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 .
Dietary intervention study to assess estrogenicity of dietary soy among postmenopausal women.
We tested the hypothesis that postmenopausal women on a soy-supplemented diet  show estrogenic responses . Ninety-seven postmenopausal women were r and omized to either a group that was provided with soy foods for 4 weeks or a control group that was instructed to eat as usual . Changes in urinary isoflavone concentrations served as a measure of compliance and phytoestrogen dose . Changes in serum FSH , LH , sex hormone binding globulin , and vaginal cytology were measured to assess estrogenic response . The percentage of vaginal superficial cells ( indicative of estrogenicity ) increased for 19 % of those eating the diet compared with 8 % of controls ( P = 0.06 when tested by ordinal logistic regression ) . FSH and LH did not decrease significantly with dietary supplementation as hypothesized , nor did sex hormone binding globulin increase . Little change occurred in endogenous estradiol concentration or body weight during the diet . Women with large increases in urinary isoflavone concentrations were not more likely to show estrogenic responses than were women with more modest increases . On the basis of published estimates of phytoestrogen potency , a 4-week , soy-supplemented diet was expected to have estrogenic effects on the liver and pituitary in postmenopausal women , but estrogenic effects were not seen . At most , there was a small estrogenic effect on vaginal cytology
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 .