/goat’s/sheep’s milks were the main contributors – 42.6% and 18.9% in men and 38.8% and 29.1% in women, respectively. Conclusions: The ability to estimate phytoestrogen intake in Western populations more accurately will aid investigations into their suggested effects on health.