There is no evidence of effectiveness in the alleviation of  menopausal symptoms with the use of phytoestrogen treatments
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone replacement therapy has traditionally been used as a very effective treatment but concerns over increased risks of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternatives .
Some of the most popular of these are treatments based on foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens , plant-derived chemicals that have oestrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of foods and supplements based on high levels of phytoestrogens for reducing hot flushes and night sweats in postmenopausal women .
A randomized controlled trial of the effect of dietary soy and flaxseed muffins on quality of life and hot flashes during menopause
Objective : To compare the effects of daily ingestion of soy flour ( S ) , ground flaxseed ( F ) , or wheat flour ( W ) muffins , on quality of life and hot flash frequency and severity in postmenopausal women . Design : This was a double-blind , r and omized , controlled , intention-to-treat trial . Ninety-nine women , 1 to 8 years after menopause , ingested muffins with 25 g of flaxseed ( 50 mg of lignans ) , 25 g of soy ( 42 mg of isoflavones ) , or wheat ( control ) daily for 16 weeks . Subjects completed the Menopause-specific Quality of Life instrument monthly along with daily hot flash frequency and severity diaries . Compliance measures included a 3-day food diary and urinary isoflavone and lignan analyses at weeks 0 and 16 and returned muffin counts monthly . Results : Eighty-seven women ( 28 , ground flaxseed muffins ; 31 , soy flour muffins ; and 28 , wheat flour muffins ) completed the trial . Multivariate analysis of variance of all quality -of-life domains yielded an insignificant treatment × time interaction ( F46,122 = 0.92 , P = 0.62 ) but a significant time main effect ( P < .0001 ) . Repeated- measures analyses of covariance controlling for body mass index showed no significant group × time interaction nor time nor group differences on all quality -of-life domains and hot flash measures except severity . Hot flashes were less severe with flaxseed ( P = 0.001 ) compared to placebo ; however , the group × by time interaction was not significant . Phytoestrogen excretion analysis showed treatment group exposure as allocated and no contamination . Conclusion : Neither dietary flaxseed nor soy flour significantly affected menopause-specific quality of life or hot flash symptoms in this study
There is no evidence of effectiveness in the alleviation of  menopausal symptoms with the use of phytoestrogen treatments
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone replacement therapy has traditionally been used as a very effective treatment but concerns over increased risks of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternatives .
Some of the most popular of these are treatments based on foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens , plant-derived chemicals that have oestrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of foods and supplements based on high levels of phytoestrogens for reducing hot flushes and night sweats in postmenopausal women .