Soy Phytoestrogens Relieve Menopausal Symptoms
Author: Mark Velov
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
The phytoestrogen equol derived from soy may to some extent compensate for the hormonal imbalance in menopausal women ...
Regular consumption of soy foods can help relieve unpleasant symptoms during menopause, the results of a new study show.
Soy and soy products - the main components of East Asian cuisine - are increasingly attracting the attention of scientists. Soy is known to be rich in antioxidants, has the ability to lower levels of "bad" cholesterol and reduces the risk of cancer.
A team of Japanese scientists studied the effect of soy and soy products on the symptoms of menopause.
Researchers have long noticed that during menopause, symptoms such as hot flashes, sweating and mood swings are significantly less common in East Asian women than in European women.
As a possible explanation for this difference, scientists point to the traditional Japanese diet rich in soy products. Soy is a source of phytoestrogens, experts say. During menopause, the level of estrogen in the body decreases, which is the reason for the unpleasant sensations during this period. According to the authors of the study, the intake of phytoestrogens in the body can to some extent compensate for the hormonal imbalance.
Results of an epidemiological study show that in women with severe menopausal symptoms, the level of the estrogen-like substance equol in the body is lower.
Equol is produced by intestinal bacteria from phytoestrogens, which are part of soy.
Researchers from the Medical and Dental University in Tokyo studied the possibility of introducing an additional amount of equol into the body in the form of a food supplement, as well as its role in relieving menopausal symptoms.
For three weeks, women with low levels of equol in their blood took 10 mg of the substance as a supplement. After the end of the study, most of the participants reported a significant reduction in unpleasant sensations - heat waves, irritability, mood swings disappeared.
"The results show that the natural equol derived from soy can be used as an effective therapy in menopausal women," said study author Takeshi Aso.
The results of the study are published in the Journal of Nutrition .
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