Favorable long-term effect of a low-fat/high-fiber diet on human blood coagulation and fibrinolysis

Abstract

In an 8-month strictly controlled dietary study of 16 healthy young men, the long-term effect of a low-fat (26% of energy) high-fiber (4.5 g/MJ) diet on cardiovascular risk markers of the hemostatic system was assessed. Fasting blood sampling was performed during a 4-week baseline period and then monthly during the intervention. A matched control group of 16 men on habitual diets was also monitored. Median fibrinolytic activity of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in plasma was significantly elevated (twofold to fourfold) by the experimental diet. A significant increase in the systemic fibrinolytic activity of the euglobulin fraction of plasma was also observed. Median plasma factor VII coagulant activity (F VIIc) was depressed by 5-10% during the first 2 months and the last month of the study period. The dietary change did not significantly affect plasma levels of fibrinogen, t-PA antigen, or plasminogen activator inhibitor type I antigen. In conclusion, young men who were switched from a typical Danish diet high in saturated fat to a low-fat/high-fiber diet showed a permanent increase in plasma fibrinolytic activity and a biphasic decrease in F VIIc. The dietary change thus had a favorable effect on cardiovascular risk markers of the hemostatic system.