Soy is thought to be extremely beneficial because women in Asia who eat a diet high in soy tend to report less menopause symptoms and have less breast cancer. The greatest concern, for women who have estrogen-dependent breast cancer, is that taking large doses of these phytoestrogens may actually be harmful. The question of soy has been debated hotly in recent press. Many American women are introducing soy into their diet late in life, or are bypassing the tofu and going directly to supplements that contain concentrated doses of soy protein or isoflavins such as genistein and daidzein which contain weak estrogen that lessens osteoporosis and heart disease. Types of soy produces currently available include soy tablets, soy milk, tofu, roasted soy nuts, textured soy protein, soy flour, and tempth.
Herbal compounds are still very much in popularity.
Researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, examined several herbal botanicals used to treat menopause symptoms. Specifically, they examined dong quai, vitex, Chinese ginseng, American ginseng, black cohosh, red raspberry leaf, blue cohosh, licorice root, squaw vine, milk thistle seed, hops, and wild yam root. Eagon encourages women who use medicinal herbs to discuss their regime with their physicians and determine if, in fact, these estrogenic properties are appropriate for their situation. Also as Chinese medicine has seen a resurgence in popularity. Acupuncture has been seen by some to have beneficial effects.