Soy Products Can Reduce The Symptoms Of Menopause

Author: Victoria Aly Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Soy Products Can Reduce The Symptoms Of Menopause

Soy isoflavones (phytoestrogens) have a particularly beneficial effect on the body of menopausal women.

Soy isoflavones (substances in the phytoestrogen group) in foods or supplements, as well as some herbal medicines, can help reduce menopausal symptoms , such as hot flashes or vaginal dryness . This shows a review of over 60 studies on the subject, writes Reuters.

"Hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness are very common symptoms of menopause, affecting up to 80% of women with this condition," explains Dr. Taulant Muka of the Department of Medicine at the University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

According to him, many women in Western countries try to suppress the symptoms of menopause with various herbs or products of plant origin , but these "natural" products are not always useful or safe.

"Our results simply show that some plant products containing soy or red clover may be helpful in reducing menopausal complaints, but others cannot. For example, Chinese herbs, "explains Muka.

The researchers analyzed data from 62 controlled trials of alternative therapies and their effectiveness on hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness.

36 of them targeted phytoestrogens from plants such as soybeans or red clover, 16 targeted Chinese herbs and plants such as cimicifuga, and 10 tested other herbal remedies .

In all studies, more than 6,600 women aged 18 to 75 years took part.

Phytoestrogen intake was associated with less hot flashes during the day and less vaginal dryness, but did not affect night sweats.

"Phytoestrogens like those found in soy have the effect of estrogen in the body. This is the explanation of the set of beneficial effects in menopausal women, "commented Muka.

Studies on Chinese herbs have shown that they are not effective in reducing the symptoms of menopause.

Soy Products Can Reduce The Symptoms Of Menopause

Related Articles

Top Nutrition Articles Today