The term menopause refers to the final menstrual period of a women's life. As you age, your body starts to make less estrogen until complete cessation. Women who have had their ovaries surgically removed will no longer have monthly periods either. When a woman's reproductive stage ends, it produces a range of symptoms that can severely affect her quality of life. Soy has proved useful for many menopausal women. Nevertheless, you should consume soy with care, and under the supervision of your doctor.
Soy and Menopausal Symptoms
Soy holds promise for the treatment of menopausal symptoms; however, more studies are needed before a firm conclusion can be drawn. Low estrogen levels have been linked to many of the menopausal symptoms, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, hot flashes, weight gain and poor memory. Soy can increase the natural estrogen cycles in menopausal women because it contains isoflavones, a type of flavonoid, which mimics the action of estrogen in the human body.
Supporting Evidence
One cohort study in the "American Journal of Epidemiology" reported a link between soy consumption and the incidence of hot flashes in Japanese women. It has been observed that women who consumed at least 45 g soy for 12 weeks or more had fewer and less severe hot flashes, which are a sudden and brief sensation of heat passing through the body. Soy has also been prescribed as a treatment for vaginal dryness.
Refuting Evidence
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to analyze the impact of soy isoflavones on menopausal symptoms in healthy postmenopausal women, which was published in "Climacteric" in September of 2000. After three months, soy phytoestrogens did not provide symptomatic relief, compared with placebo.
Safety
In a randomized, double blind and placebo-controlled study, researchers investigated the effects of soy phytoestrogens on endometrial thickness, the mucous membrane lining the uterus. Five years into the study, it was found that women receiving long-term therapy with soy extract in high doses were more likely to suffer from endometrial hyperplasia than those treated with a placebo. This raises the risk of endometrial cancer.
