Insoluble fibre is contained in foods such as wheat bran cereal and breads.
The hormones, which are produced from cholesterol, circulate through the body and a proportion of these steroids are excreted through the digestive process. Soluble fibre increases the output of steroids in the feces and we hypothesized that it would also result in a greater loss of hormones, which would reduce the stimulation of the prostate and therefore lower the PSA level. Although we found greater fecal losses of total steroids, the hoped-for reduction in circulating hormone levels was not observed. Thus our overall hypothesis that soluble fibre may have an effect appears to be correct though we do not have an exact indication of the mechanism yet. Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian men, with one in eight expected to suffer from the disease in his lifetime, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.