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 .
Effects of a standardized soy extract on hot flushes: a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study
Objective To investigate the effect of an oral soy isoflavone extract ( Phytosoya ) on hot flushes in menopausal women . Design The study was conducted on out patients according to a multicenter , r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled  , parallel-group design . A total of 75 patients in natural or surgical menopause suffering from at least seven hot flushes per day were r and omized to receive during 4 months either soy isoflavone extract ( total of 70 mg genistin and daidzin per day ) or placebo . Results There is evidence to suggest that 16 weeks of treatment with soy extract can help reduce the mean number of hot flushes per 24 hours in menopausal women . Withdrawals during this trial made it difficult to obtain an unbiased estimate of the true treatment effect , but numerous sensitivity analyses lend support to the suggestion that taking soy extract can be beneficial in the treatment of hot flushes . In particular , women taking soy extract had a 38 % reduction in the mean number of hot flushes by week 4 and a 51 % reduction by week 8 . By the end of week 16 , patients taking soy extract had a 61 % reduction in their daily hot flushes versus a 21 % reduction obtained with the placebo . “ Responders ” ( defined as patients whose hot flushes were reduced by at least 50 % at the end of treatment period ) were 65.8 % in the soy extract group and 34.2 % in the placebo group ( p < 0.005 ) . ConclusionS oy isoflavone extract may help to reduce the frequency of hot flushes in climacteric women and provides an attractive addition to the choices available for relief of hot flushes
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 .