When we think ‘soy,’ we generally think of its two major components, soy protein and soy isoflavones. Research on the possible benefits of soy for the relief of hot flashes, night sweats and other common menopause discomforts has looked at either soy isoflavones alone or soy protein that contains the isoflavones. To date, the great majority of these studies have reported that soy protein with its isoflavones intact and purified soy isoflavones alone both help alleviate hot flashes, night sweats and other menopause discomforts. New studies continue to examine the benefits of soy for menopause discomforts in an attempt to look at specific populations and to determine the amount of isoflavones needed to provide the best menopause relief.
The most recently published study examined the possible benefits of soy isoflavones on hot flashes, night sweats and other menopause discomforts in overweight postmenopausal women [1]. For this study, 45 overweight (BMI > 25) postmenopausal women consumed 100 milligrams of soy isoflavones daily for 90 days. Hot flashes and general menopause discomforts were measured before the study volunteers started taking the isoflavones and again at the end of the study.
After the end of the 3-month study period…
- The percentage of women with hot flashes, the number of hot flashes and their severity were reduced in overweight postmenopausal women consuming 100 mg soy isoflavones daily.
- Based on the Menopause Rating Scale, general menopause discomforts were lower after consuming the isoflavones.
This new soy and menopause research continues to show the benefits of soy for common discomforts associated with menopause. While it is impossible from this study to determine when the study volunteers started seeing an easing of the their hot flashes and other menopause discomforts, benefits were clearly seen by 3 months of daily soy isoflavone use. Additionally, the effective amount of soy isoflavones in this study was 100 mg of the aglycone form, which is equal to about 160 mg of total isoflavones. Interestingly, this is similar to the amount of soy isoflavones in one Revival soy protein bar or soy protein shake. Results from a peer-reviewed, published study at The Johns Hopkins Hospital found that consuming one serving of Revival Soy daily can reduce hot flashes and night sweats by nearly 40% in just 12 weeks [2].
While this study shows the benefits of soy isoflavones for menopause relief, you can only get the full health and nutritional benefits of soy by consuming soy foods, like Revival’s products, that contain both the soy protein and the isoflavones.
References:
[1] Chedraui P, et al. The effect of soy-derived isoflavones over hot flushes, menopause symptoms and mood in climacteric women with increased body mass index. Gynecol Endocrinol 2011; 27(5):307-313
[2] Basaria S, et al. Effect of high-dose isoflavones on cognition, quality of life, androgens, and lipoproteins in post-menopausal women. J Endocrinol Invest 2009; 32:150-155.