Why Soy Products For Menopause Relief Is Not Recommended

By Graciela Wynn Chavez


Almost all health-related magazines, documentaries and TV shows have hitherto, shouted out the myriad benefits of soy and its products in a wide range of health complications, spanning from breast cancer, osteoporosis, and the heart illness. Examples of soy products include soy milk, soy beans, soy cheese, and soy protein, among others. Some companies have also developed some soy pills and powders from soy phytochemicals, and have widely pronounced them to be natural healers for menopausal discomforts, and also other illnesses. It is not however not authenticated that soy products for menopause relief play a vital role in managing menopause symptoms.

However, all these soy extracts are not safe solutions for menopause relief, as will be discussed below. It is undeniably true that soy is rich in isoflavones, which are type of phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogens are chemical elements found in plants, and which play similar roles with estrogens. The human body can substitute them for estrogens.



Hitherto, there has been alternative ways of treating women in menopausal, for example by dint of conventional medicines, but in the recent past, the use of natural approaches to relieve discomforts associated with menopausal has become exceedingly popular. This has since prompted the foods and supplement industries to make alternatives to the traditional conventional pharmaceutical estrogens like Premarin. In consequence, the soy foods industry has benefited most from this quest for natural solutions for menopausal, arguably because of soys high content of phytoestrogen.

The message that soy phytoestrogens act in similar capacity as surrogate estrogens has been widely spread, and this thereby gives women the general impression that they can alternatively prefer soy products to relieve symptoms of dwindling estrogen levels at their menopausal stage, albeit naturally. However, the research does not confirm that isoflavones act as estrogens, and therefore the conclusion that they are all a woman needs to alleviate her menopausal symptoms, cannot be completely validated.

Soy and its various forms have no notable impact in eliminating vasomotor signs like vaginal dryness and hot flashes. Research confirms that they only help to negligibly reduce their intensity, and not necessarily eliminating them like the conventional medicines do.Additionally, soy foods encompass anti nutritional factors like oxalates, protease inhibitors, saponins and soya toxins, among others.

However, while these soy estrogens diminish the effects of these hot flashes, they are clearly incomparable to conventional estrogens, which more often than not, eliminate hot flashes completely, and quicker. The isoflavones in soya, it has been confirmed by several recent studies, are inhibitors of aromatase, and this thereby lowers the estrogen levels made in the body. This is counterproductive in the control of vasomotor symptoms.

The use of soy does not effectively solve the menace of hot flashes or any other discomforts of menopause. The hormonal mimics they harbor, called isoflavones, instead, cause disruptions to the hormonal systems of the body, which are highly delicate. Further disorders like insomnia and mood swings among others, are also resultant.

This further causes several disorders like insomnia, anxiety, mood swings, digestive problems and other food allergies. The most harmful forms of soya are argued to be infant soy formula and soy protein powders. In conclusion, it is clear that though soy products can play some part in alleviating discomforts associated with menopause, it has not been confirmed that they are completely effective.




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