Human study · Nutrition · 28 Oct 2026
Plant and animal protein tracked in opposite directions with testosterone in men
Source: News-Medical
What the research found
News-Medical, on 28 October 2026, summarized Wynne-Ellis and colleagues in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition (2026), using the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study at the University of Eastern Finland. Four-day food records from 1984 to 1989 covered 2,546 men aged 42 to 60. Versus the lowest quartile, the highest animal-protein quartile had total testosterone 1.2 nmol/l lower, and the highest plant-protein quartile had total testosterone 1.1 nmol/l higher. SHBG moved in the same direction. The models adjusted for age, body mass, other parts of the diet, habits, and health. The work is observational. It does not show that changing protein sources changes testosterone, and it is not a reason to begin testosterone. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.
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