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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Why Soy Products For Menopause Relief Is Not Recommended

By Graciela Wynn Chavez


Almost all health-related magazines, documentaries and TV shows have hitherto, shouted out the myriad benefits of soy and its products in a wide range of health complications, spanning from breast cancer, osteoporosis, and the heart illness. Examples of soy products include soy milk, soy beans, soy cheese, and soy protein, among others. Some companies have also developed some soy pills and powders from soy phytochemicals, and have widely pronounced them to be natural healers for menopausal discomforts, and also other illnesses. It is not however not authenticated that soy products for menopause relief play a vital role in managing menopause symptoms.

However, all these soy extracts are not safe solutions for menopause relief, as will be discussed below. It is undeniably true that soy is rich in isoflavones, which are type of phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogens are chemical elements found in plants, and which play similar roles with estrogens. The human body can substitute them for estrogens.



Menopausal-related disorders such as night sweats and hot flashes have originally been treated using conventional medicines. However, the inference that soy and its various forms is rich in phytoestrogen which acts like estrogen in reducing the wrath of menopausal discomforts has made many people prefer it to the previous treatment methods, most especially because it is natural. Soy food industries as well as other supplement industries have since embarked on developing alternative treatment methods of menopause symptoms, by dint of soy.

The soy food industries have taken advantage of the fact that soy contains high rates of phytoestrogen, which behaves like estrogen. This makes people prefer them to other medicines, majorly because of their natural factor, in reducing the uncomfortable effects of low estrogen levels that is experienced in the course of menopause. Nevertheless, it is not yet absolutely confirmed if isoflavones play similar roles as estrogens. Therefore, the inference that soy products are all that a woman suffering from menopausal symptoms needs to check the menace is not completely appropriate.

It is important to note that soy phytoestrogens have minimal impact on vasomotor symptoms like night sweats, vaginal dryness and hot flashes. Studies relieved that women who made use of soy products that are phytoestrogen-rich realized a thirty five to fifty percent decrease in the intensity of their hot flashes.

These soy phytoestrogens and estrogens however, only diminish the impact and intensity of hot flashes, and not completely eradicating them, like conventional estrogens which eliminate them in a faster fashion. The isoflavones in soy products are aromatase inhibitors, and this reduces the levels of estrogen made in the body. This is as confirmed by several recent studies. This is contradictory to earlier claims that they aid in the treatment of vasomotor symptoms.

The two most harmful soy foods are soy protein powders and infant soy formula. Soy has been linked to malnutrition, breakdown of the immune system, dysfunction of thyroid functions, cognitive decline, infertility, digestive distress, alongside a couple of other demerits.These reports therefore contradict earlier claims that soy foods play a great role in eradicating a host of health-related problems.

In conclusion, soy foods do not effectively treat menopausal symptoms. Menopause, being a natural condition, does not require medical intervention. Its approach therefore majorly involves proper diet, exercising and other lifestyle-related strategies. These lifestyle strategies have been confirmed to play a vital role in relieving menopausal discomforts, relative to the use of soy products.




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