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 .
Effect of intestinal production of equol on menopausal symptoms in women treated with soy isoflavones.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of soy isoflavones on menopausal symptoms in women who do and who do not produce equol , a daidzein metabolite . METHOD A r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted over 6 months with 96 healthy menopausal women . After taking take 135 mg of isoflavones daily for 1 week , the women in the study group were assigned to the equol-producing ( EP ) or the non-EP group according to the presence or absence of equol in their urine . Menopausal symptoms were evaluated using a modified Kupperman Index . RESULT Compared with the placebo group , the scores for hot flashes and excessive sweating were significantly reduced after 3 months , and the scores for weakness , palpitations , limb paresthesia , and total symptoms after 6 months , in the EP group only . CONCLUSIONS Isoflavone supplementation improves menopausal symptoms only in women with the ability to produce equol
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 .