Women's Health Articles

While hot flashes and other changes imposed by menopause may not be of your choosing, it doesn?t mean that you?re at their mercy. Equipped with the right knowledge, you can manage your hot flashes and regain control of your life.

Soy
Soy contains isoflavones in abundance, which likely gives it its value in treating menopausal symptoms like hot flashes.

Dosage recommendations
Mark J. Messina, PhD, a nutritionist from Loma Linda University, is a spokesman for the soy industry and a proponent of the use of soy and soy extracts in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. His activities as researcher and writer have given him fairly broad appeal as an expert on soy.

Doctor Messina has this to say about the preventative benefits of soy:

Much less is known about the health effects of eating soy than about those of HRT (hormone replacement therapy). So far, no studies have actually examined the impact of soy consumption on disease outcomes; only markers of disease risk have been considered.

As demonstrated by the results of HERS I/II and WHI, long-term intervention studies that focus on actual disease outcomes are necessary before we can draw definitive conclusions about the health effects of any biologically active agent. Therefore, making predictions based on the results of these trials to soy should be done very cautiously.

There is much to learn about this product. Nevertheless here are the current recommendations.

Soy Intake Recommendations
An appropriate intake recommendation for the average person is 15 g (with a range of 10-25 g) soy protein and 50 mg (aglycone weight) isoflavones (range of 30-100 mg/day).

Traditional soy foods have an isoflavone (mg) to protein (g) ratio of approximately 3.5:1; therefore, consuming 15 g soy protein will result in consuming approximately 50 mg isoflavones. These amounts of soy protein and isoflavones are roughly equivalent to two servings of traditional soy foods and are likely to be effective for those diseases for which soy is proven to be beneficial. In fact, this amount of soy protein may even help lower cholesterol levels, as shown by recent studies. Furthermore, even those with traditional Western eating habits can easily incorporate 15 g soy protein into their daily diets. As this recommendation is consistent with the universal advice of experts to eat a varied diet, there is likely to be little down side for most people.

Here is an additional recommendation for the reduction of hot flashes. Miso is a fermentation product that has soy isoflavones and is believed by some, especially in Japan, to be superior in the treatment of hot flashes. So eating two bowls of miso soup daily will provide you with a tasty soup that appears to be very healthy. Using miso soup, you can reasonably expect at least a 45% reduction in hot flashes. Do not expect the results to be immediate. You should allow up to 2 or 3 months for the full benefit from any soy therapy.

Caveat
In the case of a drug like estrogen, there is lots of money at stake for drug companies. If the drug in question works as they hope, they make money. If it does not, or if it causes cancer, they want to know if for no other reason than to avoid liability. But in the case of nutrients such as soy, there is no such motivation. And until there is enough interest by government or a special-interest group, it isn?t likely that much research will be done on soy products.

Estrogen therapy of any kind is absolutely forbidden for women who have: prior history of breast cancer, family history of breast cancer, or any form of a precancerous growth of the breast. As it?s smart to err on the side of caution, if you have any of the above, avoid soy as it?s loaded with isoflavones.

Don't forget your regular check-ups, pap smears and breast exams.

"Hot Flashes 21 Non-Hormonal Strategies to Put Out the Fire" describes 20 other safe and effective strategies. www.stophotflash.com