But few good-quality scientific studies have been done to test their effectiveness and safety. So far, the evidence about phyto-oestrogens is based mainly on Japanese women, who eat a lot of soy. Some studies have reported that Japanese women do not experience hot flushes during menopause. However, the reliability of these studies is doubtful, says Associate Professor Sue Davis of the Jean Hailes Foundation, due to the difficulty of comparing the experiences of different cultures. Differences between cultures in the experience of menopause is nevertheless a subject that invites more research.
Nobody has a satisfactory explanation as to why.
It may just be individual susceptibility. We're all biologically different and it may be that some people just don't get symptoms in response to a hormone change, where others become very symptomatic. Other popular alternative therapies are creams which claim to mimic the effect of progesterones. Very little scientific information is availabe about either of these products. A study of one brand of natural progesterone cream found that it gave only minute increases in the blood levels of progesterone, unlikely to be enough to have any medicinal effect.