Four trials that were not combined in meta-analyses suggested that extracts with high ( > 30 mg/d ) levels of genistein consistently reduced the frequency of hot flushes .
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone therapy has traditionally been used as a highly effective treatment , but concerns about increased risk of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternative treatments .
Some of the most popular of these treatments are foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens-plant-derived chemicals that have estrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of food products , extracts and dietary supplements containing high levels of phytoestrogens when compared with no treatment , placebo or hormone therapy for the amelioration of vasomotor menopausal symptoms ( such as hot flushes and night sweats ) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women .
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) might reduce hot flushes: an indication from two controlled trials on soy isoflavones alone and with a PUFA supplement.
OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect on hot flushes of a soy isoflavone extract alone ( Study A ) and with the addition of a supplement of polyunsaturated fatty acids , PUFAs ( Study B ) . METHODS Subjects were postmenopausal women ( 29 in Study A , 28 in Study B ) with more than five troublesome hot flushes per day . Both studies were double-blind r and omized placebo-controlled trials with cross-over design , of 24-week duration . After a 2-week observation period , they were r and omized to receive two capsules per day providing 60 mg of isoflavones or placebo for 12 weeks ; thereafter , women who had taken isoflavones were given placebo for a second 12-week period , and vice-versa . Women in the Study B were given also two capsules per day containing a PUFA supplement for the entire 24-week test period . RESULTS Both studies showed the isoflavone extract to have no greater efficacy on hot flushes than the placebo . During the 24 weeks of the Study B there was a progressive and highly significant reduction in the number of hot flushes , independent of whether the women had begun with isoflavones or with placebo . CONCLUSION In these two trials the isoflavone extract did not show greater efficacy on the hot flushes than the placebo . The reduction of hot flushes observed in the Study B might be due to the PUFA supplement . PUFAs , particularly Omega ( Omega ) 3-fatty acids , could reduce hot flushes through their influence on neuronal membranes and /or the modulation of the neurotransmitter function and the serotoninergic system . Studies specifically design ed to document the action of PUFAs on hot flushes would be welcome
Four trials that were not combined in meta-analyses suggested that extracts with high ( > 30 mg/d ) levels of genistein consistently reduced the frequency of hot flushes .
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone therapy has traditionally been used as a highly effective treatment , but concerns about increased risk of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternative treatments .
Some of the most popular of these treatments are foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens-plant-derived chemicals that have estrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of food products , extracts and dietary supplements containing high levels of phytoestrogens when compared with no treatment , placebo or hormone therapy for the amelioration of vasomotor menopausal symptoms ( such as hot flushes and night sweats ) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women .